In article , Harry Muscle
wrote:

I'm really new to everything to do with speakers, but I just have one quick
question. I have a 6.1 speaker setup. However, I would like to duplicate
the front center channel in another room using the rear center speaker. The
front center speaker is rated at 20W, while the rear center is rated at 8W.
The front center ouput is matched to the speaker, so it's rated at 20W. If
I were to connected the rear center speaker (8W) along with the front center
speaker (20W) to the front center output (20W), would I blow the rear center
speaker?

The "watts" ratings on most speakers means little or nothing. It is
the maximum amount of audio power that the speaker can run with before
it burns up. What does matter is the amount of "ohms" that your
speakers have, ie, the impedeance. Most amplifiers are set up for
a load of 8 ohms. Speakers are typically 8 ohms or 4 ohms. If your
two speakers are 4 ohms, connect them in series (amp + to center +,
center - to rear +, rear - to amp -). If your speakers are 8 ohms or
higher, it is probably best to hook them in parallel (amp + to both
speakers +, amp - to both speakers -). While this will give you sound,
you have no way to control the volume of each speaker -- both go up
or down in loudness when you adjust your main volume. Another problem
is that these 2 speakers may not be equally as efficient. That is,
one might make more sound for a given amount of audio power, leading
to one of the being much louder than the other. Be careful with your
wiring--if you short the + and - wires anywhere, you can blow your
amplifier.

-john-

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John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
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