# Connecting 8 pairs of speakers to 1 receiver



## Guest

What's the safest and most inexpensive way to run 8 pairs of speakers off one receiver? I’ve already been doing this successfully with 5 pairs of speakers for the last 10 years with no problems (3 very low-end and 2 decent ceiling mounted). My receiver is an Onkyo TXSV525 which is connected to a 6 position, impedance matching speaker selector unit. I’m told that the new speakers, at 100 watts each will not run sufficiently off the current system.

The goal is mainly to power the 6 new pairs of speakers I’ll soon install in my newly remodeled backyard. I’d like to be able to run them along with the 2 good pairs of in-ceiling speakers inside the house.

I was told to install a Power Amplifier which runs about $680. Is there a less expensive way to accomplish my goal without jeopardizing performance? I’m not an audiophile; I just want to be able to hear decent sound.

Thanks,

Chris


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## tonyvdb

Your biggest issue is the impedance of hooking up the 8 pairs will cause serious heat issues and will damage the receivers amp section. Are you planning to run them all at the same time?

The only way you can get around this problem is to hook them up in series meaning you need to run one wire from the positive speaker terminal to the +terminal on the first speaker and then take a second wire from the -terminal and connect that to the +term. on the second speaker and so on and then from the last speakers -term. back to the negative post on the receiver. This involves a fair bit of work and significantly reduces the wattage or db level your speakers will output thus the requirement for an external higher powered amp.


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## thxgoon

Hook it up according to Tony's directions and you won't fry your amp, but you would in a parallel connection. Hooking up 8 speakers in series though would quickly clip your amp because of the 8X voltages it would be required to output.

Are you using all 8 speakers all of the time? It looks like your receiver is rated at 100 watts into 8 ohms continuously. Your current speakers are rated to take all of this power, so to get max performance out of them you would have to disconnect the other 6. From the sounds of things though you're not looking for insane levels, and assuming you hook them up properly (as in an 8 way switch comperable to the one you have now) you could reasonably expect 5 clean watts per speaker. If the speaker has an effeciency of 90db, you'd get 96-97db output per speaker, which is pretty respectable. Hope that helps.

If you can't find a bigger switch and you want to run all of them all of the time, there is a way to hook them up safely, though a bit more involved. Are all of the speakers 8 ohms?


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## tonyvdb

thxgoon said:


> What Tony describes is a _series_ connection, not a parallel connection. Hook it up according to his directions and you won't fry your amp, but you would in a parallel connection. Hooking up 8 speakers in series though would quickly clip your amp because of the 8X voltages it would be required to output.


Sorry My bad:hide: Thanks I corrected my error.


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## ACGREEN

You can get away with your set-up on ceiling speakers. I did this with my fathers ceiling speakers actually running 3 pairs of the 2nd room output (6th and 7th channel of his 7.1 Sony ES receiver). Sony Receivers run Hot and his runs really hot, but you generally don't need more then 25 or 35 watts from a ceiling speaker and probably less then that. His set-up has been running fine for four plus years. Over holiday's he will run the 5.1 theater and all of the ceiling speakers at the same time with no problems.

But you are concerned with powering larger speakers OUTDOORS. you are going to need a lot of power. I would strongly suggest a power amp, but you can buy something off EBay for less then $200 that will work. Look for a Rotel SI-1230 which will take one pair of inputs and power 6 speaker pairs with it. There are some older models that power 3 pairs of speakers for less then $200.


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## salvasol

I'm running seven pairs of speakers with a Sony STR DG510 (100WPC) :yes:

This receiver has the A, B and A+B speaker selector ... so, I'm using a speaker selector with A (4 pairs) and a second speaker selector on B (three pairs) ... I can use either A, B or A+B :bigsmile: ... every speaker selector has a matching impedance to avoid damage to receiver (same as you have) :yes:

I think another option will be to use any of this  Audio distribution amp


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## Guest

Are you planning to run them all at the same time? YES

"The only way you can get around this problem is to hook them up in parallel" HOW DOES THIS TYPE OF CONNECTION AFFECT THE SOUND QUALITY?


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## tonyvdb

It wont affect the quality but you wont get much volume out of them unless you have a better amp as the receiver wont have the power to drive them at any decent level.


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## salvasol

gbsdirect said:


> ... hook them up in parallel" HOW DOES THIS TYPE OF CONNECTION AFFECT THE SOUND QUALITY?


This connection doesn't affect the sound ...:yes: ... I have my front speaker (HT) hooked that way:yes:

I think you'll be okay with the speaker selector, but you need to get one for  eight pairs speaker selector  (most of the speaker selector will match the receiver impedance; just be sure about it) :yes:


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## thxgoon

gbsdirect said:


> Are you planning to run them all at the same time? YES
> 
> "The only way you can get around this problem is to hook them up in parallel" HOW DOES THIS TYPE OF CONNECTION AFFECT THE SOUND QUALITY?


No no no no no. If you hook up 8 speakers in _parallel_ with your receiver you will end up frying it. Either use an impedence matching switch as you have now and salvasol uses, or do the math to figure out how to wire them using a combination of _series and parallel _connections that results in something close to 8 ohms. 

It shouldn't affect the SQ any way you do it other than the potential for distortion from overdriving the amp.


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