This is actually a home audio question, but you guys are the most knowledgeable people I know when it comes to this kind of question, so I figure it can't hurt to ask here.
I have a 22-year-old Kenwood KR-V6020 stereo receiver. It has two pairs of outputs, which I use to drive a pair of 6 ohm speakers and a pair of 8 ohm speakers. What I find odd about it is that it has an impedance selector switch with two options: 4 ohm and "8 ohm or more".
What confuses me about this switch is that I thought impedance was determined by the speakers ohm rating and how you wired them (series v. parallel). So what is this switch doing and where do I set it? How about if I was just driving the 6 ohm speakers? I can't find a manual for this antique anywhere.
Those switches invoke current limiters to protect the amplifier from overload when used with a lower impedance load. With 6-ohm speakers leave it in the 8-ohm position.
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Support the12volt.comIt being located ON the reciever and not on an outboard speaker selector switch, If your speakers are 4 ohm, when you select speakers A and B, the switch runs those speakers in series. If you have 8 ohm or higher speakers, it parallels the 2 speakers for a 4 ohm minimum load on each channel of the amplifier.
To check my above theory, place the switch in 4 ohm. Turn on both A and B speakers. Disconnect one of the speakers. Does the other speaker quit? Place the switch in 8 ohm or higher. Do the same thing, the other speaker should play, whereas it should have quit with the switch in the 4 ohm position.
i am an idiot wrote:
Place the switch in 4 ohm. Turn on both A and B speakers. Disconnect one of the speakers. Does the other speaker quit? Place the switch in 8 ohm or higher. Do the same thing, the other speaker should play, whereas it should have quit with the switch in the 4 ohm position.
When I unplug a speaker on B, let's say the left one, the left speaker on A quits. This happens no matter where I set the switch. What does that mean?
That they are wired in series.