elk m1 speakers

tomtnt

Member
Please excuse this stupid question:

when you are wiring up elk speakers (for voice annoucements) - how many 8 ohms speakers can you safely wire to output 1? should you wire in parallel or serially?

also, could you recommend the proper speaker for outdoor usage? I already have a siren hooked up to output 2.

thanks
 
The manual states that you should not go below a 4 ohm load. This means, if you have two speakers, you can wire them in series of parallel. Wiring in parallel will give louder messages at a given set volume.

If you have more than 2 speakers, then you must wire in a parallel/series fashion so that the net impedance is greater then 4 ohms but as close to 8 ohms as possible. For example, for 4 speakers, wire two sets of two in series then wire the two sets in parallel. This will net 8 ohms.

Your question was how many can you wire. The answer is that you can wire as many as you want, justy don't go below 4 ohms. However, the more you wire, the less volume you will get from each speaker. So you will reach a point where you can't hear anything. So for this reason there is a limit. I don't really know what it is, as I haven't tried it out, but I'd guess you could put 4 with no problem, and 8 should also be no problem, at 16 I'd guess the volume would be getting a little low.
 
To revive this topic....

I am going to add another speaker to output one in addition to the two I already
have wired in parallel (all of them are the 8 ohm echo 73 models).

To keep the impedance above 4, should I do one in parallel and the other two in series? I have tried to figure out the impedance but do not know how to figure it out when using both parallel and series.

Thanks,

CT

EDIT: FYI.....I just found this calculator that does it for you: Calc

Two in series and one in parallel gives you 5.33 ohms.
 
Now I'm confused. This is from the ELK-M1TWI:

"Connect speaker wires directly to Output 1 on the M1. NOTE: The maximum number of speakers is based on the total load (resistance/impedence). Output 1 should never be loaded below 2 Ohms total load. Typically that
allows up to four 8 Ohm speakers to be paralleled."
 
What is the confusion. 4 8ohm speakers in parallel is 4 ohms. Elk said not to go BELOW 4 ohms.
 
rfdesq said:
Now I'm confused. This is from the ELK-M1TWI:

"Connect speaker wires directly to Output 1 on the M1. NOTE: The maximum number of speakers is based on the total load (resistance/impedence). Output 1 should never be loaded below 2 Ohms total load. Typically that
allows up to four 8 Ohm speakers to be paralleled."
That statement is correct. To calculate the total resistance for parallel loads the equation is:

1/TotalR = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + 1/R4

or in this case

1/TotalR = 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8

1/TotalR = 0.5

TotalR = 1/0.5 = 2

Might you be confusing this with loads that are in a combination of series and parallel? ;)
 
rfdesq said:
Now I'm confused. This is from the ELK-M1TWI:

"Connect speaker wires directly to Output 1 on the M1. NOTE: The maximum number of speakers is based on the total load (resistance/impedence). Output 1 should never be loaded below 2 Ohms total load. Typically that
allows up to four 8 Ohm speakers to be paralleled."
I'm also confused as the Elk Installation & Programming Manual states (on page 11) that Output 1 should not be lower than four ohms.

So I'm not real sure what is going on. Four 8 ohm speakers in parallel will yeild 2 ohms total resistance, which is why you would want to run a series/parallel combination.
 
rfdesq said:
I think that's where my confusion lies. It is two ohms or four ohms you are not supposed to go below?
Well, strictly going by the manual, it looks like 4 ohms is the minimum resistance. Where did you get your 2 ohm reference above? Maybe some manuals are giving out conflicting information/specifications.

I do know that the Elk-800 amplifier will drive 2 ohms total load (this is what I used for my friend's Elk install. You have to make the output a "pre-amp" level though. I did this so I could switch between the PC's sound card and the Elk output using the same announcement speakers.)
 
Is there an official answer to this question? Is it like the 1amp limit per the UL (but the system can handle more)? The M1 can handle 2ohms but UL says minimum is 4?

CT
 
Don't know. Electron, can we break out the Spanky "help" signal light here (I think you were the last to use it as I couldn't find it)? :eek:
 
elk-batman.jpg
 
Back
Top