I've search high and low for answers and mostly just got more confused. I finally decided to just make an account and ask it myself. So... Hello everyone!
Let's say I matched the number value for impedance all around with a 3 way crossover and 3 speakers. So, one 4 ohm woofer, one 4 ohm mid range, and one 4 ohm tweeter all wired to a 4 ohm 3 way crossover. Will that act as 3 speakers wired in parallel and produce a load of 2 ohms on the input for the crossover?
My actual intentions are to wire two 8 ohm woofers in parallel, two 8 ohm mids in parallel, and two 8 ohm tweeters in parallel to a single 3 way crossover. Will that result in a 4 ohm or 1.3 repeating ohm load on the input of the crossover?
I already have the six 8 ohm speakers, I need a crossover and my radio is 4 ohms.
I know I can use everything as is because ohm ratings are a minimum so the 8 ohm speakers won't damage my radio. But, I'm using a car stereo and a pc power supply as my radio so I only have 50 watts per channel that I want to make the best of. The 8 ohm speakers I have are low power/quality and this radio should be plenty for them even if they're all all wired up in parallel.
Any help will be very much appreciated!
Let's say I matched the number value for impedance all around with a 3 way crossover and 3 speakers. So, one 4 ohm woofer, one 4 ohm mid range, and one 4 ohm tweeter all wired to a 4 ohm 3 way crossover. Will that act as 3 speakers wired in parallel and produce a load of 2 ohms on the input for the crossover?
My actual intentions are to wire two 8 ohm woofers in parallel, two 8 ohm mids in parallel, and two 8 ohm tweeters in parallel to a single 3 way crossover. Will that result in a 4 ohm or 1.3 repeating ohm load on the input of the crossover?
I already have the six 8 ohm speakers, I need a crossover and my radio is 4 ohms.
I know I can use everything as is because ohm ratings are a minimum so the 8 ohm speakers won't damage my radio. But, I'm using a car stereo and a pc power supply as my radio so I only have 50 watts per channel that I want to make the best of. The 8 ohm speakers I have are low power/quality and this radio should be plenty for them even if they're all all wired up in parallel.
Any help will be very much appreciated!
Welcome to the forum. This is a frequently asked question.
No, your amp will not see a load that is the parallel of all the speakers. The load will be approximately the load of each driver in each section.
So if your woofer, mid and tweeter are all 8 ohms, that will be the impedance. If the are all 4 ohm, then that will be the impedance. If you put a 4 ohm woofer with 8 ohm mid and tweeter, then the bass would be 4 ohm, the mids and high 8 ohm.
No, your amp will not see a load that is the parallel of all the speakers. The load will be approximately the load of each driver in each section.
So if your woofer, mid and tweeter are all 8 ohms, that will be the impedance. If the are all 4 ohm, then that will be the impedance. If you put a 4 ohm woofer with 8 ohm mid and tweeter, then the bass would be 4 ohm, the mids and high 8 ohm.
Thank you, I feel very welcome! From what I understand about crossovers, and what you said, I could get more out of my speakers by wiring some at 4 ohms and some at 8 ohms. I believe the woofers I have can handle 4 ohms at higher decibels than my mids and tweeters without clipping or distortion. Do you think it would be a noticeable difference to do that? And if I have two 8 ohm loads, and one 4 ohm load on a crossover, what will the load on the input be?
^
Aside from that...
1) it's better tò AIM for a 8 ohm load, as amplifiers like them Better
2) it's better tò reduce the Number of 'voices' instead of multiplying them, and this Is obbligatory as the frequency rises, because of the interference of two sources.So only One tweeter (or not...see Allison Four)
3) all makes sense when viewed in stereo as everything doubles!!
Aside from that...
1) it's better tò AIM for a 8 ohm load, as amplifiers like them Better
2) it's better tò reduce the Number of 'voices' instead of multiplying them, and this Is obbligatory as the frequency rises, because of the interference of two sources.So only One tweeter (or not...see Allison Four)
3) all makes sense when viewed in stereo as everything doubles!!
Thanks Picowallspeaker! Unfortunately the pc power supply I'm using doesn't have nearly enough amps to power my car stereo and and amplifier. I was thinking a 4 ohm tweeter would perform better with a 4 ohm radio. And since I only have 8 ohm tweeters, I figured I would wire two of them in parallel to make 4 ohms. What would be better, a single 4 ohm tweeter, or a single 8 ohm tweeter if the radio is 4 ohms? And it's only 50 watts per channel but I do plan on cranking the volume up high!
I'm thinking I'll stick with a single tweeter to avoid the interference you mentioned, unless you think I could overcome that by cutting one of the tweeter frequencies a little earlier with one of those in-line lpfs like the "bass blockers"?
