This. I would see what the resistance of the loop of speakers measures.
Small 2 channel audio amplifier connection
- Thread starter OilStained
- Start date
Yes I did. I used a DMM, the resistance was in RMS. I don’t believe i gained anything significant by this alone.
This statement doesn't make sense. Resistance is a DC measurement, RMS is AC. You would simply put the DMM in the lowest ohm setting and read the resistance. If the resistance reads higher than the lowest ohm setting will measure, you have a 70/100 system and you need a PA amp. If the resistance reads lower than 4 ohms you will eventually damage the amplifier.
The previous amp was placed in a "bridged" output state. The manual for the previous amp was very underwhelming and didn't provide if bridging was capable. The previous amp was also rated to a minimum of 4 ohms. When bridging an amplifier, the resistance or load the output section sees is halved. So if the speaker(s) were presenting a 4 ohm resistive load to the amplifier running in a bridged mode, the amp would "see" a 2 ohm load. That is below its rated capabilities & it would run hot & eventually fail.
My mistake. I will make the measurement and reply back.
Measurement started at 34, then settled at 33.8.
Ok. 34ohms of resistance is quite high. I can also see why the previous amp was damaged being bridged into a 34 ohm load.
Being bridged will cut the impedance the amp sees in half. So it’ll effectively see a 17 ohm load. Your previous amp was rated to produce 8w x 2ch at 8ohms. So 16w total at 8 ohms. Half of that at 16 ohms. With a total summed output of only 8w divided by however many speakers you have Wired into your business area, it’ll be pretty easy to clip the signal. Normally a clipped signal will damage speakers before an amplifier but continuous clipping can also damage output stage of the amplifier.
You might want to take a look at how your speakers are wired. Are they individual 4, 8, 16 ohm speakers wired in series, parallel or series-parallel configuration.
It’s best to know what you have so you can properly match equipment for the best performance & reliability.