newbie query

[Ichiro1]

I have a question about the best set up for amp and speakers.

My amp is a Denon PMA 1500AE and has high (A) and low (B) outs for the left and right speakers. The manual says A or B is rated for 4 to 16 ohms and A plus B is rated for 8 to 16 ohms. At 4 ohms my output power is rated for 140 amps per speaker and 8 ohms at 70 amps per channel.

At this point I am looking at upgrading my front speakers and was wondering based on the specs above, should I go for a 4 ohm or 8 ohm rated speaker?

Also of note, my woofer has a pair of high speaker inputs and outputs, in addition to the rca and mono inputs, but I can't find any literature on their ratings. My woofer is a 600 watt 2 ohm woofer.

Any and all advice on what to do and how to best hook up a pair of speakers with low and high inputs whould realllly help.

P.S. If a speaker is rated at 4 ohms and I bridge the high and low speaker posts does the impedance to up to 8 ohms?

Thanks in advance for helping this newbie out!!!!!!!!

 

[AVRat]

That integrated amp can handle a 4 ohm load comfortably. Therefore, you can run a 4ohm 2-channel setup easily. However, if you want to run 4 speakers simultaneously, they need to be 8ohm minimal. The speaker A/B connections are like most systems these days connected in parallel internally to the same amp. How you connect the subwoofer may depend on your speakers. It seems to have all the usual connections and controls. The Denon does have full range pre-outs.
http://www.denon.co.uk/site/frames_main.php?main=prod&ver=&MID=3&sub=2&action=detail&Pid=253
http://www.rakuten.co.jp/audiocore/454827/454831/711515/

 

[Ichiro1]

That integrated amp can handle a 4 ohm load comfortably. Therefore, you can run a 4ohm 2-channel setup easily. However, if you want to run 4 speakers simultaneously, they need to be 8ohm minimal. The speaker A/B connections are like most systems these days connected in parallel internally to the same amp. How you connect the subwoofer may depend on your speakers. It seems to have all the usual connections and controls. The Denon does have full range pre-outs.
http://www.denon.co.uk/site/frames_main.php?main=prod&ver=&MID=3&sub=2&action=detail&Pid=253
http://www.rakuten.co.jp/audiocore/454827/454831/711515/

Thanks for the reply!

So a 4 ohm speaker with 4 binding posts bridged just needs one set of A (high) or B (low) cables run to it, but if I wanna take the bridges out of the speaker binding posts, can I run the 4 ohm low frequency out of my denon to the lows on the speakers and then run the highs seperately directly from my sub?

 

[no. 5]

That is a very nice looking integrated amp!

At 4 ohms my output power is rated for 140 amps per speaker and 8 ohms at 70 amps per channel.

I am guessing you mean 'watts'... that or you have a reeeeeeeeely powerful amplifier.

P.S. If a speaker is rated at 4 ohms and I bridge the high and low speaker posts does the impedance to up to 8 ohms?

If the speaker has two pairs of posts (high and low), yes, it's ok to bridge those, but if it's a 4 ohm speaker, bridging the two posts will not make it a 8 ohm speaker.
but, if you are talking about bridging the A and B posts on the amplifier; that would be a very bad idea.

 

[Ichiro1]

That is a very nice looking integrated amp!


I am guessing you mean 'watts'... that or you have a reeeeeeeeely powerful amplifier.



If the speaker has two pairs of posts (high and low), yes, it's ok to bridge those, but if it's a 4 ohm speaker, bridging the two posts will not make it a 8 ohm speaker.
but, if you are talking about bridging the A and B posts on the amplifier; that would be a very bad idea.

sss-sss-sss! 140 watts.

Cool thanks for the heads up!

 

[AVRat]

I think I understand what you’re thinking. But I think you’ve got it backwards. You would run A to the highs on the speaker, then B to your sub, then to the lows on the speaker. You would then engage and set your sub’s crossover appropriately according to your speaker’s requirement. For the Cobalts, 60-80Hz would be appropriate.

This won't really improve anything than if you ran through the sub and keep the speakers strapped. You'll just use more wire.

 

[Ichiro1]

I think I understand what you’re thinking. But I think you’ve got it backwards. You would run A to the highs on the speaker, then B to your sub, then to the lows on the speaker. You would then engage and set your sub’s crossover appropriately according to your speaker’s requirement. For the Cobalts, 60-80Hz would be appropriate.

This won't really improve anything than if you ran through the sub and keep the speakers strapped. You'll just use more wire.

Sorry about the slow reply. Actually I was thinking of keeping the rca preouts running to the woofer and then connect the low Bs (speaker outs) from the amp to the lows (speaker ins) on the speaker and then run a second set of speaker cables from the woofer high outs to the high ins on the speakers.

Does this make sense?

 

[Ichiro1]

Bought my speakers!

Ended up going with a pair of B&W 703s. Got a pair of demos for $2,000.