Increase total Speaker Impedance Question

So in short, there's no way to rectify my current situation with a resistor.

No, we haven't said that. Despite all the potential issues we've cited, using the resistor with the paralleled speakers could conceivably still result in acceptable sonics, and as Bill indicated it does seem to be worth trying.

Is there possible to redesign a 4 way crossover so that the speakers can be wired as a series or series-parallel?

Not sure exactly what this means, but I think you had indicated that all of the speakers that would be used in each channel were different designs, so connecting any two of them in series is unlikely to result in good sonics.

Or, as a last resort, to use separate amplifiers for each channel.....

If you mean using separate amplifiers for each speaker, or perhaps for each parallel combination of two speakers, yes, you could of course do that, as Czarivey indicated earlier. You'd have to make sure that whatever is driving the multiple amplifiers, such as a preamp, or pre-out connections of the receiver if it provides them, would have a low enough output impedance to be able to properly drive the combined (paralleled) input impedances of the amps. Although with most solid state preamps that is unlikely to be a problem.

Regards,
-- Al

Hi Al and Bill,

Thanks again for all your inputs. Once the resistors arrive, I'll let you know how it goes.

A challenge with using multiple amps for a speaker is that the pre-out connection on the pre-amp cannot be split. If I use a splitter, i.e. a Y analogue splitter, the sound becomes super muddy and awkward. I would need a device that has a single channel input but have several binding posts.

Thanks!
Ryan

I'm thinking something like the Henry Engineering PatchBox II Stereo Output Multiplier may work. It's got a balanced input with multiple balanced and unbalanced outputs. If that works it actually solves all the problems.

Look up Speltz Zero Autoformer. It's like a gearbox for your system, allowing you to step down the amp output impedance (or step up the speaker input impedance, depending on your viewpoint) without wasting all that power as heat.

Hi Bill and Al,

I would like to thank you for all your invaluable inputs. After thorough testing, I cannot tell a difference (besides loudness) between using a 3 ohm resistor vs splitting the speakers (tri-wiring). Therefore, I would like to say the idea of adding a resistor is a success. Although like you said, there maybe theoretical sonic differences, such difference is probably too small at this level to be perceived by my ears. As I don't have such good ears, I will settle with a resistor in the middle. Again, Thanks for everyone's great inputs.

Ait, thanks for letting me know the Speltz Zero Autoformer as I never knew such stuff exists. However, at $1140 a pair, I am happy to settle with a $26 pair of US-made resistors. When my boss gives me a raise in the future, I'll definitely consider them : )

Thanks,
Ryan