I've wanted to ask you this question for a long time, and figured that a switch box was the only way to do it...thanks for your answer! I have been watching the show since you introduced us to big Nipper and that was early in the series!
this is the best solution, i think. Use your AVR to drive all but your left and right towers. hook up your hifi amp to the L&R preouts on your AVR and speaker level to your towers. then any hifi equipment direct to the hifi amp if you prefer or through the AVR.
To the Reader. Try to find an integrated amp with a home theatre bypass option. Hegel, Naim and others have this feature. It's a great way to get the best of both worlds without moving speaker cables around.
I've seen some amps where their speaker protector output relay actually puts a short across the speaker terminals when the relay is released - as in powered down, so if you connected that amp to another you'd have all sorts of problems as it would short out the other amp. Also, apart from the above relay, often lifting the output of a transistor above it's supply rail effectively reverse biases that transistor, many cannot tolerate much of that, and guess what, a powered down amp had supply rails of zero, so any incoming signal over a volt or two is starting to stress them transistors - so Don't do it. Go out and buy (or make) a speaker switcher. These can be used both to connect multiple sets of speaker to one amp, or as in this case, multiple amps to one set of speakers. A while ago I wanted to do similar, however one of the amps had an output relay (speaker protector) so I rewired it so that in its off condition it switches the speakers over to the alternate amp. The main downside of this hack is the modified amp needs a extra set of speaker terminals fitted, as inputs to be connected to the other amp.
I got a dual mono (dual power supply) stereo integrated amp with a dedicated power-amp input (also known as "home theatre", "processor" etc.) Mine also has 2x sub in and out so it can send the signal as pass-thru. Then you can use it as an dedicated stereo amp for stereo and as a power amp when watching movies etc in surround. Brilliant solution and no switching cables anymore👌
Best short answer is NO. The potential convenience is not worth the risk of damage in the case where damage is an issue and you don't know if it is an issue or not. A speaker switch in reverse will work IF the switch transfers and isolates BOTH positive and negative lines because a bridged amp could get quite angry if commons are tied together.
I can strongly recommend Beresford's TC7720 Mk 2 speaker/amp switch boxes if they can still be bought. they have two amplifier inputs and two speaker outputs. I have my HiFi gear in my man cave, the relevant components on the input side being 2 x Audiolab 8000M power amps, which are in the man cave, and a Denon AVR3805 AV amp which resides in the living room. The speakers involved are TDL Studio 1's and Tannoy DC3000's. The Beresford boxes, I have to use two because of the mono blocks and bi-wiring, allows me full control of which amp drives which speakers. Most importantly they cause no audible degradation to sound quality and if I recall correctly they are good for about 200wpc. I paid about £100 each for mine, worth every penny :). Obviously only one source is powered up at any one time and I always turn the volume down before switching speakers, just as best practice, not because it causes major thumps. PS, they will take bare wire or spades, but I'd strongly recommend 4mm banana plugs, they are not big units and banana plugs keep things manageable round the back making connections.
Paul, I have a Mcintosh 2 channel with a home theater pass thru option so I can share my front mains with both my Yamaha Av receiver and my Mcintosh. I use the Mcintosh by itself for two channel play back via my turntable or cd player and I use both the Yamaha and the Mcintosh for all my multi-channel play back for satelite tv, movies, and surround sound audio. I have a Oppo 205 4K blur ray player that has a separate internal dac for audio only playback so I use the XLR outputs for that to my Mcintosh for two channel cd playback and I use the HDMI output on the Oppo player to the Yamaha for multi-channel playback. The Yamaha is connected via it's front pre-amp output to the Mcintosh, thus, in all cases I can share my front mains with both amps. It works out great! Another benefit is that even though my Yamaha is a 9 channel AV receiver I gain two more channels by using the front pre-amp to my Mcintosh and therefore I can have a full 11.4.2 atmos arrangement for movies and atmos blu-ray audio discs.
