do y adapters make you lose any quality

It all has to do with output CURRENT, and input IMPEDANCE. Because the input impedance of most all amplifiers is relatively high, paralleling them really doesn't affect the overall load that the output op-amps are seeing, even though, TECHNICALLY, the impedance is still cut in half. Operational amplifiers are rated and designed to drive current, I have actually seen "safe" output currents in the 1A range, even from those little-bitty 8-pin DIPs. Op-amps (just like high-level amplifiers) are VOLTAGE devices, meaning they will do whatever they can to maintain a given output voltage, up to the point of their destruction. They do this by increasing the output CURRENT. Sound familiar? So, really, their "output power" (even though "rated" in milliwatts) will double, just as does their high current counterparts, when putting a second woofer into the system. While yes, the distortion WILL increase, it will rarely begin increasing to noticeable or significantly more measurable levels, until the op-amps are driven very close to saturation, basically when the load being driven (all of the paralleled amplifier INPUTS) comes MUCH closer to the output impedance of the driving op-amp. We're actually talking about 10 or so inputs...It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

noobgalore wrote: you will have to turn the gains up more since the signal will be half of what it usually is but thats what the gain is for to match the signal it is recieving.

No, it won't. It will be FAR LESS than 1dB of loss, even if you dont touch the gains at all.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Love your tech explanations, haemph.  It takes me awhile but I end up getting things better.  Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

haemphyst wrote: noobgalore wrote: you will have to turn the gains up more since the signal will be half of what it usually is but thats what the gain is for to match the signal it is recieving. No, it won't. It will be FAR LESS than 1dB of loss, even if you dont touch the gains at all.

Im just going by my own experence. I have a alpine 9852 which has a pair of 2 volt preamp outputs and when I split it to run my 3 amps I noticed a difference. If you say you dont thats fine I'm not trying to argue I'm just offering input.

noobgalore wrote: haemphyst wrote: noobgalore wrote: you will have to turn the gains up more since the signal will be half of what it usually is but thats what the gain is for to match the signal it is recieving. No, it won't. It will be FAR LESS than 1dB of loss, even if you dont touch the gains at all. Im just going by my own experence. I have a alpine 9852 which has a pair of 2 volt preamp outputs and when I split it to run my 3 amps I noticed a difference. If you say you dont thats fine I'm not trying to argue I'm just offering input.

your ears were playing tricks on you, because it didn't happen, or the alpine preamps are junk.  Those are the only 2 possibilities.

Operational amplifiers are DESIGNED to maintain a given output voltage, regardless of the load to which they are attached. This means that: 1: If you have amplifiers rated as a 10K ohm input (fairly typical, and generally higher than that) and you have an output op-amp that is rated 500 ohms output(again, quite typical) you would be able to load that output op-amp with 20 amplifiers (with typical 10K ohm input impedances), before there will be ANY discernable loss of voltage. 2: Either a: your amplifers were NOT typical in their input impedance. They were obviously FAR lower impedance, or b: there was an issue with one of the amplifiers you installed. Those are the ONLY two options.

stevdart wrote: Love your tech explanations, haemph. It takes me awhile but I end up getting things better.

Thanks... It's what I do! It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."