8 ohm and 4 ohm speakers into 8 ohm amp

[joemartin]

Hi im new to this forum so sorry if this question sounds stupid.

Was wondering if it would be possible to put Accoustic Energy Compact Ones and a pair of B&W DM 610s that i just bought into the same amp but in different channels at the same time. The amp is a Yamaha AS201. The Accoustic Energy Speakers run at 8 ohms while the B&Ws run at 4 ohms and i dont know if this is a problem

Thanks for any answers.

 

[MattSPL]

How many channel is the amp? Do you mean you want to put 4 speakers on the amp?

 

[joemartin]

The amp has 4 imputs for two sets of speakers and yes i would like to run 4 speakers off of it.

 

[joemartin]

didnt mean to post twice

 

[MattSPL]

I presume its a 2 channel amp with A+B speaker switching?

If you listen at low volume levels, you shouldn't have any problems running 4 speakers, I used to do this when I was younger when I first got into hifi and never had any issues, But I was always careful to check the amp didn't get too hot. If you play loud, the amp will struggle and possibly cause damage to itself, the speakers, or become a fire hazard.

One alternative is to wire the speakers in series, but its not a great way out when you have 2 different loads.

 

[ReValveiT]

Normally it's one set @ 4 ohm minimum and 2 sets @ 8 ohm minimum each, but you'd have to check the Manual.

 

[joemartin]

You are right that it has a speaker a + speaker b and you can choose between either of them or both. I checked the manual and it said http://gyazo.com/1f0dd42749558381c81dfe31cd9a34f6

 

[davedotco]

You are right that it has a speaker a + speaker b and you can choose between either of them or both. I checked the manual and it said http://gyazo.com/1f0dd42749558381c81dfe31cd9a34f6

You can use either/or without problems.

Using both will connect them in parallel, the resulting impedence will be a little low for comfort, driving them in this way will probably be fine at sensible levels, but could cause the amplifier distress at higher sound levels.

Using both at party levels could be destructive, don't do it.

 

[MattSPL]

You are right that it has a speaker a + speaker b and you can choose between either of them or both. I checked the manual and it said http://gyazo.com/1f0dd42749558381c81dfe31cd9a34f6

Yeah, what the manual says is the norm, but if you only intend to use it for background listening, you might be ok with all 4 speakers on. Alternatively, get another amp to run the second set of speakers. You can use the tape loop to feed a signal into the second amp, but will have to control the volume seperately on each amp,

If your amp has a pre out, you could just use a power amp and control the volume form your existing amp,

 

[joemartin]

Okay if i was to connect my current amp to a new amp, would it be possible to do it by splitting the rca imput into my current amp and connect to the new amp as well so they have the same input effectively?

 

[MattSPL]

Yes. Usually you would connect your existing amp as normal, then use another interconnect from the tape out on you amp(if it has one), into cd, aux or whichever input you like on the 2nd amp.

Alternatively, you can use a Y spliter rca cable to send a signal into both amps.

Edit: I see your amp has a rec out. You would connect rca cables from here to 2nd amp cd input for example. Then use a set of speakers and each amps volume control independantly, but playing the same source of music,

 

[davedotco]

Joe, I am at a loss as to what you are actually trying to achieve.

All the things mentioned above are possible, but why?