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Driving 4 ohm speakers

I have been given a pair of ADS L200 and a pair of ADS L300 speakers. I am planning to take them to my office, which is about 12x16. I have an old Arcam Alpha 9 amp that I will use there.

Forgive this sophomoric question. The Arcam is rated to drive one set of 4 ohm speakers, or two sets of 8 ohm. The ADS are 4 ohm. My question is, can I drive both with this amp at low volumes? In this small space, I can't see cranking up the volume very high. Obviously, I don't want to burn out either my amp or my speakers.

Thanks for your advice.
lynnc

Showing 2 responses by lrsky

lrsky
1,118 posts
 
The Arcam, (wonderful gear), probably has enough current so it wouldn't be a problem, so you can most likely do it. However, to be safe, I might put a multi speaker switching device in line. One that comes to mind, is the Adcom. Don't know if they still make it or not. The way it works, as I recall, is that it places a 4 ohm resister in line, so the amp, sees a non reactive 4 ohm load.
This, if still available is an easy fix, and would give you piece of mind.
lrsky
1,118 posts
 
"My question is, can I drive both with this amp at low volumes? In this small space, I can't see cranking up the volume very high. Obviously, I don't want to burn out either my amp or my speakers."

Well, maybe I misunderstood the question...I didn't think the issue was one of 'high quality sound', but convenience.
Oftentimes we make decisions of either. In this case, at low volumes and for an office, I think the best, most logical solution is the switching box.
I read the question, "How can I make this happen?" Not, how will it sound?

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