Rear Center Speaker (2 or 1) (bipole or direct) (1 Viewer)

[GregBe]

I have read from several posts that connecting two speakers to the rear center is prefered over 1 speaker. I recently upgraded several speakers, so I have some extra speakers to try in the rear surround position. My current surrounds are Bipole. I have 2 bipole speakers or 1 direct radiating speaker that are extra and available for my rear center. The two bipoles are smaller than my current surround bipoles, but my direct radiating is of similar driver size. All are from the same manufacturer and line. My Onkyo 600 receiver manual states that I should never connect 2 speakers to one speaker terminal because it may damage the amp. The 600 can take down to a 6 ohm speaker (all speakers involved are 8 ohms). Is is ok to go against Onkyo's recomendation, and connect both speakers. Also, is it really that big of a deal to run 7 speakers instead of 6?
Any ideas would be great.
Greg

 

[Terry Montlick]

Hi Greg,

You can connect the two speakers in series, rather than in parallel. This doubles the speaker impedance to a nominal 16 ohms, and should be safe for your amplifier.

I'd suggest trying out both single and double speaker configurations. It may or may not make a perceptible difference for you.

Regards,
Terry