In , on 06/29/03
at 05:41 PM, Hogarth said:

I've got a "home theater" receiver/amp with an A-B speaker switch. The
"A" speakers are in my listening room, the "B" speakers are on the
patio in the backyard. When I have them both switched on, the B
speakers are much louder than the A speakers. If I want to listen to
music in the house at a moderately loud level, my wife runs in from
outside and tells me to turn it down before the neighbors complain.

So I bought an L-pad for the B speakers, thinking that would enable me
to turn them down...

(Here's where it gets weird...)

When I turn down the L-pad, the B speakers go down in volume, BUT SO
DO THE A SPEAKERS!

Make sure you actually have an L-pad and that it is wired correctly.
You may have mixed-up "in" and "out".

I'm totally confused. Does this mean the A speakers and the B speakers
are connected in parallel or something?

They are probably connected in series or you have mixed "in" and "out".

Do I need to put an L-pad on the A speakers as well? Will that get
them working independently?

Further complication: This is a "home theater" amp, with separate
outputs for a subwoofer, center channel, and two rear channel
speakers. Will putting an L-pad in the A speakers (which also serve
as the front channel speakers for the home theater setup) screw up
the balance of my home theater system?

If your receiver uses a series connection for "A" and "B", then the
output will be lower when running "A" and "B" than when running "A" or
"B". This will upset the front to rear balance every time you switch a
pair of speakers on or off. This is only an annoyance unless your
receiver channel balance adjustment range is too short.

Using an autotransformer speaker volume control for each pair of
speakers (including the main), all connected to "A" or "B", will solve
your problem and result in an easy to use system. (but you still may
have a balance adjustment range problem)

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