I'm thinking I'll stick with a single tweeter to avoid the interference you mentioned, unless you think I could overcome that by cutting one of the tweeter frequencies a little earlier with one of those in-line lpfs like the "bass blockers"?
It's only 50 W ...and It will make you deaf!
I mean...
I know that car audio (and Smps supplies) are a bit different from Classic home stereo systems that we studied.
Amplifier's Power derives from current and voltage, and with low voltage (15 V) you get lo Power. A higher swing Is obtained with BTL (external amplifiers for car audio use Smps for.having a real amplifier with dual suppliy).
Or reduce the load reslstance, which increases current and temperature, thus leading Power transistors tò distort.
That's why they like higher Z loads
I mean...
I know that car audio (and Smps supplies) are a bit different from Classic home stereo systems that we studied.
Amplifier's Power derives from current and voltage, and with low voltage (15 V) you get lo Power. A higher swing Is obtained with BTL (external amplifiers for car audio use Smps for.having a real amplifier with dual suppliy).
Or reduce the load reslstance, which increases current and temperature, thus leading Power transistors tò distort.
That's why they like higher Z loads
Allen B, I don't really know where to begin when it comes to sensitivity. A quick google search makes me think I could add a port to the box the woofers are in now, but I'm planning on making a new box if I can figure out how to employ a crossover correctly with the speakers I described.
The current box situation for the 6 speakers I have are 2 woofers in a single cabinet, that someone previously removed the X over components and tweeters from and cut a hole for a second 12" speaker. (so the woofers sound pretty terrible with a full range being sent to them full time) And the rest are currently in two bookshelf speakers with one mid and one tweeter each. Everything is particle board and the woofer cabinet has swelling from water damage around the base.
Needless to say my speakers are lacking in the sensitivity category. My intentions are to use an X over to put all of the speakers in one box, sort of like a center channel.
Most of what I read about sensitivity seems like it only applies to loudspeakers. Or it seems like it only applies to whoever originally made the speaker and it's too late for me to do anything about...
The current box situation for the 6 speakers I have are 2 woofers in a single cabinet, that someone previously removed the X over components and tweeters from and cut a hole for a second 12" speaker. (so the woofers sound pretty terrible with a full range being sent to them full time) And the rest are currently in two bookshelf speakers with one mid and one tweeter each. Everything is particle board and the woofer cabinet has swelling from water damage around the base.
Needless to say my speakers are lacking in the sensitivity category. My intentions are to use an X over to put all of the speakers in one box, sort of like a center channel.
Most of what I read about sensitivity seems like it only applies to loudspeakers. Or it seems like it only applies to whoever originally made the speaker and it's too late for me to do anything about...
Picowallspeaker, I fully understand what you're saying, and I've learned all of the acronyms you've used. I just can't decipher what you're actually trying to tell me. Blame it on American Public School or blame it on myself, but this is the first I'm hearing most of this. It's hard for me to understand how a lot of theses things and ideas actually relate to each other.
Either I'm overthinking this, or you're just simply trying to tell me my radio would prefer speakers with higher Z loads?
Either I'm overthinking this, or you're just simply trying to tell me my radio would prefer speakers with higher Z loads?
well, since sensitivity is a number which results from a measurement, exactly is the pressure ( in deciBels) in front of a speaker ( 1 m) which is fed with a tone at 2.83 V, and you get something between 75 and 108 dB! No, to be fair, there are almost homogeneus classes of sensitivity in speakers, and can be distinguished in low-medium-high ! The very low sensitivity pertains to very small speakers ( yes: the membrane area is directly engaged in the sensitivity value) so not very useful to us. It becomes acceptable from the mid 80 dEciBels, since most 4-5 " are in that league. 10" woofers are around 90 dB/W/m BUT you'll find subwoofers that are 80 dB...why?!
The tweeters...different structure and mass, so even small domes can vary from 87 to 90 dB. Different league are the compression drivers.
So the whole speaker design is involved, and there's a strict relation between mass, friction of the parts, magnetic forces...
The tweeters...different structure and mass, so even small domes can vary from 87 to 90 dB. Different league are the compression drivers.
So the whole speaker design is involved, and there's a strict relation between mass, friction of the parts, magnetic forces...
This for respecting the standard, since 2.83 V is the voltage needed to obtain 1 W with a 8Ω load. When measuring a 4 Ω, 2 V( and zero something) are needed. This might answer part of your question
I'm going to need some time to soak some of this stuff in, and I'll keep doing independent research. I'm really intrigued by the idea of maximizing speaker efficiency and sensitivity now!