Do not connect the 2 amps together, there is a very good chance of damage. The output stage is a diode to its power supply. When the powered amp drives the speaker, it will also try to power up the unpowered amp through the output stage diode action and then who knows what will happen. Depending on the specific design of the amps they might live but its a big risk.
Although I would use a switch box for the solution I had to mention that I have a Marantz two channel stereo receiver SR4123 I think, anyway putting a headphone cable in there is a relay disconnect with an audible click from the main output so that’s another solution.
Or you could use a light switch has to be a double pole double throw for two speakers not a general single a switch used for your cooker would be ideal
Try to find an old Adcom GFS-4 (not the lower quality GFS-3 or GFS-6) and use it backwards. Be extremely careful to not have both amps selected at the same time.
A banana patch panel might be a better choice with less loss. Or maybe his system has a bypass mode in the 2 channel system? Where he could use the 2 channel amp fed by the multimedia pre?
What kind of voltage loss is there with using a splitter? I have to use two from my SA300 because I have a Niles 3x8 and a 2x12. Is that a huge issue? I've never turned the Niles past noon and the 12s to maybe 10:00.
Are there any issues using a dual voice coil woofer in stereo L+R Has anyone ever noticed any issue on dual voice coil sub woffers inducing a voltage (Counter emf) or a forward voltage out into the one of the chanels that are not being driven at the same time ? So if the Left chanel is pushing audio and the right chanel is quiet you get a voltage feeding back into the right channel .Does that not damage your amplifier and when does it become a problem .Are you better off with a dual woofer than a dual voice coil and single woofer ?
Personally I would leave all speakers & amps connected but use separate power strips for amps ( just turn on / off power strip you don't need ) or unplug amp
Why not buy a second set of speaker cables so that there is one set running from each amplifier? That way, you only swap round the cables at the back of the speakers, not at the amplifier end
Then you have to use your AVR as you pre for everything. I found this less than desirable Edit: A good preamp with a home theater bypass is the way to go
Just get another pair of, low cost, speakers. You will lose just as much as a switch box, and your music will never suffer. Movies are so easy to satisfy. Yes there is a difference, but you will find yourself caring a lot less reducing the quality, unlike music.
Simple rule ... you can hook two inputs to one output safely but if you plan to hook two outputs to one input (in this case two amps to one speaker) you will need to have a fire extinguisher near by. As Paul said ... $30.00 gets you a very simple switch in a box that will solve the problem.
No damage! The current will take the low resistance path -> speakers. If the amps have an A/B line, the speakers can be decoupled by pressing a button anyway.... 😉
![How To Use Two Guitar Amps Together [Connections, Phase, Polarity & Why Analog Dry-Through Matters]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LH9FO1EMIPQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I've wanted to ask you this question for a long time, and figured that a switch box was the only way to do it...thanks for your answer! I have been watching the show since you introduced us to big Nipper and that was early in the series!
If your AVR has pre-out for L and R can’t you then use your hifi amp to always drive your main speakers
this is the best solution, i think. Use your AVR to drive all but your left and right towers. hook up your hifi amp to the L&R preouts on your AVR and speaker level to your towers. then any hifi equipment direct to the hifi amp if you prefer or through the AVR.
Problem with this is that the music listening is running through the receiver's dac@@3184Patrick
To the Reader. Try to find an integrated amp with a home theatre bypass option. Hegel, Naim and others have this feature. It's a great way to get the best of both worlds without moving speaker cables around.
Even my Emotiva Pre Amp has an HT bypass
So does my PSAudio Gain Cell Dac/Preamp.
any degradation when hooked up to bypass?
I've seen some amps where their speaker protector output relay actually puts a short across the speaker terminals when the relay is released - as in powered down, so if you connected that amp to another you'd have all sorts of problems as it would short out the other amp.
Also, apart from the above relay, often lifting the output of a transistor above it's supply rail effectively reverse biases that transistor, many cannot tolerate much of that, and guess what, a powered down amp had supply rails of zero, so any incoming signal over a volt or two is starting to stress them transistors - so Don't do it.
