Speaker Wiring Question: Parallel Circuit

[Roen]

Without asking why, can someone opine if there will be any negative affects in the following setup:

Using Sewell Ocelot Banana Plugs, I connect the speaker wire going from my main front L R speakers to the side port, leaving the rear port open, and plug the Ocelot's into the speaker terminals on my receiver.

I then connect a set of Banana Plugs to the rears of the Ocelot Banana Plugs, in effect forming a parallel circuit.

I then leave the other end of the second set of Banana Plugs disconnected from anything, sealed from forming a short circuit.

Are there any electrical issues from forming a parallel, but open, circuit?

My electricity physics ain't that great.

 

[slipperybidness]

Without asking why, can someone opine if there will be any negative affects in the following setup:

Using Sewell Ocelot Banana Plugs, I connect the speaker wire going from my main front L R speakers to the side port, leaving the rear port open, and plug the Ocelot's into the speaker terminals on my receiver.

I then connect a set of Banana Plugs to the rears of the Ocelot Banana Plugs, in effect forming a parallel circuit.

I then leave the other end of the second set of Banana Plugs disconnected from anything, sealed from forming a short circuit.

Are there any electrical issues from forming a parallel, but open, circuit?

My electricity physics ain't that great.

Why would you want to do this?

If I understand you correctly, you are just gonna have a couple of wires flopping around that are connected to the circuit?

If it is truly "open", then it really is not a "circuit".

 

[Roen]

Why would you want to do this?

If I understand you correctly, you are just gonna have a couple of wires flopping around that are connected to the circuit?

If it is truly "open", then it really is not a "circuit".

Correct, they will be sealed to prevent a short circuit.

So I can switch between piggybacking off the front two terminals for pure direct sub use for music or using digital bass management for regular use.

 

[TheWarrior]

Just use an HDMI connection for movies and the RCA or Optical for music!

 

[Roen]

Just use an HDMI connection for movies and the RCA or Optical for music!

RCA / Optical wouldn't solve LFE being turned off for stereo music in direct mode,

The only way to get a sub in direct mode is to either play something with .1 content or tap the main speaker terminals and feed the parallel circuit to the sub. Then manually blend the sub in with the sub controls.


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[djreef]

One side effect would be halving the resistive load. If your starting with a pair of 8 ohm speakers that may not be an issue, but if they're lower than that it may throw the amplifier section of your receiver into protection mode dependent upon what it's rated to drive, esp at higher volume levels.

DJ

 

[TheWarrior]

RCA / Optical wouldn't solve LFE being turned off for stereo music in direct mode,

The only way to get a sub in direct mode is to either play something with .1 content or tap the main speaker terminals and feed the parallel circuit to the sub. Then manually blend the sub in with the sub controls.


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What receiver are you using?

The problem with a parallel connection is you are halving the impedance seen by the amp. If you crank it, you could kill it. And if your receiver is either older than GUI menus or is a very entry level model that simply does not even offer the option to always run subs with main speakers, you may end up forcing yourself to buy a new receiver!

 

[Roen]

What receiver are you using?

The problem with a parallel connection is you are halving the impedance seen by the amp. If you crank it, you could kill it. And if your receiver is either older than GUI menus or is a very entry level model that simply does not even offer the option to always run subs with main speakers, you may end up forcing yourself to buy a new receiver!

This is the type of warning I was looking for.

I am using a RX-A660, and usually connect the sub through the LFE pre-out.

I will be using a Line-Level converter to convert the speaker wire inputs into RCA low level inputs. Any issues with that?

 

[TheWarrior]

This is the type of warning I was looking for.

I am using a RX-A660, and usually connect the sub through the LFE pre-out.

I will be using a Line-Level converter to convert the speaker wire inputs into RCA low level inputs. Any issues with that?

What you are proposing will steadily cook your receivers amp, at low volumes, with imminent failure when you turn it up. It simply isn't designed to do what you are attempting to do, in Direct mode.

Still recommending you use a different receiver input for music playback. For your music input, you'll have to use 'straight' mode to enable bass management, your model does not allow subwoofer or tone control in Direct mode. You also have an Extra Bass 'Bass' button on your remote that appears to work in either Direct or Straight, fyi.

Line level converters are designed to work with existing car infotainment systems or distributed audio that are much lower wattage than your receiver. It's a helluva risk to trust some of the claimed "400W" models.

As I understand it, Straight mode on Yamaha would be equivalent to Direct on a Denon or Marantz, while they use Pure Direct to disable the extra circuitry you are suffering from in the Yamaha Direct mode. If that means anything to you...

 

[TLS Guy]

What you are doing is not worth the trouble. Using straight mode will not get you improved quality.

If you really must do this you need a pre/pro or a receiver with preouts. You will need external amplification. You would have to use an external electronic crossover and complex swithching.

It will be no better than the crossover in your receiver.

A speaker level sub connection is a very low quality connection and would be a downgrade in any event.

Just forget about straight mode and just regard it as a quality downgrade which it is, as it disables an important part of the functionality of your receiver.

 

[TheWarrior]

What you are doing is not worth the trouble. Using straight mode will not get you improved quality.

If you really must do this you need a pre/pro or a receiver with preouts. You will need external amplification. You would have to use an external electronic crossover and complex swithching.

It will be no better than the crossover in your receiver.

A speaker level sub connection is a very low quality connection and would be a downgrade in any event.

Just forget about straight mode and just regard it as a quality downgrade which it is, as it disables an important part of the functionality of your receiver.

While we are in agreement that what he's trying to do is not a good idea, I don't think you understand what Straight and Direct modes do as they pertain to a Yamaha receiver. He's trying to get more bass by using his subwoofer. Straight mode allows for bass management (an important part of the functionality of the receiver) whereas Direct does not.

Re: Roen - Although I do believe '2ch Stereo' option may also allow control of the subwoofer. Your manual doesn't read quite as well mine in terms of Yamaha listening modes, I have the 3060.

 

[TLS Guy]

While we are in agreement that what he's trying to do is not a good idea, I don't think you understand what Straight and Direct modes do as they pertain to a Yamaha receiver. He's trying to get more bass by using his subwoofer. Straight mode allows for bass management (an important part of the functionality of the receiver) whereas Direct does not.

Re: Roen - Although I do believe '2ch Stereo' option may also allow control of the subwoofer. Your manual doesn't read quite as well mine in terms of Yamaha listening modes, I have the 3060.

Well, whatever mode it is on that receiver that disables bass management is the one he wants to forget about.

I have to use the multi channel analog inputs for SACD, and have a switch which changes over form the pre pro bass management to mine. It works fine, but it is not the sort of thing most people could easily implement. It is relatively easy for me as my rig uses five external active crossovers to start with.

 

[TheWarrior]

Well, whatever mode it is on that receiver that disables bass management is the one he wants to forget about.

I have to use the multi channel analog inputs for SACD, and have a switch which changes over form the pre pro bass management to mine. It works fine, but it is not the sort of thing most people could easily implement. It is relatively easy for me as my rig uses five external active crossovers to start with.

Off topic, but besides the woofers in the L&R TL's and I think you said the center channel, what else is active?