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Running 4 speakers from a 2-channel amp

I love the sound of 4 speakers playing at once around me. I've got a simple old SS amp, Luxman L507 (mid-1970's) that runs 4 speakers at once. I'm running a pair of Yamaha NS-1000x (6 Ohm) as mains, and a tweaked set of B&W 805Ns (8 Ohm) as B's.

I'm talking here about 2-channel sound, 4 speakers, not 4-channel surround sound.

I've been looking for a higher-end amp, but find almost all are two-channels only, with ports for only two speakers.

Some great old Luxman tube amps offer 4 channels, but only one pair at a time is available on the selector ("A or B," not "A and B"). One shop told me they could have one modified for me to be able to play 4 speakers, at only a small cost.

Another shop told me that playing 4 speakers at once, even on my current old Luxman, which has the "A and B" option, overburdens the amp and shortens it's life.

I wonder - can't we wire-up 4 speakers, say two on each side in parallel, like in so many car stereo setups?

Am I really limited to only 2 speakers with a 2-channel amp?
jimthewebguy

Showing 1 response by astralography

astralography
51 posts
 
I have had fantastic success in running speakers in series.

I have a set of Klipsch 5.2 with a 12, 10, and a medium size horn.

Loving the nice low end response, the 5.2 lacks the mids and the sensitivity in the highs that I get from a set of 3.2's which have a 10, 8 and a smaller horn.

The 3.2's have very nice mids, decent highs, but lack body on the low end.

I simply stacked the 3.2's ontop of the 5.2's running off an old Scott Tube amp, and I am now getting the best of both worlds.

So any theory about destroying your sound by running two sets of speakers in series is not an absolute universal concept. It's working fantastically for me.
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