Newb speaker questions! Thanks for help!

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Hey guys still an amateur at some of the technical stuff but really like experimenting and have a very highly developped ear for quality sound and music... always optimizing my setup...

So basically I have several amps that make up my setup, on my sound card the "front" channel is plugged into a woofer amp that drives two car woofers in their cases, and a 2.1 Logitech setup which does quite well to my taste.

In the rear channel of my sound card I'm running a vintage TECHNICS AMP SA-222...and this is where my questions rely mostly.

My current setup on the TECHNICS AMP :
Channel A:
2 x Sony 3way 200W 8ohm Tower speakers IN PARALLEL with 2x JVC 3 way 6ohm speakers ( I know this causes the impedance to drop but I run the amp at medium-low volumes and experience no trouble with this as up to atleast a year or so, the two sony speakers used to be some cheaper low end speakers with the same connection but the sound with the upgrade from these SONYs has really improved the sound overall.

Channel B : Just above my head are suspended 2 recycled tweeters from an old home theater that have their internal crossovers (4ohm each)

Everything seems to sound well I just want to some help on clarifying exactly what could be wrong with this "setup" I know this can be "bad" for the amp I've seen amps die from under impedance loading at higher volumes

But my questions are:

What happens to the sound when you put different types of speakers in series? (From what I can understand if you put a crossovered speaker in series it cuts bass on the next if you see where I am coming from) so do different types of speakers in series (example my JVC and a Sony tower) will one or both of them "change" each other's sounds by sharing the output from the last? This is why I put my two tweeters on channel B to prevent this, do Channel A and B "see each other" or are they completely separated?

Last question : In my current setup in parallel should all speakers be playing at the same "volume" since voltage is the same everywhere in parallel? (Smaller impedance draining more power to output the same volume?)

Thanks a lot guys!
 
Hey guys still an amateur at some of the technical stuff but really like experimenting and have a very highly developped ear for quality sound and music... always optimizing my setup...

So basically I have several amps that make up my setup, on my sound card the "front" channel is plugged into a woofer amp that drives two car woofers in their cases, and a 2.1 Logitech setup which does quite well to my taste.

In the rear channel of my sound card I'm running a vintage TECHNICS AMP SA-222...and this is where my questions rely mostly.

My current setup on the TECHNICS AMP :
Channel A:
2 x Sony 3way 200W 8ohm Tower speakers IN PARALLEL with 2x JVC 3 way 6ohm speakers ( I know this causes the impedance to drop but I run the amp at medium-low volumes and experience no trouble with this as up to atleast a year or so, the two sony speakers used to be some cheaper low end speakers with the same connection but the sound with the upgrade from these SONYs has really improved the sound overall.

Channel B : Just above my head are suspended 2 recycled tweeters from an old home theater that have their internal crossovers (4ohm each)

Everything seems to sound well I just want to some help on clarifying exactly what could be wrong with this "setup" I know this can be "bad" for the amp I've seen amps die from under impedance loading at higher volumes

But my questions are:

What happens to the sound when you put different types of speakers in series? (From what I can understand if you put a crossover ed speaker in series it cuts bass on the next if you see where I am coming from) so do different types of speakers in series (example my JVC and a Sony tower) will one or both of them "change" each others sounds by sharing the output from the last? This is why I put my two tweeters on channel B to prevent this, do Channel A and B "see each other" or are they completely separated?

Last question : In my current setup in parallel should all speakers be playing at the same "volume" since voltage is the same everywhere in parallel? (Smaller impedance draining more power to output the same volume?)

Thanks a lot guys!

Hello

I can't say what different impedance will do to the tone of the sound (if anything) but I can tell you that if you were to connect an 8 ohm and a 6 ohm speaker to an amplifier, that 6 ohm will hog more power being at a lower impedance and thus easier path for electricity to flow to put it simply.

I know you already acknowledged this but I'll remind you that a 6ohm and 8 ohm load in parallel will represent a 3 ohm load to the amplifier, lower than most HT receivers and home audio equipment will withstand for long.

Please follow any advice I offer to you at your own risk and at your own discretion as well as only if you are competent to do it safely.

One tip would be that if you must run this amplifier like this (or torture it should I say) then keep an eye on it and make sure you power it off if it gets too hot, as most will when faced with such a low impedance load. Remember that failure because of low impedance loads is not necessarily made more or less probable by volume levels.

And to answer your second question, no, the lower impedance speakers should be playing louder as they are receiving more power just like if you had a 10 ohm resistor and 30ohm resistor in parallel on a voltage source, the 10ohm would consume more power.
 
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re:"the lower impedance speakers should be playing louder " - this is assuming equal sensitivity....
This setup seems like it would be setting up lots of chances for comb filtering problems; Unless you Really like the sound, I'd simplify it by cutting it back to the single pair of speakers you like best... or buying better ones...
 
In reply "TheTubeAmper" I would say I've been watching the amp for over a year but it never really gets "constant" use I play music for maybe an hour or two while I use the computer and then it gets several hours of rest. I've never seen it get very hot but one thing to note is that it never gets on a volume higher than 2/10 most of the signal gets modified at the source (The computer) and being that it's about 20 years old I'm not too worried if it does die I'm just trying to understand from your knowledge if I'm losing sound quality through this setup.

In reply to PeteMcK : Spot on with the sensivity thats a good remark. Would you mind explaining to an amateur the essence of "comb filtering problems" and the reason why I am enjoying the current speaker setup is that they are arranged in a circular array behind me two left two right giving a very nice sound presence in gaming and video watching.

Thanks for your advice?

PS. When you say simplifiy it to those I like best that would be easy I'd go with my SONY's but would I benefit from a cleaner sound by simplifiying my setup or would that not change anything.
 
