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  1. #1
    asdf bjornb17's Avatar
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    Using 7 surround speakers on a 5.1 receiver.. possible?

    Hi everyone, this is my first post.

    Since the summer, i've been getting more and more into home theater stuff. I have put together a system that i really like which comprises of MTX Monitor series floorstandings as my mains and my surrounds, and a MTX Monitor center channel speaker. I also have a Velodyne CHT-12 sub and an HK AVR-130 receiver.

    This is a 5.1 setup, and that is limited by my receiver. Since i haev no intentions to upgrade my receiver any time soon because of cost issues, i was wonder what would happen if i would wire 2 more speakers (1 for left and one for right) onto the existing surround channels?

    Is this even possible? The receiver is an 8 ohm receiver, and the speakers are 4 and 8 ohm compatible.

    What can i do?

    Thanks a bunch!

    Bjorn

  2. #2
    Suspended markw's Avatar
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    I'd not.

    Odds are that when you connect another pair of speakers to the same terminal as another, the total impedance will be lowered, probably to lower than most amps can handle.

    Of course, if you have a "B" speaker terminal, this might be a half-arsed solution since it would reproduce either the two stereo channels or the two front channels. RTFM for more info on this and see where this leads.

  3. #3
    asdf bjornb17's Avatar
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    i already read the FM but it doesnt provide any info for this. Also, i dont have A/B switching.

  4. #4
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    Running to speakers off one terminal can be done. Not recommended though because you will most likely want to listen to your system loud and your receiver will not beable to produce the power needed because of the ohm load. Your amp will see two 8ohm speakers now as a 4ohm load. You can however run them in series very easily. Just run one + to the + of one speaker and the - to the - of the other speaker and then join the remaining + and - together. Your amp will now see two 8ohm speakers as a 16ohm load. You will have to raise your speaker levels after because they will be lower.

  5. #5
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    Add an Amp

    The best way to do this is to add an amp. You can wire your surrounds and use
    the pre-outs at the same time. HK makes an amp thats only about $300. Of course
    you will be getting the exact same sound out of each set of speakers. It won't truly
    be 7.1 but I bet it sounds better than plain 5.1.
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  6. #6
    asdf bjornb17's Avatar
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    thanks for the info. but if i was going to spend $300 on a an extra amp, i could just buy a 7.1 receiver instead.

  7. #7
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    series

    Like previous wire in series. Only way to make it happen w/o another amp. And it won't truly be 6.1 or 7.1 but it will work.

  8. #8
    asdf bjornb17's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mgripy
    Like previous wire in series. Only way to make it happen w/o another amp. And it won't truly be 6.1 or 7.1 but it will work.
    thanks everyone, i think ill give that a try.

    a couple questions though: its it bad for the receiver in any way to have the speakers at 16 ohms? what would the volume difference be?

    Also, the current speakers on my surrounds are rated at 92 db at 1w/1m, and the ones i would add on are 90 db at 1w/1m (smaller versions of the same speaker). will this affect performance at all?

    Thanks!

  9. #9
    Suspended markw's Avatar
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    16 ohms series connection is safe for your receiver.

    As to your other question, since what you're doing is fairly unusual, and won't really add anything and nobody else has bothered with it, the audiable results will be unpredictable. ...maybe better, maybe worse, most certainly different.

    I won't do the math for ya (I can't) but here's some things to think about.

    Since the power at 16 ohms is LESS than that delivered to an 8 ohm speaker, and this available power will be SHARED between TWO speakers. I think you can do the math to come out with an approximate answer.

    Also, having two speakers in series does funky things to the impedance curve and this will affect the sound somewhat.


    Try it and see how it sounds. At least you can feel safe in that your receiver is not gonna blow up.

  10. #10
    Forum Regular jeskibuff's Avatar
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    What are you hoping for out of this experiment?

    If you're looking for better sound, I doubt that you'll get it. As said before, wiring two speakers in series is going to throw screwy impedance loads at your receiver. The imaging will probably get all screwed up. Your receiver will have to work harder to drive two additional speaker loads. Unless the speakers are of the same design, you'll be mixing different vocal characteristics.

    The ONLY thing that I can think of that would be a benefit would be in filling the back end of a very large room with sound. I would think that would be a step up in quantity, NOT quality.

