Do I need an amp/receiver/or what?

[jbruno6]

I need help.........I have 8 pairs of speakers in the ceiling throughout my home. I have all speaker wires returned into one location. I wired all 16 speaker wires into a 8 zone speaker box. How do I get maximum power? The speaker box is running through an old Aiwa stereo and sounds OK. When all 16 sxteen are running at once, the sound weakens slightly, but overall it was satisfactory. I bought an audio receiver of Ebay used, thinking I would get more power, and all I got was less power, and a receiver with an "overload" feature that shuts down the receiver when the music is turned up. At least the little Aiwa system let the volume crank, the used Pioneer receiver shuts down when turned up. Obviously from my description you can tell that I am a novice in this field, so I need layman terms. Do I buy an amp? What kind of wattage will pump 8 pairs of speakers? What kind of things should be looking for? thanks

PS the used Pioneer receiver I purchased, made in 1999 says: 115W + 115W, 1kHz, THD, 1%, 8ohms....continuous average power output is 100W per, at 8 ohms from 40 Hz to 20,000Hz....(dont know what this means but it may mean something).......

PSS I have all 16 speakers running into a 8 zone switch box, the switch box is then running into a receiver. What do I buy to power the entire house if needed?

thanks......

 

[gcmarshall]

is your 8 zone speaker box a "speaker selector"? with that many speakers, your receiver is being shut down b/c it is being overworked, to use layman's terms. it is not designed to handle that many speakers. in technical terms, your receiver is being presented with an impedence load that it is not designed to handle.

if you can find a speaker selector that has impedence correction/protection, that may solve the problem, at a relatively low cost.

otherwise, you might need to consider a whole-house amp that can handle all those speakers. to run an amp, you will likely need a receiver or preamp that has "pre-outs" on the back.

don't get too caught up in watts. a high-quality amp designed for whole-house may only produce 30 or so watts/channel, but it should be enough for moderate background music to those 8 pairs of speakers.

Niles Audio is one of the leaders in whole-house audio. check out the products on their web site at www.nilesaudio.com

You can download and read owner's manuals for all of their products, which basically gives you a free lesson on how to hook all that stuff up.

Look for their speaker selectors, whole house amps, etc., etc.

 

[Seth=L]

Jobsite is another brand to consider for multi-zone power. There are others like Audiosource that are more budget minded and still do a good job. You will also need a preamp to feed the amplifier.

The low wattage ratings on the multi-zone amplifiers are normal and can typically deliver very solid power even at higher levels of output without having problems.

 

[jbruno6]

You guys are a big help. You both agree that a need a whole house amp and also a preamp? I just plug in and attach the speaker selector box to the pre-amp or amp? How much would both run me?

 

[jcPanny]

Whole House Audio

Before buying electronics, check out your current speaker box. You need a speaker selector with the impedance matching feature OR impedance matching Volume Controls in each room so that the receiver or amp will see a 4-8 ohm load. If you connect 8, 8-ohm speakers in parallel, you will have a 1 ohm load which no receiver can handle.

If you have the proper impedance matching setup, the receiver will not go into shutdown. If the volume in each room is still not loud enough, you can add a stereo amp like a Behringer A500 ($180) that delivers 200 Watts / channel. With this setup you would connect: Receiver (or Preamp) -> Amp -> Ipedance Matching Speaker Selector (or VCs) -> Speakers.

This simple "1 zone" setup where all rooms play the same soure is the least expensive solution. Move sophistocated distribution amps with keypads in each room will allow you to play any source in any room, but expect to pay $2-3k for 8 rooms.

 

[jbruno6]

JC,
Thanks for the great post. Why does the little aiwa stereo power all 16 at once through the same speaker selector box? I am going back to the stereo for the time being. The aiwa stereo allows me to have all 8 pairs going throughout the entire house at a nice volume. I assumed buying a receiver would allow even more power, but its less, and overloads constantly. If I purchase the Behringer amp, will get more power, or will the receiver I have overload even with the amp? thanks....

 

[jcPanny]

Receivers and Amps

Not sure why the Aiwa boom box is working, but some of these systems are designed for low impedance 2-4 ohm speakers vs. 8 ohms like a receiver.

Yes, a stereo amp will provide more power and it will drive the speakers, not the receiver, but it still expects a 4-8 ohm impedance. You would connect an analog line level output from the receiver (or other analog source) to the amp. More power = higher volume in each room.

I would investigate the current or new speaker selector or VCs with proper impedance matching before you worry about the max power or volume level in each room.