Question

Speakers say 4-8ohms

  • 18 October 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 702 views

Hello all - first post. Brand new to Sonos and loving it! I purchased 2 Connect Amps, and 2 Play 1's. The first Connect Amp powers 4 ceiling speakers (2 in Master Bath and 2 in Master Bedroom) and the other Connect Amp powers 4 ceiling speakers in living room/kitchen area. Here is my question:
When I ordered my speakers, I thought they were all 8 ohms. The bathroom speakers came in first, and they are both 8 ohms (these were "weather resistant" so different from the others). Got them installed and they sound great.
The rest of the speakers came in a week later, and I got them all installed and they all work and sound great too. But I noticed in some documentation that came with the other 6 speakers that they say 4-8ohms. Now I'm worried that I may cause damage to my very expensive Connect Amps. So one of the Connect Amps is running 2 8 ohm speakers and 2 rated 4-8 ohms, and the other Connect Amp is running 4 4-8 ohm speakrs. After running them for quite a while, sound is still great and they don't feel too warm. Should I be worried, or should I install some speaker selectors just for the impedance matching protection?
I'm new to all of this.

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2 replies

If you are not running high volumes, you need not worry. And even if you are, before they are damaged, the protection circuitry of the amps will kick in, causing them to shut down. Inconvenient of course, but no permanent damage. Also, it is good practice to always have the Connect Amps placed in a ventilated place where heat gets quickly radiated away from the top surfaces.

If you want to be super careful, what is needed is a device called as an impedance matcher to which the Connect Amp is wired, and from whose output the two speaker pairs are driven. This device does not let the impedances drop to below selected levels, reduces volume levels when that has to be done as a consequence, but also often allows each pair to be independently volume controlled.

I just noticed you are familiar with and have referred to these...sorry!
Thank you so much Kumar. I appreciate the info.