Go out and buy (or make) a speaker switcher. These can be used both to connect multiple sets of speaker to one amp, or as in this case, multiple amps to one set of speakers.
A while ago I wanted to do similar, however one of the amps had an output relay (speaker protector) so I rewired it so that in its off condition it switches the speakers over to the alternate amp. The main downside of this hack is the modified amp needs a extra set of speaker terminals fitted, as inputs to be connected to the other amp.
I got a dual mono (dual power supply) stereo integrated amp with a dedicated power-amp input (also known as "home theatre", "processor" etc.) Mine also has 2x sub in and out so it can send the signal as pass-thru.
Then you can use it as an dedicated stereo amp for stereo and as a power amp when watching movies etc in surround. Brilliant solution and no switching cables anymore👌
Best short answer is NO. The potential convenience is not worth the risk of damage in the case where damage is an issue and you don't know if it is an issue or not. A speaker switch in reverse will work IF the switch transfers and isolates BOTH positive and negative lines because a bridged amp could get quite angry if commons are tied together.
I can strongly recommend Beresford's TC7720 Mk 2 speaker/amp switch boxes if they can still be bought. they have two amplifier inputs and two speaker outputs.
I have my HiFi gear in my man cave, the relevant components on the input side being 2 x Audiolab 8000M power amps, which are in the man cave, and a Denon AVR3805 AV amp which resides in the living room. The speakers involved are TDL Studio 1's and Tannoy DC3000's.
The Beresford boxes, I have to use two because of the mono blocks and bi-wiring, allows me full control of which amp drives which speakers. Most importantly they cause no audible degradation to sound quality and if I recall correctly they are good for about 200wpc.
I paid about £100 each for mine, worth every penny :).
Obviously only one source is powered up at any one time and I always turn the volume down before switching speakers, just as best practice, not because it causes major thumps.
PS, they will take bare wire or spades, but I'd strongly recommend 4mm banana plugs, they are not big units and banana plugs keep things manageable round the back making connections.
I’m using one of those and it’s been great so far. Excellent piece of kit!!
I have a friend with a switch box and we use it quite frequently to a/b test different speakers/amps/etc
Paul, I have a Mcintosh 2 channel with a home theater pass thru option so I can share my front mains with both my Yamaha Av receiver and my Mcintosh. I use the Mcintosh by itself for two channel play back via my turntable or cd player and I use both the Yamaha and the Mcintosh for all my multi-channel play back for satelite tv, movies, and surround sound audio. I have a Oppo 205 4K blur ray player that has a separate internal dac for audio only playback so I use the XLR outputs for that to my Mcintosh for two channel cd playback and I use the HDMI output on the Oppo player to the Yamaha for multi-channel playback. The Yamaha is connected via it's front pre-amp output to the Mcintosh, thus, in all cases I can share my front mains with both amps. It works out great! Another benefit is that even though my Yamaha is a 9 channel AV receiver I gain two more channels by using the front pre-amp to my Mcintosh and therefore I can have a full 11.4.2 atmos arrangement for movies and atmos blu-ray audio discs.
Do not connect the 2 amps together, there is a very good chance of damage. The output stage is a diode to its power supply. When the powered amp drives the speaker, it will also try to power up the unpowered amp through the output stage diode action and then who knows what will happen. Depending on the specific design of the amps they might live but its a big risk.
can you use one amp for the L channel of a speaker and one amp for the right to give more power?
Although I would use a switch box for the solution I had to mention that I have a Marantz two channel stereo receiver SR4123 I think, anyway putting a headphone cable in there is a relay disconnect with an audible click from the main output so that’s another solution.
Thank you as always great content video audio commentary tutorial demo editing humbleness honesty lessons 🙏no one flexes knowledge better than you👍
You need a Parasound p6 with home theater bypass, or maybe a used p5.
