I feel like I ought to know the answer to this but I am unsure. I'm having a house party next week and would like to have music inside and outside. My HiFi amp has 2 selectable sets of outputs but only one can be active at a time so the question is what is the effect of connecting two speakers to one output in parallel (apart from the obvious halving of the impedance)?

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You can pretty much ignore this as a bit more Googling got me the answer. Don't know why my initial research left me a little unsure.

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Most stereos with A/B outputs for two sets of speakers also have an intermediate A+B position on the selector switch. Make sure there isn't a detent position there.

 

Thanks but mine has buttons, A and B and judging by the click a relay that toggles one off and the other on when one is pressed. It's a pretty old amp!

 

Find out the impedance of the speakers you plan to use.

If we assume that the amp is designed to drive 8-ohm speakers and all of your speakers are also 8-ohm you can match the speakers to the amp by connecting four speakers in series-parallel combination.

 

Your owner's manual may address your question and offer a technique to do what you want. My receiver manual does.

 

And of course, if the amp can drive 4-ohm speakers, put two 8-ohm speakers in parallel.
If the amp can drive 16-ohm speakers, put two 8-ohm speakers in series, assuming all your speakers are identical.

 

Unfortunately the owners manual is long gone in 3 house moves over the last 20 years. AFAIK the speakers are 8Ω, I'm just gonna hook them up in parallel, the advice out there is that most 8Ω amps can cope with 4Ω.

 

How many speakers do you have access to? On one channel of a stereo amp rated for 8ohm speakers, I've hooked up four speakers. Two in parallel, in series with another two in parallel. The other channel is hooked up in the same manner.

This was for the hallways of a 25 room haunted house maze.

 

Hello,

What is the brand and type of the amplifier ypu are using?
Perhaps some more info can be found on the internet.

Bertus

 

Yes, the brand and model of the amplifier would help to determine if it is a solid-state amp or tube amp with transformer output.
The impedance matching requirements are somewhat opposite.

 

It's a Pioneer AX 450. Google turns up this - http://www.kijiji.it/annunci/audio-...-ax450-con-telecomando-pari-al-nuovo/25617843

It is old, predates the Web hence not a lot on line but I am pretty sure it not a valve (tube) amp.

Thanks for all the input.