Wiring speakers in series?

Serendipity

Just finished setting up a pair of patio speakers connected to the Zone 2 outputs of the Onkyo, but also want to run another pair of speakers (another Zone) with the same outputs.

Now I understand that the 8 ohm MIN outputs of the Onkyo will not be too happy with a 4 ohm load (when wired in parallel), so would like to wire the speakers in series.

1. Will the back-EMF produced by the series connection create distortion in the Onkyo?
2. Will there be enough gain to drive the now 16-ohm load without running into any problems?

This is a *temporary* solution until I obtain an amp to drive the Zone 2 along with the Zone 3 speakers. Last, will it make a difference with regards to the load if I connect the speakers like the following:

LEFT + on AVR --> + on Speaker 1 \\
LEFT - on AVR --> - on Speaker 2 //

RIGHT + on AVR --> + on Speaker 1 \\
RIGHT - on AVR --> - on Speaker 2 //

Face

It'll probably sound like ****.

mhardy6647

The generic problem with wiring speakers in series is that it puts the inductive and capacitative reactance of the first speaker in series with the second one; the net result has already been articulated by Face.

Serendipity

mhardy6647 wrote: »

The generic problem with wiring speakers in series is that it puts the inductive and capacitative reactance of the first speaker in series with the second one; the net result has already been articulated by Face.

That's what I was looking for.

They are the same exact speaker though. Although SVS wires their sub drivers in series for some reason??

Serendipity

Face wrote: »

It'll probably sound like ****.

Does it make a difference if they are identical speakers?

Face

Serendipity wrote: »

They are the same exact speaker though. Although SVS wires their sub drivers in series for some reason??

And I'm sure SVS accounts for this in their design, opposed to what you're doing.

Serendipity

Face wrote: »

And I'm sure SVS accounts for this in their design, opposed to what you're doing.

When I get my amp back (Adcom GFA-535) I'll have another amp to drive the extra zone.

Right now all the drivers are identical, I know this won't work well if the drivers are different.

I'll hook them up in parallel then.

mhardy6647

Serendipity wrote: »

Does it make a difference if they are identical speakers?

Nope. In parallel, the speakers won't really "feel" the other half of the load... but they will in series (this isn't utterly true, but close enough for Government work). Basically you've added a component (the R, L, and C of the first or upstream speaker) in series with the crossover network of the downstream speaker.

That said, it won't do any harm (the nominal impedance of the two-speaker pair will be doubled relative to a single) to try. It will likely sound like ****, but empiricism (within reason) is a good thing and if you try it, you'll know, rather than speculate, the result.

Serendipity

BTW - There's a lot of noise in the outdoor area, since it is more of an urban environment. Basically can't hear the sound too well anyways.

Face: I'll try it both ways. Funny how horn PA drivers (like the kind in a warehouse) don't seem to mind when wired in series.

Serendipity

Also, I have a student version of Orcad's PSpice A/D and Electronics Workbench here.

Serendipity

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Nope. In parallel, the speakers won't really "feel" the other half of the load... but they will in series (this isn't utterly true, but close enough for Government work). Basically you've added a component (the R, L, and C of the first or upstream speaker) in series with the crossover network of the downstream speaker.

That said, it won't do any harm (the nominal impedance of the two-speaker pair will be doubled relative to a single) to try. It will likely sound like ****, but empiricism (within reason) is a good thing and if you try it, you'll know, rather than speculate, the result.

Okay, this is what I observed:

1. When wired in series the output was quiet - very quiet, but listenable.
2. When wired in parallel there was not much change in the sound but much more output than the series connection.

I'm going to get an amp for the patio speakers, even though all of the speakers are the same.

TECHNOKID

Serendipity wrote: »

When I get my amp back (Adcom GFA-535) I'll have another amp to drive the extra zone.

Right now all the drivers are identical, I know this won't work well if the drivers are different.

I'll hook them up in parallel then.

Temporary cabling your speakers in series will work and will not damage the amp. NEVER IN PARALELL :eek:

Serendipity wrote: »

BTW - There's a lot of noise in the outdoor area, since it is more of an urban environment. Basically can't hear the sound too well anyways.

Face: I'll try it both ways. Funny how horn PA drivers (like the kind in a warehouse) don't seem to mind when wired in series.

A PA system works differently due to the high ohmique value of the input of an isolation transfo hooked-up to the PA speakers (balanced output through the Xfo).

Serendipity wrote: »

Okay, this is what I observed:

1. When wired in series the output was quiet - very quiet, but listenable.
2. When wired in parallel there was not much change in the sound but much more output than the series connection.

I'm going to get an amp for the patio speakers, even though all of the speakers are the same.

DO NOT hook them up in paralell as it could damage your amp (unless your amp is capable of lower ohmique values as when in paralell ohmique value then becomes 4 ohms)! Also keep in mind that you DON'T want to use A+B together but only one or the other since many amp-receiver will see an ohmique value drop when they are used together (A+B that is)

If the sound is good (listenable) for you in series it will work until you get your replacement amp without damages (the SQ is affected but if OK for now then why not!).

Cheers!
TK

Serendipity

Wiring the speakers in parallel puts a 4 ohm load on the receiver:

Req = (R1 x R2) / (R1 + R2)
Req = (8 x 8) / (8 + 8)
Req = 64 / 16
Req = 4 ohms

This seems to work fine as of now as the volume is set very low (these are Zone 2 speakers, after all).

But I'm going to get an amp that is capable of driving 4 ohm loads.