Can I hook 2 pairs of speakers to 1 audio zone in HAI audio?

[hooman00]

Hi,

I have an HAI Audio distribution system and it has 4 zones. I was wondering if I could connect 2 pairs of speakers to one of the zones? or Do I need to purchase and expansion kit if I want to control more than 4 pairs of speakers? Currently I have each pair hooked up to a separate zone.

Thanks

Hooman

 

[hooman00]

any ideas?

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

You have to watch the resistance that the output can drive. It should be rated in ohms. Then look at your speakers and divide that number in half for paralleling them.

 

[hooman00]

You have to watch the resistance that the output can drive. It should be rated in ohms. Then look at your speakers and divide that number in half for paralleling them.

Thanks!

 

[apostolakisl]

I don't know anything specific about your HAI system, but I can tell you that any amplifier will have a minimum number of ohms that it can safely drive into. If you go below that, the current will exceed the amplifier's specs and it will burn, especially if you turn up the volume.

There is no risk of damage to any amplifier going up in ohms. So if in doubt, it is always your safest bet to run your speakers in series. The only problem this could present is that the speakers in series will not be as loud and you may therefore have volume balance issues between those speakers and others. A potential solution to this problem is then to series up other speakers as well.

For example, if your amp has 4 outputs and you want 6 speakers, you could use only 3 of the outputs and put 2 speakers in series on each of those 3, leaving the 4th empty. Assuming your 6 speakers are all the same make/model, then your volume level will be identical on each one.