Hi, I was going to connect 2 pairs of Q Acoustics speakers to my Marantz PM6004 amp (there are two sets of outputs so the amp is capable of running two pairs of speakers at the same time). Both pairs of speakers are 6 ohms BUT my manual says the speakers should be 8 to 16 ohms if I want to run two pairs at once. What would happen if I did connect and use both pairs of speakers at the same time?[/b]
Connecting 2 pairs of speakers to my Marantz Amplifier HELP?!
- Thread starter George
- Start date
If you play at sensible levels then I'm sure everything will be fine, amp may run a little warmer than usual but, really, that's about it.
If on the other hand you want two pairs of speakers to produce more volume and are thinking of driving them quite hard then probably best not to do it.
(Or do it anyway and accept that if anything blows up, it is down to you. It may well be absolutely fine but if not, the manufacturers are not going to honour the warrantee.)
If on the other hand you want two pairs of speakers to produce more volume and are thinking of driving them quite hard then probably best not to do it.
(Or do it anyway and accept that if anything blows up, it is down to you. It may well be absolutely fine but if not, the manufacturers are not going to honour the warrantee.)
Thanks, initially I just want to compare the sound of the 2 pairs of speakers ( Q Aquostics 3020's and 2020's) so I can use the buttons on my amp to easily switch between the two to compare, so I could keep an eye on my amp to make sure it's not getting too hot. If I like the sound of both pairs of speakers TOGETHER could I wire them both from one output (that would be 12 ohms altogether I guess) or would that also be unadvisable?
Comparing the two models will be fine, should not be an issue.
Assuming you prefer one over the other, why then use the one you like less along with the one you like most, what's the point?
If you want something that sounds like 2020/3020 only better, buy a better amplifier.
And do some research, "connecting speakers in series or in parallel".
Assuming you prefer one over the other, why then use the one you like less along with the one you like most, what's the point?
If you want something that sounds like 2020/3020 only better, buy a better amplifier.
And do some research, "connecting speakers in series or in parallel".
Initially I tried the one 3020 on the left channel and the 2020 on the right and used the balance to "switch" between them and to my ears it sounded best when the balance was in the middle with both speakers working. Regarding " better amp" I thought the Marantz PM 6004 was a good amp?
i would have said the PM6004 would have been adequate to drive the QA3020, but would advise against running 4 speakers long term. Fine for an experiment as long as its not banging volumes.
Good budget speakers are strange things.
In a sense they are 'reactive' components, the better the amplifier and the better the signal fed to the speaker, the better the speakers sound.
At the end of the day a budget amplifier is a budget amplifier, pure and simple, budget speakers, good ones anyway, get better as the amplifier gets better.
I would have no hesitation pairing the Q Acoustics with a good amplifier in the £600-1000 class.
In a sense they are 'reactive' components, the better the amplifier and the better the signal fed to the speaker, the better the speakers sound.
At the end of the day a budget amplifier is a budget amplifier, pure and simple, budget speakers, good ones anyway, get better as the amplifier gets better.
I would have no hesitation pairing the Q Acoustics with a good amplifier in the £600-1000 class.
stevee1966
Well-known member
- Sep 21, 2007
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If your only comparing then you won't be running both at the same time. Surely you'll just be switching between Channel A and Channel B, so shouldn't be an issue.
Yes, but I am seriously concidering having both sets of speakers as part of my set up because I like the way they sound together.
Running the speakers in parallel will halve the impedance not double it, so your amp will need to source more current, risking something blowing, and will probably be far from its best and not the situation you want for trying to spot difference between speakers.
my advice would be keep swapping the connections at the speaker end, rather than the amp end, keeping the speakers in a pair. Anything else and I suggest you won't have representative conditions for your decision.....and may be a blown amp.
my advice would be keep swapping the connections at the speaker end, rather than the amp end, keeping the speakers in a pair. Anything else and I suggest you won't have representative conditions for your decision.....and may be a blown amp.
philandsue said:
I have been informed that I could run them in series (doubling the impedance to 12 ohms). I know this is not the ideal solution and I don't really want speakers cluttering up the living room. The trouble is both speakers the Q Acoustics 3020's and 2020's sound good but different so it is impossible for me to choose one pair over the other and with both pairs together they sound really good (to my ears anyway, and also my partners ears also, so it's not just me that thinks they sound good together). There is one other option i'm concidering, that is trying a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze BX2 as the sound described by others may be to my taste.
Impedance seems not going under 4 Ohm:
http://audio.com.pl/testy/stereo/zespoly-glosnikowe/421-q-acoustics-2020i
If your volume is not too high, Marantz will give 60 W on 4 Ohm for the 4 spk
This amp has very good el. protections and you can test if it became too hot...
http://audio.com.pl/testy/stereo/zespoly-glosnikowe/421-q-acoustics-2020i
If your volume is not too high, Marantz will give 60 W on 4 Ohm for the 4 spk
This amp has very good el. protections and you can test if it became too hot...
