2. tech-talk
  3. 1330473917

Speaker Wiring

I'm finally wiring my kitchen speakers in. My amp (Creek 4330 - 40W into 8 Ohms) only has one set of speaker outputs. There is a tape in and out by RCA connections. Because of the distance I'm running 10ga wires to the kitchen. I'm not sure I can find RCA connectors that will support that wire size. Should I just pair the speakers in the living room with the kitchen in parallel? Should I splice in some smaller gauge wire between the RCA/phono plugs and the speaker leads? If I do it all off of the same connectors there will be 3 speakers on each side, 1 in the living room JBL micron carat (4 Ohms), and 2 Energy V1.0 CM(8 Ohms nom 4 min). Also, I'm not sure what the nominal vs. minimum resistance on the Energy speakers means in terms of loudness. If the speakers really are 4 and 8 ohms then the 4 ohm speakers will be twice as loud right?
jetson
jetson OP
140 posts
 
Thanks, I think I understood. Sorry about the error re: JM Lab vs. JBL but yes, they're JM Labs Micron Carats.

I do want to play all simultaneously so I'll leave the JM Lab's directly connected to the Creek, purchase a separate power amplifier and drive the Energy speakers in series from that.

Any budget conscious recommendations?
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
If you have active speakers you can wire them from RCA tape outputs.
jetson OP
140 posts
 
Thanks Marakanetz but they're not active.
almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Any budget conscious recommendations?
The AudioSource AMP-100 looks interesting, for a very low price, although I have no particular familiarity with it. It includes a volume control, which would allow you to adjust the relationship between the volume of the speakers it is powering and the volume of the other speaker. Here are links to the manual and manufacturer's description.
... purchase a separate power amplifier and drive the Energy speakers in series from that.
That amp is rated to drive 4 ohms, corresponding to two 8 ohm speakers in parallel. It's hard to predict how well it would handle driving the two Energy speakers in parallel, in part because the range of frequencies at which they dip to their 4 ohm minimum (which would be 2 ohms for the parallel combination) is not specified. It might be worth trying the parallel connection, though. A series connection would in effect convert the 50 watt amp into approximately a 12.5 watt amp as far as each speaker is concerned, since each speaker would see only half of the voltage the amp is supplying (1/2 voltage = 1/4 power). The amp is rated to supply 61 watts into 4 ohms, or 30.5 watts into each of the speakers if they are paralleled.

If you try the parallel connection, listen for signs of distortion on musical peaks, especially on drum beats and other high volume bass notes.

Regards,
-- Al
jetson OP
140 posts
 
Thanks Al.

The kitchen speakers are already wired in parallel, and that's not changing without my opening up the ceiling (not happening).

Since it's kitchen the volume "probably" won't be going too high - but you never know. Should I just go with the Audio Source AMP 102?
More to discover