Frankenstein Stereo

[pgrim91]

So, I recently got my father's old Nikko amp from the 70's working again and would like to use it in my small apartment. I've also inherited 4 klipsch speakers from a friend (the amp that went with them died), which have a 6 ohm impedance.

On the back of the amp, there are two sets of stereo outputs, A and B. This way, you could have one set of speakers in the living room and one in the bedroom and switch output between the two sets. It says that the impedance range for each speaker is 4-16 ohms, so I'm okay there.

There is also an option to output to both sets of speakers simultaneously, and lists the impedance range to use both A+B simultaneously as 8-16 ohms, or above the 6 ohms of the Klipsch speakers I'd like to use.

Do I risk damaging anything if the impedance of the speakers is too low to run on A+B? The speakers are fairly small so I'd like to use all four of them.

 

[hans030390]

I could be wrong, but I think you would be OK doing A+B so long as you kept the volume fairly low and didn't too it too long and often. I'd just stay safe and not do A+B in your situation, though.

 

[pgrim91]

Gotcha, so I'll be on the lookout for some higher impedance speakers for the future.

As far as why that'd be a bad idea, would it just draw too much power through the system?

 

[NutBucket]

Just do this. Wire two speakers in series and hook the up to one output (A-Left, for example), and the the other two in series to A-right. Then you'll have 12-ohm impedance on each output. No problem.

EDIT: The problem is the impedance mis-match. The most efficient power delivery occurs when the impedance is perfectly matched. But that's basically impossible with speakers so close enough is good enough.

 

[pgrim91]

Thanks NutBucket. With them in series (and not on each channel) I won't have to worry about somebody messing with the amp and possibly screwing it up, so I think that's the best solution.

 

[Number1]

Just do this. Wire two speakers in series and hook the up to one output (A-Left, for example), and the the other two in series to A-right. Then you'll have 12-ohm impedance on each output. No problem.

A couple of issues with this:

Music will no longer be selectable between bedroom and living room.

This setup may reduce the volume significantly because half the power of the amp will be going to each speakers. OP will have to experiment.

 

[pgrim91]

I'll be getting them at my new place in about a week and will post results. The whole non-selectable thing isn't really an issue, I just thought I'd explain the feature with an example. Anyway, I just want to use the speakers and amp to fill the living room with sound.