GCE said:
Thanks, a bit technical for me but are you essentially saying that I should be OK running both pairs of Q Acoustics from the 2 speaker outputs on the Marantz as long as I don't turn the amp too high ? ( I usually listen in the 9-10 o clock position and never exceed the 12 0 clock position). I have just tried a pair of Montitor Audio Bronze BX2's and I still prefer the Q Acoustics (2020 and 3020's together). When I tried the Monitor Audio's the amp got warmer than it would with one set of Q's so I guess that the Q's are easy to drive. Also as you say the Marantz has a good overload protection system so hopefully no damage will occur if I do run two pairs of Q Acoustic speakers off it especially if I keep an eye on the amp for a while to make sure it's not getting too hot? This seems to be quite a complicated subject, I also read somewhere else that speakers can be wired Series-Parallel???
The amp in question is rated for 4 ohms and above, your speaker pairing will have an impedance significantly below this for much of the frequency range.
This exceeds the rating of the amplifier which is probably there for a reason, I'm guessing (but with some experience) because the low impedance causes issues that may well shorten the amplifiers life and affect it's reliability. It is also likely to react less well when driven hard.
Which brings us on to how hard the amplifier is being driven. It is important that you understand that the position of the volume control is not an indicator of how much power/wattage is being delivered. Most modern designs are designed to 'go loud' at quite low settings of the volume control, which means they are being overdriven before the control gets to the 12 o'clock point.
Would I be happy to try both speakers together in order to try them out, most certainly. Would I use both as a permanent arrangement, I think not.
This exceeds the rating of the amplifier which is probably there for a reason, I'm guessing (but with some experience) because the low impedance causes issues that may well shorten the amplifiers life and affect it's reliability. It is also likely to react less well when driven hard.
Which brings us on to how hard the amplifier is being driven. It is important that you understand that the position of the volume control is not an indicator of how much power/wattage is being delivered. Most modern designs are designed to 'go loud' at quite low settings of the volume control, which means they are being overdriven before the control gets to the 12 o'clock point.
Would I be happy to try both speakers together in order to try them out, most certainly. Would I use both as a permanent arrangement, I think not.
davedotco said:
Well, against all advice I have wired on both pairs of speakers and they sound great together (the 3020's are filling in what's missing from the 2020's and vica versa) with slightlty improved highs too. I put on Corrs Unplugged DVD and it sounds like Adrea Corr is in my living room (please don't tell my other half). All the instruments sound fuller and more real and separate, same with the vocals. The bass is much stronger and well defined. All the members of my family agree they sound much better together so it's not just me. Anyway I have been running them both together for 3 hours at 9 o clock position and the amp is only slightly warm, in fact the amp seemed to get warmer when I was running the Monitor Audio Bronze BX2's on there own. I will have to keep an eye on things but I have a feeling that there is nothing to worry about.
George said:
Did you actually bother to read my post?
No, clearly not....
Did I mention sound quality... No.
Did I say it would not work... No
All I did was warn you of the possible consequences regarding your warrantee and long term reliability.
davedotco said:
Sorry, I have read all the posts and was just making a general comment on my experience (perhaps I should not have quoted your reply, sorry I did not intend to offend anyone).[/b]
[font="ProximaNova-Semibold, arial, verdana, sans-serif"]Update. I have had both pairs of speakers (the Q Acoustics 2020's and 3020's) running off the Marantz PM6004 amplifier and I can report that the amp has survived the Christmas holidays with no obvious ill effects. The amp is not running noticably warmer than it was with one pair of speakers and has not cut out once. I admit I was a little nervous ignoring some of the advice given here and in the user manual BUT these speakers really do sound great together, I thought it was worth a gamble. Perhaps the amp would not like it if I cranked up the volume too much but I don't listen to my music really loud anyway. IF the life of my Marantz is cut short I will probably invest in an amp that is built to cope with such a set up as I do like the sound of this combination of speakers very much and the 3020's sit very nicely on top of the 2020's.[/font]
[font="ProximaNova-Semibold, arial, verdana, sans-serif"]Happy New Year everyone.[/font]
[font="ProximaNova-Semibold, arial, verdana, sans-serif"]Happy New Year everyone.[/font]
George said:
Update, the Marantz is still going strong running 2 pairs of Q Acoustics nearly a year later. And they do sound very good to my untrained ears.
Merry Christmas all. *drinks*
muljao said:
The 3020's sound clearer and less bassy. The 2020's sound richer and they seem to compliment each other very nicely.
BTW they are 2020's not 2020i's, not sure what difference the i makes?
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