ProSoundWeb Community

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Pages: [1] 2  All   Go Down

Author Topic: Speaker Wiring Question  (Read 7325 times)

Joe Hicks

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9
Speaker Wiring Question
« on: December 24, 2012, 01:30:08 PM »

Is there a wiring method that I can use to keep three speakers at the same impedance? I see diagrams that show 4 speakers using the series/parallel method that stay at the same impedance but can that be done with three speakers.

Just some insight-- I'm wiring a cluster of three speakers above center stage and want to run all three speakers off of one amp in bridged mono mode (due to budget constraints)

Thanks!
Logged

Patrick Tracy

  • SR Forums
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 513
  • Boulder, CO, USA
    • Boulder Sound Guy
Re: Speaker Wiring Question
« Reply #1 on: December 24, 2012, 02:03:37 PM »

Is there a wiring method that I can use to keep three speakers at the same impedance?

I'm pretty sure the math doesn't allow for that.

Mac Kerr

  • Old enough to know better
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7551
  • Audio Plumber
Re: Speaker Wiring Question
« Reply #2 on: December 24, 2012, 04:55:44 PM »

Is there a wiring method that I can use to keep three speakers at the same impedance? I see diagrams that show 4 speakers using the series/parallel method that stay at the same impedance but can that be done with three speakers.

Just some insight-- I'm wiring a cluster of three speakers above center stage and want to run all three speakers off of one amp in bridged mono mode (due to budget constraints)

Thanks!

No, you can't run 3 speakers as anything but all parallel, or all series. You will probably better off running the outside 2 speakers in parallel on one channel, and the center speaker on the other channel, so you have some control between inside and outside.

Mac
Logged

Rickcperry

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 11
    • Pro Audio Development
Re: Speaker Wiring Question
« Reply #3 on: December 25, 2012, 02:26:50 PM »

Is there a wiring method that I can use to keep three speakers at the same impedance? I see diagrams that show 4 speakers using the series/parallel method that stay at the same impedance but can that be done with three speakers.

Just some insight-- I'm wiring a cluster of three speakers above center stage and want to run all three speakers off of one amp in bridged mono mode (due to budget constraints)

Thanks!

You can run series/parallel with 3 speakers but the series speakers motor assembly will not perform as the parallel ones will. It's complicated to explain but I would simply rather leave the other speaker disconnected than to deal with the lack of performance from the lazy driver.
In car audio you usually see the woofers Parallel as to get the strongest motor assembly available for pumping bass.
On another side of the coin, if the cabs show 8 ohms each, you can parallel them to mono, but not BRIDGED mono. Just like putting 3 wedge monitors on one side of an amp. Everything works good until some wise guy comes along and bridges the amp. Then it's running at 1.3 ohms and by the end of the night, you could fry an egg on the amp. IF it makes it to the end of the night.
Rick
Logged
I cannot teach you how to mix, I can only show you how to use the equipment...

www.rickcperry.com

Joe Hicks

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9
Re: Speaker Wiring Question
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2012, 01:12:39 PM »

No, you can't run 3 speakers as anything but all parallel, or all series. You will probably better off running the outside 2 speakers in parallel on one channel, and the center speaker on the other channel, so you have some control between inside and outside.

Mac
Great idea-- I will probably go this way. But... what does the unequal load (4ohms one channel/8ohms the other) do to my amp? Can it handle it? I'm probably gonna use the QSC RMX series amp (probably a question for the amp manufacturer?)
Logged

Mac Kerr

  • Old enough to know better
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7551
  • Audio Plumber
Re: Speaker Wiring Question
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2012, 01:37:21 PM »

Great idea-- I will probably go this way. But... what does the unequal load (4ohms one channel/8ohms the other) do to my amp? Can it handle it? I'm probably gonna use the QSC RMX series amp (probably a question for the amp manufacturer?)

It is not a problem for the amp at all. Unequal loads are fine.

Mac
Logged

g'bye, Dick Rees

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7424
  • Duluth
Re: Speaker Wiring Question
« Reply #6 on: December 26, 2012, 01:37:39 PM »

Great idea-- I will probably go this way. But... what does the unequal load (4ohms one channel/8ohms the other) do to my amp? Can it handle it? I'm probably gonna use the QSC RMX series amp (probably a question for the amp manufacturer?)

No worries.
Logged
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...

Joe Hicks

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9
Re: Speaker Wiring Question
« Reply #7 on: December 26, 2012, 03:47:01 PM »

Great. Thanks guys.
Logged

Steve Milner

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 143
    • DcSoundOp Audio Blog
Re: Speaker Wiring Question
« Reply #8 on: December 26, 2012, 03:57:57 PM »

Peavey to the rescue...  ;D

Here is Marty McCann's article from 1995 that covers running three center clustered speakers from a single bridged amplifier to cover both near and far-fields. I have a hard copy of this somewhere around here, but apparently someone smart decided to put Marty's old papers onto the inter-webs.

http://www.peavey.com/support/technotes/soundsystems/bridgemode.cfm

Enjoy.

Steve Milner

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 143
    • DcSoundOp Audio Blog
Re: Speaker Wiring Question
« Reply #9 on: December 26, 2012, 04:01:51 PM »

And Marty's drawing that is included in the article, for those who prefer brevity.

ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Speaker Wiring Question
« Reply #9 on: December 26, 2012, 04:01:51 PM »


Pages: [1] 2  All   Go Up
 



Site Hosted By Ashdown Technologies, Inc.

Page created in 0.033 seconds with 25 queries.