On a side note, I just picked up an Infinity Studio Monitor 100 for $20 off of a guy on Facebook that will either need a new surround or a replacement woofer.
On a side note, I just picked up an Infinity Studio Monitor 100 for $20 off of a guy on Facebook that will either need a new surround or a replacement woofer.
Infinity Studio Monitor 100?! Similar tò Altec mod Three and Avid...
Much discussed around here & everywhere, the theme of big woofers & a tweeter Is history. Much preferred are small speakers with much elaborated XOs, since the reflected part of the incoming sound on the surface of the cabinet Is important.
It's accepted tò use a tweeter with a waveguide tò overcome the issue of the rising directivity of the woofer with frequency.
Many around here(well, few...) use big compression drivers with very low XO since those can withstand higher power- at home!
About the Infinity Studio Monitors, I'd favour a new woofer! I'd resize It tò a 6" and make a new baffle ( tò glue onto the old one)...in this case make the tweeter aligned.
bringing the tweeter on axys with the woofer is s good but negates the original design: it's well known that an offset position of a source in the baffle generates different diffraction patterns...so that's why small speakers are the solution, they Simply Avoid the problem.
Thus achieving the less contribution of the cabinet tò the sound - and adopting materials that are more suited tò make a soundproof cabinet than wood
Then...tò put It in a room.
now you tell me you want to make a boom box with all your hardware...
Much discussed around here & everywhere, the theme of big woofers & a tweeter Is history. Much preferred are small speakers with much elaborated XOs, since the reflected part of the incoming sound on the surface of the cabinet Is important.
It's accepted tò use a tweeter with a waveguide tò overcome the issue of the rising directivity of the woofer with frequency.
Many around here(well, few...) use big compression drivers with very low XO since those can withstand higher power- at home!
About the Infinity Studio Monitors, I'd favour a new woofer! I'd resize It tò a 6" and make a new baffle ( tò glue onto the old one)...in this case make the tweeter aligned.
bringing the tweeter on axys with the woofer is s good but negates the original design: it's well known that an offset position of a source in the baffle generates different diffraction patterns...so that's why small speakers are the solution, they Simply Avoid the problem.
Thus achieving the less contribution of the cabinet tò the sound - and adopting materials that are more suited tò make a soundproof cabinet than wood
Then...tò put It in a room.
now you tell me you want to make a boom box with all your hardware...
I'll be leaving town tomorrow for a 9 day gun deer season. Depending on our success we may follow that up with the 10 day muzzle loader season. So I'm putting my projects on hold for a while.
I'm not sure what my plan for the SM100 is yet. I found a re-foam kit on ebay with a dust cap that has the original matching infinity logo. So I'm thinking that one way or the other I'll try my hand at re-foaming the woofer. The business man in me want's to just fix it and try to sell it for a profit. But I'm not sure what kind of market there would be for it now.
Picowallspeaker, It's really interesting what you say you would do with the SM100. Do people actually do that stuff? I mean cut up old cabinets and change them so drastically? And what doe you mean by adopting materials other than wood? Are people out there 3D printing speaker cabinets or something?
Already I feel like the more I learn about this stuff, the more I realize how much more I still need to learn. And it's really intimidating. Anyway, I appreciate you guys helping me so much!
Also, I'll add that although I played with a bit of this stuff as a kid, I really didn't get my feet wet until I grew up and got into the car audio scene. Where people run big subwoofers at 1ohm. So it's odd to hear things like "people prefer smaller speakers" or "amplifiers like 8 ohms better".
I'm not sure what my plan for the SM100 is yet. I found a re-foam kit on ebay with a dust cap that has the original matching infinity logo. So I'm thinking that one way or the other I'll try my hand at re-foaming the woofer. The business man in me want's to just fix it and try to sell it for a profit. But I'm not sure what kind of market there would be for it now.
Picowallspeaker, It's really interesting what you say you would do with the SM100. Do people actually do that stuff? I mean cut up old cabinets and change them so drastically? And what doe you mean by adopting materials other than wood? Are people out there 3D printing speaker cabinets or something?
Ha ha! I'm still figuring out what I want to do. Obviously I want to do what's best and within reason. For now, I've decided to just learn a little more.
Already I feel like the more I learn about this stuff, the more I realize how much more I still need to learn. And it's really intimidating. Anyway, I appreciate you guys helping me so much!
Also, I'll add that although I played with a bit of this stuff as a kid, I really didn't get my feet wet until I grew up and got into the car audio scene. Where people run big subwoofers at 1ohm. So it's odd to hear things like "people prefer smaller speakers" or "amplifiers like 8 ohms better".