Well I've always had a similar setup always thought having more speakers surrounding me was giving me a more ambiophonic experience it never came to my attention that this could cause other issues other than heating up the AMP..

I will try it , but it will probably require more observation to cancel out the fact I will probably feel like the sound is no longer surrounding me, but focusing on the quality of what I hear will be the key..

Thanks for your advice greatly appreciated.
 
What happens to the sound when you put different types of speakers in series? (From what I can understand if you put a crossovered speaker in series it cuts bass on the next if you see where I am coming from) so do different types of speakers in series (example my JVC and a Sony tower) will one or both of them "change" each other's sounds by sharing the output from the last? This is why I put my two tweeters on channel B to prevent this, do Channel A and B "see each other" or are they completely separated?

Last question : In my current setup in parallel should all speakers be playing at the same "volume" since voltage is the same everywhere in parallel? (Smaller impedance draining more power to output the same volume?)

Do not use Sony and JVC in series, you will get uneven frequency response and bad sound quality (unnatural sound).
DO NOT use additional tweeters on channel B, you are not preventing anything. Channels A and B are internally paralleled inside the Technics, with additional tweeters on channel B you have too low impedance and too much high tones volume.
In the parallel setup more volume comes from the more sensitive speakers, smaller JVC impedance does not guarantee more sensitivity. Check the sensitivity in the both loudspeaker's manuals.
As I understand, you are using 4 loudspeakers on the back surround channels. It is too much, back surround channels are designed for 2 loudspeakers only (assuming 5.1 surround), you will not get more ambiance with more speakers. The same for two-channel stereo.
Agreed wit PeteMcK, simplify the setup. Use Sony or JVC, not both.
 
I am happy you confirm my suspicion that a series setup would not be beneficial I want to rectify what I meant by ambiophonic, I did not intend to say that it would enhance the surround effect, I was mostly aiming that I have no " Dead spots" as there is sound all around me.

Can you define : Too many high tone volumes? Thanks

Tell me, my Sony D511 amp states that it runs channel A and B in series whats the main difference in this conception?


Also if I want to continue using my tweeters could a separate smaller amp do the trick? When splitting multiple 1/8 jacks into multiple RCA outputs for the amps whats the cleanest way to split output with minimal loss? Right now I have multiple Y jacks splitting the source and very faint noise can be heard when nothing is playing... is there a more professional way to split signal in a cleaner way? Because this computer is basically the source for different amps in several rooms in the house the setup works and is relatively functional but I would still prefer to optimize sound quality.

Thanks a lot guys really thrilling to improve my setup with your advice
 
Can you define : Too many high tone volumes? Thanks

Tell me, my Sony D511 amp states that it runs channel A and B in series whats the main difference in this conception?

Also if I want to continue using my tweeters could a separate smaller amp do the trick?

When splitting multiple 1/8 jacks into multiple RCA outputs for the amps whats the cleanest way to split output with minimal loss? Right now I have multiple Y jacks splitting the source and very faint noise can be heard when nothing is playing... is there a more professional way to split signal in a cleaner way?
Sorry for my english... Separate tweeters will increase volume at high frequencies above 3 kHz (assuming that it is the crossover frequency), high notes will be too loud.
Please post link for Sony D511 amp. All I can get on Google for SonyD511 is cheap 5.1 PC speakers set Archived SRS-D511 : 2.1ch Speakers : Multimedia Speakers : Sony Indonesia with no A and B channels. I doubt that any amp has provision for serial connection of channels A and B. Please check the amp manual.
There are electronic audio splitters, but Y splitters should be fine, with no noise.
 
With a little imagination, behind me are lined in a D shape, my 4 speakers the two smaller JVC 3 ways are mounted closest to me one on each far direction and between them further are the two 3 way sony Towers.

Just above my head (Low cieiling) are my two tweeters which add much high tone detail...


I realize to many's eyes this is probably no good to the amp but what I'm trying to understand is if I remove this "spread out sound" I seem to "enjoy" and simplify the system de only two, SHOULD quality of sound improve, should I even see a difference?

If I DO simplify the setup I then become "torn" between two amps

my Technics SA-222 and my Sony on it's original sony speakers...
 
To my surprise, channels A and B on Sony STR D511 indeed are serialy wired, according to page 11 from Sony manual. It would be the first, AFAIK. However, it works only for identical loudspeakers, and that is not your case.
It confuses me - if you are playing surround movies and games, why not use Sony STR D511 in surround mode, with Sony loudspeakers as front L and R and with JVC loudspeakers as rear L and R? Than the impedance will not be the issue (forget the additional tweeters for the moment). And now, do forget the additional tweeters, please.
Four rear loudspeakers in 5.1 setup are too much, with only two you can get all the sound presence and surrounding you will ever need.
 
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I have my soundcard in quadraphonic mode anyway... but your idea for the sony is exactly what I am doing with it in another room two panasonic loud speakers and the rears on some small home cinema speakers! Indeed I had never seen channels in series on an amp up to now and yes I did read that in the manual because at first it puzzled me why all sound would cut when both A and B were activated with only two speakers. I did experiment mixing loudspeakers on this AmP and it does suck. One thing to note also is that its "surround" feature only works on channel A... I am considering getting another similar amp like this and making it my only amp with the setup you just proposed.

What I hAte about this type of surround is that the rear only plays ambiant sounds and I find it a waste of my loudspeaker capability

Another thing is since my sound card already manages front and rear I'm not sure how I could accomodate this onto one input for the sony Amp as it would only mimick a fake surround off the front channel unless turning the soundcard to 2 speaker setup will still allow the amp to decode true surround as in sounds from the rear on games would really be there...
 
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