I have had two bridged 555s since 1989 into 4 speakers. Is it safe to buy a one into two splitter for the left and right outputs on my pre-amp so I could run each amp independently for each pair of speakers?
If you were originally running the speakers in parallel, the proposed arrangement should be much safer.
I apologize for not being sure what running the speakers in parallel means. I do know I hooked them up as per the manual instructed for running two mono- amps. I am wondering if the sound quality would be better and the stress on the amps lessened?
Thank You
The pre-amp is a GFP-555
Keep remembering stuff because its been so long since I set this up. I also have an Adcom GFS-3 speaker selector in place. It has one input that would accept only one amp. I guess if I’m really wanting to separate the two 555s the selector needs to be removed? Is a speaker selector with 2 sets of inputs a possibility?
The switch is going in effect the impedance the amplifier is ‘seeing’. Are you running both pairs of speakers at the same time or switching between them? Lookup series and parallel speaker wiring or an impedance calculator to get your head around the meaning/implications here.
In general a speaker switch is going to be for single input. Some vintage devices ( Crown OC-150, onkyo u30) have a multiple input feature but they pretty rare and nostalgia is expensive. I have considered diying such a device (meters, 2 amp inputs, 4 pair speaker switch).
In general a speaker switch is going to be for single input. Some vintage devices ( Crown OC-150, onkyo u30) have a multiple input feature but they pretty rare and nostalgia is expensive. I have considered diying such a device (meters, 2 amp inputs, 4 pair speaker switch).
My mistake
2 speakers are polk sda 2b so I think they are
6ohm
The other 2 are very old yamaha speakers that I sure are 8ohm
2 speakers are polk sda 2b so I think they are
6ohm
The other 2 are very old yamaha speakers that I sure are 8ohm
A 6 and 8 ohm speaker connected together in parallel would be approx 3.5 ohms,connected to a bridged amplifier it would see this as under 2 ohms. Most would consider this at or below safe impedance for the 555 in mono. This is not considering the switch, it’s configuration can impact impedance. So yes running these in stereo to 1 set of speakers each would be lower stress and safer for the amplifiers.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Does removing the speaker switch and then powering each pair of speakers independently from each amp sound like a better set up? I would be switching the amps switch back to stereo also.
If you have been running this way for 30+ years I think you have to say the 555 can handle this load, that being said it would be safer at 6-8 ohms stereo. I doubt there would be a difference in sound/power but this is subjective.