What are you all using for impedance matching transformers. I have used teh Niles SMS10 in the past, but I was looking for something capable of 4, 6 or 8 pairs of speakers. The customer does not want a speaker selector, and want to have the speakers on, or controlled through the volume control, so a speaker selector is not an option. It is amazing that the consumers cannot figure out speaker selectors!?! They forget to push the button, then won't even look at the instruction manual we custom made for their system.

I would like something with a clean installation, not just a bunch of transformers. I might have to just put a speaker selector behind all of the equpiment and leave them all turned on.

Mike

Mike,

Are you saying the customer wants a volume control at each speaker location rather than a selector?

If so, then just use impedance matching VC's. Wire homerun back to something like the Russound EZB blocks.

Mike,

You might check out Knoll Systems transformer free volume controls with PowerMatch. Just make sure you have a good amplifier. The transformer free volume controls sound much better, do not "sing" in the walls, do not heat up, etc. The only cost are the v/c's themselves you will not need anything else, no selector to worry about.

Why not use a 12ch power amp?

By volume control, I meant the main volume on the receiver. Sorry I didn't explain it intelligently. What I am looking for is a solution tha has no volume controls or speaker selector, Just a nice looking box or a transformer that I can put somewhere.

Something like this but for less speakers.

[Link: nilesaudio.com]

Mike

Phoenix Gold Sam 100 for six pair
Phoenix Gold Sam 200 for twelve pair.

An entire system of speakers with only the master volume control?

NO way you can mean that..........No way to control the individual room volume, let alone control the source equipment....?

i second the use of a 12 channel amp. i have a few sonamp1230 b stocks if needed

The SMS-10 can be set for however many speakers you want... there are moveable taps inside the case...

You could always put a speaker selector and glue the buttons 'on'...;)

It is going into an elderly persons house. He does not understand the concept of VC's . He is completely happy to not have individual volume control, and that is what he wants. I have tried to talk him out of it, but have been unsuccessful. He is trying to do things the cheap way, and would probably not go for the niles piece. I know you can move the jumper depending on how many speakers, I am just lookiing for a cheap solution. Thanks for your input. I will check out the Phoenix Gold stuff.

Mike

There is no cheaper way than impedance matching volume controls. SpeakerCraft makes them as low as $35 each. Nothing but amp and volume control.

You could just mount them behind the rack and leave them on.

I looked at the SAM100 from Phoenix Gold, and that is what I will be using. Thanks for your help.

Mike

How about those wireless headphones?

Okay, you said CHEAP.

Take two eight ohm speakers and wire them in parallel. You now have sixteen ohms.

Do this again.

Wire each of the above setups in parallel with one another. Two 16 ohm loads in parallel make 8 ohms.

For no cost at all, you have now equally divided the power from the amp into four equal branches, and each speaker receives the same power.

For more speakers, say, six, put three speakers in series; 24 ohms. Do it again.
Put those two circuits in parallel; you now have 12 ohms.

A 12 ohm load will not damage the amp because it will draw less current than an 8 ohm load. You won't get full power from the amp, but it is being divided six ways anyhow, so in your case that should not matter.

Only caution: if you mix speaker models, the frequency response will get messed up when you put speakers in series. Say you have a high quality speaker and a low quality speaker; each has a sharp resonance in its bass and the better speaker will have a resonance at a lower frequency. This resonance results in an increased impedance at the resonant frequency. If you combine equal speakers, the frequency response will stay the same; if you combine different models, the higher resonance of the cheap speaker will lower the bass output of the better speaker, so it will sound kind of thin. The better speaker will lower the low bass output of the cheaper speaker at a place where it has poor response anyway, so is less likely to be noticed.

Whenever I say this, somebody argues. Please don't. Somewhere I have the Bruel & Kjaer charts showing this from when I investigated it years ago while comparing Marantz amps that put Speaker A and B in parallel while the current Sony and Kenwood models (see? it's been a while) put them in series. I figured that different speakers would create a poor result. What I still do not see intuitively is that equal speakers give equal results.

i think he means in series