Stereo Amplifier advice/question (1 Viewer)

[Mike Marino]

I'm about to begin renovating my kitchen/living room area and want to install 8 speakers (4 stereo sets) in the ceiling for music only, running from a single source (CD, Tuner). I'm wondering what type of amplifier or controller I need? I have an old stereo receiver with A/B outputs that I used to run 4 speakers on, but all the new receivers and amps seem to be 5.1 or 7.1, and I don't wanty to spend a fortune on amps and controllers for what will essentially be background music. Any suggestions? Would it blow up my reciever (125 watts X 4) if I just put 2 sets of speaker wire in each output? Thanks...

 

[joseFMJ]

Depends on the impedance of the speakers, and how you wire them up. Some receivers can handle 4ohms or less, some can't. I think if you keep the total impedance above 4ohm per channel that the amplifier sees, you should be ok. For instance lets say you have 4 speakers per side, with each speaker rated at 8ohms, you can wire two speakers together in series resulting in 16ohms, wire another pair the same way...you now have two speakers @ 16ohms...hook one pair up to the Left A and the other to the Left B speaker terminals on the receiver, this should present a load of 8ohms to the Left channel amplifier. Do the same for the right channel and you should be good to go.