UNSURE how to do this... IF I even can. (1 Viewer)

[audio dummy]

Ok, so last night while playing guitar hero for some unknown reason, the disc trays in my dvd/htib system goes out and naturally, being the sound snob that I am, I race to replace it today. I purchased the Panasonic SC-BTT273 Blue ray player. Funny thing was, all the guy at the store that I bought it at wanted back, was the actual broken part from the last system!! so all he took was the main unit to my last HTiB!!! So I have my man cave wired for sound, still and no main unit. So I come home with a new main unit and 5 MORE speakers!!! That in the mind of any righteous being with testicles, HAVE to ALL get hooked up. Why am I here? I am VERY ignorant when it comes to Ohms and Impedance and such, and want to know what all you professionals think. I've read so far here about the possibility of wiring speakers in "Series" or in "parallel" which I have NO idea whatsoever means. Is there anyone that can explain this to me or point me in the direction of a schematic or illustration? My intentions are to run two speakers per channel instead of just one speaker so the effects of the surround sound can still be heard. so there would be 2 subs hooked up to the rear of the unit where it says "sub", there would be 2 Front left speakers being fed from the back of the unit where it says "Front left" etc... Will I burn my new unit and make it blow up? Will I hate the sound? Can I pull it off? I thank you all in advance for helping out which ever way you can! Long live sound!! -Al "No music... no life" here are the pertinent tech specs to the new unit: Digital Noise ReductionYes 1080/24p Playback 3Yes Audio D/A Converter192kHz/24bit 96kHz Surround 5 Re-MasterYes Digital Tube SoundYes High Clarity SoundYes Power SupplyAC 120V, 60Hz Output Channel5.1ch Output Power - Home Theater Mode (RMS)Total Power: 1000W Front: 160W x 2 (1kHz, 3ohms, 10% THD) Center: 160W (1kHz, 3ohms, 10% THD) Surround: 160W x 2 (1kHz, 3ohms, 10% THD) Subwoofer: 200W (100Hz, 3ohms, 10% THD) Output Power - Home Theater Mode (FTC)Total Power: 430W Front: 60W x 2 (120Hz-20kHz, 3ohms, 1% THD) Center: 90W (120Hz-20kHz, 3ohms, 1% THD) Surround: 60W x 2 (120Hz-20kHz, 3ohms, 1% THD) Subwoofer: 100W (45Hz-120Hz, 3ohms, 1% THD) SD Memory Card (SDHC/SDXC)JPEG / MPO / MPEG2 / AVCHD Cinema Surround PlusYes Dolby® Digital Decoder / Dolby® Pro Logic® IIYes Digital Music Connection for iPod/iPhoneYes Clear Sound Digital AmplifierYes 7.1ch Virtual Sound Effect with 5.1chYes Whisper-mode SurroundYes EQ (Flat/Heavy/Clear/Soft)Yes Center FocusYes Subwoofer LevelYes H.BassYes Easy SetupYes Selectable Speaker LayoutYes (Normal/Front Layout) Universal Dock for iPod/iPhoneYes (Integrated) iPod / iPhone Playback (Music / Video / Photo)Yes iPod/ iPhone Full Title List on Screen Display for Music & Video ContentsYes Front Configuration1 way 1 speaker, Bass-ref. Front Speaker UnitFull Range: 2-1/2 Cone Type Center Configuration1 way 1 speaker, Bass-ref. Center Speaker UnitFull Range: 2-1/2 Cone Type Surround Configuration1 way 1 speaker, Bass-ref. Surround Speaker UnitFull Range: 2-1/2 Cone Type Subwoofer Configuration1 way 1 speaker, Bass-ref Subwoofer Speaker UnitWoofer: 6-1/2" Cone Type Normal Use Power Consumption [Approx.] (Main Unit)85W Standby Power Consumption [Approx.] (Main Unit)0.4W Digital Synthesizer TunerYes

 

[Al.Anderson]

My intentions are to run two speakers per channel instead of just one speaker so the effects of the surround sound can still be heard.

Your question confuses me, mostly as to your purpose. So let me ask you back, if you have a 5.1 receiver and 5 speakers and a sub - why are you trying to hook anything up unusually? I can give generic responses though. If you are using powered subs, using two of them connected to the receiver is not a problem. Because they are self powered there's no impedance issue; just use a cable splitter and you're home free. Connecting speakers in parallel means doing the easy/obvious and hooking two (or more) speakers up to a single terminal pair. Doing that reduces the impedance seen by the receiver and could damage the receiver (or more likely, just shut it down). Connecting speakers in series is accomplished by stringing the signal along one path (Rcv+ to Spk1+, Spk1- to Spk2+, Spk2- to Rcvr-). That eliminates harm to your receiver, but reduces how loud it will play.

 

[Jason Charlton]

"More" speakers is NOT better - especially when you're talking about combining TWO sets of speakers from DIFFERENT HTiB systems.


HTiB speakers are never very good speakers. It's a misconception to think that using TWO bad speakers will somehow, magically, produce BETTER sound. Get a set of QUALITY speakers if you want good sound. The only bummer part is that the Panasonic system won't work with quality speakers. You need a REAL A/V Receiver at the heart of your system to use quality speakers.


I won't get into the impedance issues - Al pretty much covered the basics - bottom line is, DON'T do it.


Of course, if you DO decide to do it, and blow the Panasonic unit, maybe you can return it, get another system, then have FIFTEEN speakers and THREE subwoofers to hook up to the next one...

 

[audio dummy]

15 speakers? Thats a great idea!!! pssft! Yeah ok. Thanks for explaining the series Al. it makes sense. Two questions: How much volume are you sacrificing by hooking up a second speaker to the channel? Will the subs not have a nice deep base any more if I hook them up in series? I'm thinking I should just get an amplifier.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I'll echo the "more speakers is not better" mantra and tell you to E-bay the extra speakers and buy a Blu-ray . . . disk, because that's about what they are worth.

 

[Robert_J]

How much volume are you sacrificing by hooking up a second speaker to the channel?

You are cutting your power in half as well as dividing that by 2 speakers. So each gets about 1/4 the potential power.

Will the subs not have a nice deep base any more if I hook them up in series?

Series wiring only impacts power, not response. But using 2 different subs in the same room can have negative impacts if they are not integrated correctly. Finally, if they are both from a HTiB, chances are neither has "nice deep" bass.

I'm thinking I should just get an amplifier.

If you are stepping up to amps, why use cheap speakers?