Wiring for monitors... my strange idea

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esun127

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I don't have any money to spend on monitors right now, but I do have some 3-way speakers from a Sony RX-66 mini-stereo system that I could use temporarily.

I don't want to power them with the main unit that came with the speakers. I'd rather power them with my Crown power amp, but the thing does 280 watts at 8 ohms.

I have no idea what the impedance of the speakers on the sony are, but I'm guessing it's 8 ohms. So if I wire the speakers in series for a 16 ohm load, that should probably bring the wattage down to about 150. For safety, I would probably add another 4 or 8 ohm 100watt reistor in series and increase the load to 24 ohms, which should bring down the power to a safe level.

Would this work at all?

This is not one of those buy cheap buy twice cases, cuz i'm not buying anything. :p
 
i have no idea as far as the wattage

goes. I suppose anything will work better than nothing. I think your going to have alot harder time making accurate mixes using those than you would using a descent set of monitors. Thats just me though. I actually used a set of stereo speakers for a while, sounded ok on those speakers but my mixes sounded like krap on everything else.
Ask boray, i think he has a method that will make those better than any monitors you can buy. JK
 
That is a very strange idea but I may work.. I have used shelf speakers before you just have to get to know them.
 
You could also use a VOLUME KNOB :)

Having an overpowered amp isn't a big deal unless you're going to have strangers messing around with your stuff....or you can't control yourself...

Slackmaster 2000
 
your amp does not put out anywhere close to 280W unless its volume is completely up. loudness and power are not directly related -- it takes a lot more power to make a little more volume.
 
Slackmaster2K said:
You could also use a VOLUME KNOB :)

Having an overpowered amp isn't a big deal unless you're going to have strangers messing around with your stuff....or you can't control yourself...

Slackmaster 2000


that's kind of the point... idiot proof my stuff from others. :)
 
you would need some HUGE resistors to handle that much power without starting a fire. instead of intentionally increasing the load on the amp, attenuate the input signal to the amp. if you don't trust yourself with a volume knob, use a fixed pad.
 
Yep, that energy has to go somewhere! Hot hot hot!

Slackmaster 2000
 
At one time I had a 100 watt 10 ohm resistor (about an inch in dia, 8" long) plugged into the extension jack on my twin reverb to dump some power. Set it on top near the handle, melted the Tolex one night.:D

I like the input pad idea best too.
We sould do a poll on how long the mini monitors last.:) :)
Wayne
 
First, you might consider spending a few dollars on a cheap multimeter from RatShack.

Once you know what the resistance is of your speakers, you will have a better idea where to go from there.

Odds have it that they are 8 ohms.

Since your power amp is rated at 8 ohms, it simply means that the power amp will be "seeing" the right load.

How much power the speakers can handle is a function of their design... just like how efficient they are.

Keeping the input turned down is all you need to be concerned with... not in-line resistors.
 
Don't sweat it. If they're 8 ohm speakers and the amp is rated into an 8 ohm load it'll be fine. You're WAY less likely to blow small speakers with a big amp as the other way around.
 
Track Rat said:
Don't sweat it. If they're 8 ohm speakers and the amp is rated into an 8 ohm load it'll be fine. You're WAY less likely to blow small speakers with a big amp as the other way around.
Correct.

A small amp driven too hard will clip the signal, thus introducing frequencies that the tweeters can not reproduce... thus "frying" them.
 
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