faintaxis Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Hi there, Was hoping someone on here would be able to help me with an issue I've been having with installing a simple soundsystem in a kids large soft-play area. We've got a set of 6 x 8ohm, 50w speakers (of this ilk: http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/level5/module.jsp?moduleId=cpc/468683.xml, however we've got the passive bits, not the actives) that we need to power for music and occasionally a bit of PA via a microphone. We're trying to keep the costs relatively low, so I'm getting a cheap Behringer rackmount mixer and the CD player has been sourced onsite). The problem is how to power the speakers. There's a power-amp in storage (a T&M Performance SA200) but I can't get any specs on it so I'm not sure if it'll be able to keep up with powering 6 speakers from its 2 channels. What's the best way to power these speakers without ideally spending more than £250? I've been reading about wiring the speakers in a Parallel/Series combination but I'm not sure if this is the best way to go. It needs flexibility to go relatively loud (or at least, within the limits of the speaker) when playing music. What are the pros and cons of running the 6 speakers from 2 channels of a PA amp? Obviously there's impedance to contend with, but I understand that some PA amps are stable down to 2ohms (the absolute impedance from 6 of these speakers being 2.6ohms)? In other words... HELP! =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 As you've worked out, 3 of your speakers in parallel will be 2.6 Ohms. That's a bit low for a budget amp. I'd suggest connecting them in series pairs, giving you 3 pairs of 16 Ohms and then connecting those pairs in parallel giving you 5.3 Ohms in total and run the whole thing mono. You'll end up buying a stereo amp (probably) but at least you'll have a spare channel if it ever breaks! So you're looking for an amp which will do 300W (or a bit more) into 4 Ohms for less than £250. The world is your oyster. A quick look at a certain German supplier shows an amp at £140. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faintaxis Posted June 15, 2011 Author Share Posted June 15, 2011 As you've worked out, 3 of your speakers in parallel will be 2.6 Ohms. That's a bit low for a budget amp. I'd suggest connecting them in series pairs, giving you 3 pairs of 16 Ohms and then connecting those pairs in parallel giving you 5.3 Ohms in total and run the whole thing mono. You'll end up buying a stereo amp (probably) but at least you'll have a spare channel if it ever breaks! So you're looking for an amp which will do 300W (or a bit more) into 4 Ohms for less than £250. The world is your oyster. A quick look at a certain German supplier shows an amp at £140. Ooh, fantastic thankyou! I'm not sure who the German supplier is though... =( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew C Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I'd guess Brian is referring to Thomann. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Start here & then narrow your search down with the options on the left ;) Too slow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 And if you wanted to use CPC.... not a bad price at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faintaxis Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 Thanks guys, awaiting the delivery of the Thomann amp and will start mounting the speakers next week - I'll keep you posted! =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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