Currently looking @ getting the Sony MHC-LX10000 w520.
It’s a mini hi-fi shelf system with 4 seperate speakers.
2 of the speakers are slightly igger then the other 2. I assume the bigger speakers are for the lows.
I’m curious if I bought an extra set of the exact same speakers from ebay, would it be possible to splice the extra speakers to the other speakers and would this work?
Would sound quality be worsened?
Someone in an email said this would fry the amps in the unit.
Is this true?
I can’t imagine that it would fry the amp. The speakers don’t actively pull power out of the amp so I don’t see how you could overload it by adding more speakers.
If you splice the wires then you will get some degree of quality loss. Better to get a purpose made cable splitter from your local electrics shop and plug into that.
Doing it that way I doubt you’d notice any sound quality issues.
Bear in mind though that you will be driving twice the number of speakers with the same power source so maximum volume would likely be affected.
Renton you are correct in the fact that you will notice max volume loss and even slight quality, BUT depending on the Ohm range the amplifier can operate in it would be possible to smoke an amp depending on how many ohms the speaker load comes down too. Sorry OP i dont deal with sony equipment so im no help on whether or not it would be safe to do.
You very well could fry the amp.
Splicing the wires together would effect the resistance. Most home amplifiers are rated for a nominal 8 ohms. Any lower than 6 ohms and it puts excess strain on the amp unless it is rated for it. Only very expensive home amps are usually rated for low resistance.
Renton, the amplifier power is use to make the speakers voice coil move. It very much does consume the power.
Interesting stuff! Cheers guys. I live & learn.
If you by splice, you mean connecting in parallel, you are reducing the resistance.
1/R + 1/R1 + 1/R2 + …
If you are splicing two speakers that are 8 ohm, they become 4 ohm combined.
If you splice them in series:
R = R1 + R2 + …
It becomes 16 ohm.
I’m not an electrical engineer, but if the amp wasn’t designed to operate in that range, you may want to avoid splicing.
Get yourself some Marantz equipment a control4 system controller throw it in a rack. get some Triad in-walls, in ceilings, center channel, and a sub. hook it up 7.1 dolby digital and BAM ahh if only if only
[quote]Chewie wrote:
If you by splice, you mean connecting in parallel, you are reducing the resistance.
1/R + 1/R1 + 1/R2 + …
If you are splicing two speakers that are 8 ohm, they become 4 ohm combined.
If you splice them in series:
R = R1 + R2 + …
It becomes 16 ohm.
I’m not an electrical engineer, but if the amp wasn’t designed to operate in that range, you may want to avoid splicing. [/quote]
That’s correct. It’s always OK to wire more speakers in series but then each speaker has to share the current and you will have to crank up the amplitude to compensate. Generally, it’s also OK to wire one more pair in parallel unless the amp is a real cheapo.
Keep in mind that it’s really AC impedance we’re talking about here, not DC resistance. Therefore it’s only at certain frequencies that the amp will see a tough load and be in danger. Most music isn’t going to be a problem, you’d only be in trouble if you connected a sine generator and dialed in the frequency where the impedance became too low for the amp (it’s like shorting the output terminals then… not good).
I would recommend a speaker splitter box. They’re cheap and they maintain a proper load to the amp. Or, wiring one speaker in parallel and that pair in series will bring you back to original impedance (~8 ohms usually).
OP, hopefully you read all the other posts. Do not do this. There is a very strong chance you will indeed fry the amp. Why don’t you get another system with aseparate set of speaker outputs?
First off, why do you want more speakers anyways? I am going to assume you simply want to put the second pair in a different room. If you were considering putting all of these speakers in one room in an attempt to make it louder, better, or whatever; I would strongly suggest you do a bit more research. Two good speakers, with the lowest impedance (ohms) your amp can handle (for a home system this is very likely 8) are going to give you much better and louder sound than surrounding yourself with speakers.
IMO, shelf systems are usually junk anyways. If all you are worried about is audio, you could go with a decent stereo receiver and 2 pairs of speakers for a comparable price. You can plug in your mp3 player, computer, or buy a cd player to go along with it. Personally, I would spend a little more and get an a/v reciever with surround speakers, then you can get a second pair of speakers for the second room.
Just curious, but why do you want extra speakers?
The reason for the ? is this:
I put an offer in on a townhome. It has a 30x15 ft unfinished basement w 9 ft ceiling. The plan is to turn the basement into my own gym. A gym needs music right? So I figured Id get a shelf system and put 1 speaker in each corner?
Good idea or bad idea?
Go with a stereo receiver and buy some decent speakers. 1 pair. Play with the locations of the speakers a bit to see where they sound the best. Probably in the corners, towards the ceiling, pointing towards the middle of the room. But they might sound better against the 30’ wall, about 6-8’ from each corner, you will just have to play with it to find out.
There is not necessarily anything wrong with 4 speakers, but in this case it is unnecessary. In a nutshell, the pros are that you are less likely to find yourself sitting in a “dead zone”, but you are also going to have problems with the sound muddling together. This is because in stereo, each speaker has a different channel, so the music is slightly different out of each. If you have 4 speakers, two of the speakers will always be playing the exact same thing. Let’s say you are standing real close to one of these and the other is on the opposite side of the room. Well, my friend, sound doesn’t really travel that fast, so the sound waves will hit your ear at ever so sligthly different times, leading to a poor sound.
Don’t make a big issue out of this, get a decent receiver and some decent speakers, and I am sure you won’t complain about anything. Just trust me on not getting a shelf system.
Most stereo recievers have a/b speaker hookups so that you can run two pair. This will reduce available power, but unless you are really cranking it you won’t notice.
You can get a cheap stereo reciever for $100. Look into KLH speakers, they are a good value. Founded by audio pioneers Henry Kloss, Malcolm Lowe, and J. Anton Hoffman as audiophile for the every day guy.
If you hook two eight ohm resisters in series you will get sixteen ohms of resistance. That won’t hurt the amplifier. If you hook them in paralell you will get four ohms resitance that will overheat and fry the amp.