4 speakers, 2 channel amp


Newbie question that I think I already know the answer to. I feel I need to ask anyway.......

I have a McIntosh MC2200 amp that can put out 200 WPC at 8 ohms. Can I safely at low volume hook four speakers to this amp, two at the four ohm tap and the other two at eight ohms?

Speakers are lower end Paradigms that sound better at four ohms. I love the sound of speakers both in front of and behind me. The newbie in me says that as long as I don't exceed 200 watts of total output, the amp will tolerate this. Is that wrong?

BTW this would be a temporary setup until I can afford a second amp.
brad34695
I wouldn't do it. You will get considerable drops in impedance that could be catastrophic. You can get an impedance matching transformer that will allow for multiple pairs of speakers without jeopardizing the amp.

My opinion-the speakers don't sound better at 4 ohms, you like the sound of the amp better when it is running at 4 ohms.
Looking at the specs for the MC-2200 I found here:

http://audio-database.com/MCINTOSH/amp/mc2200-e.html

I think you would have no problem. The amp is stable into a
1ohm load, (a 1ohm rating is listed anyway). If the
Paradigm speakers are 8 ohms each, running them in parallel,
the amp would see a 4 ohm per channel load...no problem.

Even if the Paradigms are 4 ohm speakers, the amp would see
a 2 ohm load, still shouldn't be a problem, if the specs are
correct. What model of Paradigm speakers do you have.
Maybe check to see what the actual impedance is.

Also, the wattage really isn't the concern with the amp,
it's the impedance it can handle/drive safely. The MC-2200
seems to be a beefy amp with pretty high current
capabilities. It even has a "power guarding
system" that should protect the amp and speakers.
You can try to wire the speakers in series to be safe. That doubles the impedance of your speakers.
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