    Good luck, but I wouldn't expect great results. The experiment is worthwhile, if only to prove that "more isn't necessarily better".
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  11. #11
    asdf bjornb17's Avatar
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    well, the only reason i would be doing this is because the model of my speakers (MTX Monitors) are now out of production and there are only a handful of these models still available. When i move, i would most likely upgrade to a 7.1 receiver. I'm thinking about getting one of the last pair of these speaker models since they will match the rest of my system before they are gone for good, and I don't want to buy them and have them boxed up for a couple years. It was more of a question of curiosity than anything.

  12. #12
    Suspended markw's Avatar
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    One thing to keep in mind...

    Even though the 16 ohm load presented to the amp is safe, the volume drop between the two speakers may tempt you to boost up the volume of the affected channels to compensate.

    Thewreceiver is not an umlimited source of watts. It's possible that you could try to compensate for the volume drop and drive your receiver into clipping or even trigger the protective circuitry.

  13. #13
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    I wouldn't bother with that. A whole lotta trouble and expense for not a whole lotta gain, and high potential for things sounding a lot worse than before. The thing you need to first ask yourself is not whether such a setup is possible, but what kind of performance you want your system to deliver. Once you answer that question, THEN you figure out steps to achieve that performance goal. Otherwise, you're simply hooking up the extra surround speakers just because you can, not because they do anything to improve your audio quality.

    In general, I would first make sure that your 5.1 setup is optimized before even bothering with 6.1 or "7.1" (a misnomer because the soundtracks are not discrete 7.1). Are the levels matched properly, and did you match them with a SPL meter? Do you have the surround speakers properly aligned? Have you compensated for differences in distance by changing the delay timing?

    The back surrounds using a 5.1 receiver would be outputing the same signal as the L/R surrounds. Since you have two speakers for each channel reproducing the same thing, it will potentially create time domain distortions and screw up the imaging cues. The only way avoid this is to not only hook up another amp (which can only be done if your receiver has preouts), but to actually hook it up to one with a Pro Logic decoder so that it can decode the monophonic EX/ES back surround channel. Even there, you got fewer than 0.1% of all DVDs on the market with any kind of EX/ES encoding.

    Hooking up two sets of speakers to each surround output is just asking for trouble, since h/k receivers of your vintage have had reliability issues in the power supply.

    5.1 is the standard, and that's how the majority of DVDs get mixed nowadays. Get that right first, and you'll get a lot more enjoyment out of your system than trying force feed something it was not intended to do.

  14. #14
    Forum Regular jeskibuff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bjornb17
    It was more of a question of curiosity than anything.


    Quote Originally Posted by bjornb17
    well, the only reason i would be doing this is because the model of my speakers (MTX Monitors) are now out of production and there are only a handful of these models still available. When i move, i would most likely upgrade to a 7.1 receiver. I'm thinking about getting one of the last pair of these speaker models since they will match the rest of my system before they are gone for good, and I don't want to buy them and have them boxed up for a couple years.
    Ah, you suffer from the "if I buy it, I JUST HAVE to use it" syndrome. That is okay, so nothing to worry about. You are a normal human being for having that urge.

    Might I suggest using the speakers in a different room? If you pick up a cheap speaker switch (maybe $30 at RatShack or elsewhere), and hook it to your front speaker outputs, you can use your receiver in 2-channel mode while you're in another part of your home. This way, you don't screw up your 5.1 setup, you don't have to worry about your receiver taking on a greater load, you get use out of the speakers and you expand your listening enjoyment to other areas of your living space. Just a thought to consider.
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  15. #15
    asdf bjornb17's Avatar
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    thanks for all the input. i like that comic haha.

    anyway, i emailed HK on this issue so i thought i'd share their reply for the benefit of all of us. pretty much, its what you guys mentioned.

    "Hello Bjorn,
    Thank you for your inquiry to Harman Audio.
    In reference to your email, the surround channels on the AVR 130 are rated at 8 Ohms.
    Doubling up the connection at each location would cause the resistance to increase. this would most likely cause the receiver
    to go into protection due to the impedance dropping too low. We do not recommend your connecting 4 speakers to 2 rear outputs.

    If you have any other questions or need further assistance, please let me know.

    Sincerely

    Scott Schatzel
    Consumer Direct Support Specialist "

  16. #16
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    You may toast your receiver if you double your connections in same terminals. Sell your receiver and either get the one with A & B switch or get a 7.1

  17. #17
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    I have to agree with Woochifer, make sure youv'e done everything you can to your current
    set up. Check levels, speakers placement, ect. A well set-up 5.1 system will outperform
    a bad set up 7.1 system any day.I believe we all suffer from the more is better syndrom,
    but that is not always good in the audio world.
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