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oh those Ohms ...?

Sunnybaker

Sunnybaker

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg My speakers call for six ohms
my amplifier has the option for 4, 8, or 16 ohms.

I have another set of speakers that call for 4 ohm
I would like to play these sets of speakers together at least just to see what this sounds like. Is there a way to do this?
 
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You failed to mention what amplifier your intending to use.
 
4 ,8, or 16 for the amp?? That's pretty cool! I have no idea what would be "idea??" But it "appears" you have a lot of can't go wrong options! I'll let someone other then me say what would be "ideal" :)
 
How do you add two homes to the speaker line? I’m really new at this. Thanks For your consideration.
 
I wouldn't do it. Just 2.4 ohms? Using a separate amp for the second pair would be a much better option. The lower the impedance, the harder (and hotter) your amp has to work, and the likelier it becomes to incur damage. Even if your amp is claimed to handle a two-ohm load (a big if), why make it work so hard?
 
So you want to run a pair of 4 ohm and 6 ohm speakers together on an amp with 4, 8 and 16 ohm taps. Use the 4 ohm tap and keep the volume low, keep an eye on the heat. Many amps will work with a 2 ohm speaker load but can overheat quickly when the volume is turned up.

Amp and speaker specifics would help. Maybe someone here has experience with your particular amp.
 
What SS amp has multiple taps like that, does it use output transformers? In that case I'd use the 4 ohm taps and just run one pair at a time. Get another amp if you want to run both pair of speakers at the same time.
 
The OP posted (#10) a picture of a McIntosh MC-2105 solid state amp. I presume this is the unit he is using for this. Personally I try to stay away from 2Ω speaker loads unless it's an automotive application and I don't do automotive audio anymore so personally I stay away from 2Ω speaker loads....:confused: I'll be okay.
 
That is a great amp, please just play one pair of speakers on it like it was designed. You'll end up damaging either the amp and or the speakers too.
 
If you want to drive both of them safely, wire them in series, not parallel. Then you have some approximation of a 10 ohm load.

If you wire them in parallel for an average 2.4 ohm load, you have no idea of what the lowest resistance might be. You could have some frequencies running close to a 1 ohm load.
 
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