4 speakers?

anton69plati

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Hi there

I'm newish to classic HI-FI gear after being bought a TEAC turntable 3 years ago by my wife.

I went off and bought from one owner a set of Technics SB-3050's, Technics SU-z22 amp.

Since then, i have changed the TT and got a Technics SL-1700 and a set of SB-4500's.

I wanted to know if there was any advantage to running both sets of SB's and if so, the best way.

They are in a room that is 5m x 5m

Thanks for you help in advance!

A
 

iMark

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In a stereo setup most people will agree that you only use 2 speakers. Placement of the 2 speakers needs to done properly to get the best stereo soundstage.

I've got a second pair of speakers connected to the stereo receiver. These speakers are in a different room
 
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anton69plati

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Morning all

Many thanks for your swift replies!

All ears, I just have these lovely sets of speakers, both pairs in incredible condition with an amp that has A & B inputs and would like to use them both or one set will be redundant.

My view was using them both placed in the room to give a more "surrounded" listening

Having 4, is that a big no no then?

Thanks
 
Morning all

Many thanks for your swift replies!

All ears, I just have these lovely sets of speakers, both pairs in incredible condition with an amp that has A & B inputs and would like to use them both or one set will be redundant.

My view was using them both placed in the room to give a more "surrounded" listening

Having 4, is that a big no no then?

Thanks
It is for me, that amplifier is a stereo amplifier. A good stereo system is what I require, using 4 speakers will only cloud the image not enhance it, if I want surround sound I use my home cinema setup.
The A & B outputs are normally there to use another set of speakers in a different room and not necessarily with both pirs playing at the same time. However, thats just me.
 
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anton69plati

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OK, understood

It looks like it may work if I run the other pair in another room from the same amp e.g. I could have the same record playing in the lounge and in the kitchen which are next to each other without any degradation in sound then?

Thanks
 
The amp will be trying to do twice the work, so even if there are no technical issues (which there might be) it is unlikely to do as good a job. If listening levels are low this might not be an issue, but high volumes would expose any problems and could be hard on the amp. Most people who have two sets hooked up use one at a time, I would guess.

Four in the same room might make it sound more like a nightclub, but that's definitely not hifi!
 
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anton69plati

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Thank you 12th Monkey

So what are the views that if I wanted to run 2 sets in 2 rooms from the same amp, what would be recommended?

Forgive me labouring the point but, if there is a way to do this using a different amp perhaps, it maybe worth exploring.

Bear in mind the HI-FI is only used for vinyl

Thanks again
 
If you want to use both sets at the same time, a multichannel AV amp (configured appropriately) might be a better bet as it's intended to power many speakers simultaneously - but if you are OK with running one set at a time you'll be fine as you are.

If you try connecting both, do it at low volume levels - those from an electrical engineering background would be best placed to advise on the problems that might be caused by trying this. I did it a long time ago when I knew (even) less than I do now, but I wouldn't try it now.

It won't matter what source you are using - any problems would be with the amp struggling with the load two speakers present.
 
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camcroft

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What would you use the second set for vinyl from the main system otherwise you could just buy a set of wireless / Bluetooth speakers if you were going to use them for something else and with the help of a phono stage or a turntable with a built in phono stage which could be plugged into the wireless / Bluetooth speakers all you would have to do is carry your LP into the other room. There are some cheaper turntables that will do the job as long as you don't want the ultimate sound. Sorry just noticed that you did say that you had two sets of speakers.
 
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iMark

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We use a Yamaha R-N602 stereo receiver with two pairs of speakers in two rooms. I don't notice any difference in sound quality from either pair of speakers if both sets are on at the same time.

Pair B is in the kitchen/dining room area. Previous owners of our house installed cabling for two sets of five speakers in two rooms. Works out great for our system. I only had to connect pair B to the existing cabling and find out where in the other room I could connect them to the receiver. We're very happy with the result. The Yamaha is very easy to use because you can switch the speaker sets A and B on and off by remote control. In our case a Logitech Harmony app on our phone.

Speaker pair A doesn't need a lot of power from the amp. They're Infinity Overture 1 speakers I bought twenty years ago. The have a powered 150W subwoofer built-in. Best speakers I've ever owned and I hope they will last me the rest of my life.
 
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anton69plati

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Wow! Thank you all so much for your comments, food for though and very much appreciated.

My main issue is I have 2 pairs of great speakers in incredible condition and would like to utilise them both.

It would be lovely to be cooking in the kitchen and be able to listen to the vinyl being played in the next room so I may look at a different amp that would do that but I'll try, if only to satisfy my own cat like curiosity (despite having less than 9 lives remaining at 52) to see if there will be any degradation in sound quality

Thanks
 

Shadowfax

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In a stereo setup most people will agree that you only use 2 speakers. Placement of the 2 speakers needs to done properly to get the best stereo soundstage.

I've got a second pair of speakers connected to the stereo receiver. These speakers are in a different room
My 1st question would be "Why do you have this setup at all?" If it's for being able to slip from room to room and still hear what you're playing I suppose it would work. But seriously, the whole thing should sound best with one pair in one room. Full stop.
 

anton69plati

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I am aware now that 1 set of speakers per room as per previous posts but I have a second set which I didn't want to be redundant hence asking if I could run 2 pairs and what the general consensus was.

I did get someone who runs 2 pairs but in 2 rooms which would work for me as the rooms are beside each other and often used at the same time but i would need to look at the correct amp to not overload my present amp
 

Gray

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Here's an option for you (don't laugh, I've bought 3 of these little Lepy class D amps - so far).

Your Technics amp is in the main room, driving your best speakers.
One pair of tape outputs on the Technics connects (via twin RCA lead) to the input of one of these in the kitchen driving the second pair of speakers:
You might be surprised how good these sound - there's no background hiss / hum whatsoever (which is probably more than can be said for the Technics).

So your main amp would be feeding only one pair of speakers.
Second pair of speakers get a nice little amp of their own, with locally, independently controlled volume - playing whatever source is selected on the main system.

You can buy ready-made longer RCA leads, or easily make your own with twin shotgun satellite cable and 4 plugs.
 

iMark

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I probably would never have installed multiroom cabling myself. But previous owners of our house did and it's very convenient.
I have never noticed any sound degradation when both sets of speakers are switched on. I do notice some difference when I run the Yamaha in Pure Direct mode.
 
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AJM1981

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if one would place a sub behind the listeners back changing polarity (usually switch on some subs) is a solution to provide the same effect as it was placed in front. If you would place two stereo speakers at the front and two at the back this polarity change might also be adding to the experience for the speakers at the back. Worth an experiment.
 

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