Amp speakers and how to

axel132132

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

That is the way to go, if you can return your existing speakers it would be better to use 100V all the way BUT audio quality will be compromised unless you use more expensive 'music' rated speaker transformers.

Bear in mind that with that 60 watt amp you should not use 10 x 6 watt speakers - there should always be at least 10% amp power in reserve, so a couple of speakers will have to have a lower transformer tap.

http://www.cabling4less.co.uk/downloads/100V_Line_Systems.pdf

https://geoffthegreygeek.com/understanding-distributed-speaker-systems/


For volume controls use multitap attenuators eg
https://www.cybermarket.co.uk/shop/public-address/100v-line-volume-controls.html

These fit between the 100 V feed from the amp and the 100 V supply to the speaker transformer.

You sir... are a legend thank you very much!

axel132132

Soo if 10 speakers is too many

Would 7 downstairs on that amp be good

And then take 3 upstairs on a seperate amp - would i just look for a cheap 100v amp

Owain_Moneysaver

10 speakers at 6 watts is too many on that amp, but the speaker has tappings for 6, 3 and 1.5 watts. You set the tapping on the speaker for the relative max volume needed from that speaker (the size of area that speaker has to cover), so you may only need 1 x 1.5 watts in the hall, 1 x 3 watts in bedrooms. If you have 3 x speakers in the kitchen for even sound distribution you probably don't need them at 6 watts.

That's the real joy of 100V speaker systems - you can have multiple speakers at different powers on the same circuit.

You only really need another amp if you want to have a separate sound upstairs compared to downstairs, as you can just switch off or attenuate unwanted speakers (that amp has 4 zone outputs that can be switched on/off)

For attenuators/volume controls the power rating required is determined by the speaker(s) being controlled, not the amp power. If you are controlling 2 x 6 watt speakers you'd need a vol control rated > 12 watts, not a 60 watt one to go with the amp!

You will need to use a stereo>mono combiner to get the stereo headphone output from the tablet etc into the mono line level inputs on the amplifier, the circuit in the 1st diagram is as good as any

https://brashleraudio.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/stereo-to-mono-conversions/

Easy way is to use a panel like this, solder the resistors to the back, mount it in a small box (I used a tobacco tin) and then use 3.5mm stereojack-to-phono lead from the tablet and phono-to-1/4" for the line input to the amp.