Or you could use a light switch has to be a double pole double throw for two speakers not a general single a switch used for your cooker would be ideal
The first comment was right. The Home Theater bypass feature is what you want. Honestly shocked Paul didn’t recommend this.
Something like this might be better for me-I have the LR line outs from my AV processor going as an input into my hifi pre-amp.
The "driven" amp would feei the driver amp`s signal on the feed back loop to the front end circuitry.
Try to find an old Adcom GFS-4 (not the lower quality GFS-3 or GFS-6) and use it backwards. Be extremely careful to not have both amps selected at the same time.
@1:30 🤔🧐 HMM, NOW THAT’S A THOUGHT.. ..LIKE MY AMP HAS A SPEAKER TERMINAL SWITCH THAT ALLOWS THE CHOICE OF ‘A, B, A+B, OR OFF’..
A banana patch panel might be a better choice with less loss. Or maybe his system has a bypass mode in the 2 channel system? Where he could use the 2 channel amp fed by the multimedia pre?
What kind of voltage loss is there with using a splitter? I have to use two from my SA300 because I have a Niles 3x8 and a 2x12. Is that a huge issue? I've never turned the Niles past noon and the 12s to maybe 10:00.
I blue the output stage of an amplifier by doing exactly that thing, so I have never done it since if I have to do our use of switch box
I use a cheap remote control speaker switch I can not the different with and without.
Are there any issues using a dual voice coil woofer in stereo L+R Has anyone ever noticed any issue on dual voice coil sub woffers inducing a voltage (Counter emf) or a forward voltage out into the one of the chanels that are not being driven at the same time ? So if the Left chanel is pushing audio and the right chanel is quiet you get a voltage feeding back into the right channel .Does that not damage your amplifier and when does it become a problem .Are you better off with a dual woofer than a dual voice coil and single woofer ?
I run 2 monoblocks to 1 dvc subwoofer. It sounds so much more controlled. Try it before saying its not worth it. Both gain matched.
I like the sound of the klik klik..lol.thanks Paul
How to connect 10 amps to one speaker ?
Personally I would leave all speakers & amps connected but use separate power strips for amps ( just turn on / off power strip you don't need ) or unplug
amp
Just buy a speaker selector switch.
Great point, not just any A-B switch. It must be able to handle the higher level of power.
@@BruceCross a link please for this ?
@@toxotis70 I'm sorry, I've never bought one for myself, but you can do a search on speaker selector switch.
@@toxotis70Beresford makes one specially for this. Includes a dummy load for the unconnected amp in case you turn it on with no speaker hooked up.
Niles SAS-1
Why not buy a second set of speaker cables so that there is one set running from each amplifier? That way, you only swap round the cables at the back of the speakers, not at the amplifier end
TWO amps on a switcher,with TWO pairs of speakeras ?? How much is that ?where do i buy it ?
Just use some kind of switch to select one of the amps...
why not connected the avr to the stereo amp through preout on the avr
Then you have to use your AVR as you pre for everything. I found this less than desirable
Edit: A good preamp with a home theater bypass is the way to go
Niles SAS-1
BUT THE PATHWAY.........
Just get another pair of, low cost, speakers. You will lose just as much as a switch box, and your music will never suffer. Movies are so easy to satisfy. Yes there is a difference, but you will find yourself caring a lot less reducing the quality, unlike music.
One amp does me!😃
Just buy a second pair of the same speakers and speaker wire. Your back will thank you 😂
Simple rule ... you can hook two inputs to one output safely but if you plan to hook two outputs to one input (in this case two amps to one speaker) you will need to have a fire extinguisher near by.
As Paul said ... $30.00 gets you a very simple switch in a box that will solve the problem.
Rich guy😅😅😅has two amp 😂😂😂buy one more speaker🎉🎉🎉
No damage! The current will take the low resistance path -> speakers. If the amps have an A/B line, the speakers can be decoupled by pressing a button anyway.... 😉