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adding speakers to amp

M

motorazr

Member
Hi, I am a bit of a novice when it comes to hifi but I currently have an optonica sm1515 which has two channels. Specs show it is able to drive 2x45w/4 ohm both channels or 2x40w/8 ohms. Attached to one channel I have a pair of 2 way Optonica CP212's rated at 35w max power 50w.
On the second channel I would like to wire a set of 3 way Optonica CP5100's rated at 4 ohm and a max of 60w.
will it be ok to run these four speakers from the amp?
 
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No and you've got your speaks hooked up wrong. Unless you misstated or I misread. One channel goes to the left speaker and one to the right. If you hook up two speakers to each channel, especially one with a 4 ohm nominal load you "may" damage your amp. It can be done but there is a risk.
 
speaker set up

I may have not explained it clearly due to my lack of expertise but the amp has an a, b and a+b switch. I currently have the speakers on 'a' and wish to add the other set to 'b' then use the a+b switch to use bot of the sets, does it matter that 'a' are 8ohm and the 'b' set will be 4 ohm?
 
You don't want to run any four ohm speakers at the same time as any other speakers. It COULD be safe if they were connected in series, but unless you know for sure, that's not something you can count on. Most receivers connect 'em in parallel.
 
I have run a pair of 8 ohm and 4 ohm speakers at the same time, but not for long and not very loud. It is not recommended. Most amps will drive 2 pair of 8 ohm speakers at the same time without any issues. I'm not familiar with Optonica gear, so I cannot recommend driving 2 pair of 8 ohm speakers without consulting the owners manual first.
 
So I would be able to connect 2, 4 ohm speakers to switch 'a' and connect 2 8 ohm speakers to switch 'b' but only run either switch 'a' on its own or switch 'b' on its own. Not both 'a+b' together?
The amp does not have a switch to swap power output for 4 or 8 ohm speakers ( only the speaker switch) but specs show it will deliver 45w for 4 ohm and 40w for 8 ohm.
From reading on the net I have a 4 channel amp (4 + and - terminals) with 2 on 'a' switch and 2 on 'b' switch. I still cannot get the gist of speakers in paralell or series, I have two speakers attached to two + and - connections at the rear of the amp with 2 free.
Based on my amp connections I would be able to run 4, 4 ohm speakers at 45w or 4 8 ohm speakers at 40w but NOT mix and play at the same time 2 4 ohm speakers and 2 8 ohm speakers.
Am I any closer to seeing the light?
 
It would be OK to run two sets of 8 ohm speakers simultaneously or one set of 4 ohm. Or you could hook up one set of 8 ohm and one set of 4 ohm and run either of them alone, but not together. Run together in parallel they would be 2.67 ohms. Very uncool for your amp.
 
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