multiple speakers to 1 channel amplifier

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Max van Andel

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Jan 31, 2016
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Im planning to build a portable speaker diy.
After some research i found out that you can wire multiple speakers to a single channel. If you have 2 8ohm speakers, and you wire them paralel, you'll get 4ohm. Lets say my amp supports 4-16 ohm. It should work cause 4ohm is supported.

If my amp supports 50 watt a channel, And you got 2 50 watt speakers, will the wattage remain the same? Does the amp support it? Is it possible to wire 2 50 watt speakers to 1 50 watt channel as long as the independence of the speakers fits?




 
Solution
You can wire as many speakers are you want by combining series and parallel connections to maintain a safe impedance but you can run out of power since each speaker will use a certain amount.
A lot of amps overstate their power. It's also dependent on the power supply voltage. In a battery powered speaker it will limit your playing time. When the amp is producing more power it draws more from the battery..
There are two ways to wire multiple speakers to the same channel. Series and Parallel.

Parallel: halves the impedance (ohms) of your speakers, but maintains volume levels. *WILL* damage the amp if the impedance is too low. i.e. if you run two 4omh speakers in parallel on a 4ohm amp you're running the amp out of spec and are likely to damage it.

Series: doubles the impedance (ohms) of your speakers, while halving power output from the amp. Should not ever damage the amp. It's a little counter intuitive, because you might think that higher resistance (=impedance) would work the amp harder, but it's actually the other way around. Higher resistance = lower current, means the amp is not working as hard. Low resistance = high current = potential damage to your amp.

So as long as whatever speaker combination you connect up remains in spec for the amp you should be fine. As you're suggesting 2 8ohm speakers in Parallel on a 4ohm amp, that should be absolutely fine.
 
You can wire as many speakers are you want by combining series and parallel connections to maintain a safe impedance but you can run out of power since each speaker will use a certain amount.
A lot of amps overstate their power. It's also dependent on the power supply voltage. In a battery powered speaker it will limit your playing time. When the amp is producing more power it draws more from the battery..
 
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