Connecting two amps to one speaker

Hi,
Does anyone know if it is safe to connect an integrated amp as well as an AV receiver to one set of front speakers simultaneously? To avoid clutter I want to use only one pair of speakers to listen to music as well as for HT. But I don't want to keep on switching speaker cables from Integrated amp to AV back and forth.

I am thinking of using two sets of speaker wires and permanently connecting both equipment to the bi-wire speakers. I can power off one of the amps while using the other, but still afraid that it might cause a short circuit and blow up both amps, or worse destroy the speakers.

Unfortunately there is no pre-out in my AV amp to allow the front speakers to be powered by the integrated amp.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Vijay

You can try place a bookshelf on top of a floorstander. just basic placements.......but if u go the extra mile.....u will be in for lots of
surprises!! pleasant ones mostly

vijay wrote:Hi,
Does anyone know if it is safe to connect an integrated amp as well as an AV receiver to one set of front speakers simultaneously? To avoid clutter I want to use only one pair of speakers to listen to music as well as for HT. But I don't want to keep on switching speaker cables from Integrated amp to AV back and forth.

I am thinking of using two sets of speaker wires and permanently connecting both equipment to the bi-wire speakers. I can power off one of the amps while using the other, but still afraid that it might cause a short circuit and blow up both amps, or worse destroy the speakers.

Unfortunately there is no pre-out in my AV amp to allow the front speakers to be powered by the integrated amp.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Vijay

If you happen to really try this out ... do tell/share with the fellow forumers what was the outcome OK ? Thanks !

mugenfoo wrote:
If you happen to really try this out ... do tell/share with the fellow forumers what was the outcome OK ? Thanks !

Why don't you just be accomodating and say doing it may risk damage?.. rather than he could suffer loss?

sifus, for the sake of making a safe connection, does the tape in - tape out trick (if vijay's av amp has these) work in this case?
 

I suggest it will be much safer for you to use a speaker switching box.

cmboy wrote:

mugenfoo wrote:
If you happen to really try this out ... do tell/share with the fellow forumers what was the outcome OK ? Thanks !

Why don't you just be accomodating and say doing it may risk damage?.. rather than he could suffer loss?

Why ? You try before is it ?

Testing the resistance of a turned-off SS amp's output with a multimeter doesn't give any reading also !

WongKN wrote:I suggest it will be much safer for you to use a speaker switching box.

Would appreciate to know where this speaker switching box can be ourchased in KL.

Thanks

I think places like Hiway Laser or CMY might have them. Try Hiway Laser first since they have been supporting us by donating their shop space for our gatherings.

Well, it is not a good idea to connect two amps into one speaker. First It will degrade the sound, audio manufacturer nowadys (very true or not kiam siap maybe), always state that if anything that is connected to amp and does nothing such as vu meter or disco led lite will degrade the sound . What more a lazy amplifier...( As for me i like dancing VU like my luxman receiver-it got good sound and MC intosh their big VU meter, lovely-great sound) Since the british came along, all the amps came forth afterward is dull and boring. Worst all black, like black stove!

Second If you accidently turn two amplifier on at the same time you might blow the one of the amp. or worst two of your amp. This is because the amps are stable in its own right with their local negative feedback applied. If you feed a foreign signal to the already stable amplifier, you will destablizie the amp causing it to oscillate and destroy itself. You might get away with a burnt fuse...

Best is to employ a switch box, or it bit more technical you can connect a relay to the amplifier that gives out control out, amps like rotel and NAd have it. With this setup it will be fuss free, no need to fiddle with the switch box. Just switch whichever amp you desire for sound.

Hoyhoysum, thanks a lot. You win the award for the best and most useful reply! I am not sure I understood Uncle Vic's reply about placing a bookshelf. I presume it was a joke. Thanks for that Uncle Vic. Hahaha.

Even though there is no possibility of turning on both amps at the same time I won't take the risk. I am afraid that even if one of the amps is in standby mode it might be damaged because of the parallel connection.

I might try getting a switch box. But won't that degrade the sound by interrupting the direct flow of sound from amp to speakers?

Tape In/Out connections are usually meant for recording devices and not for hook-ups in normal listening purposes. WHen these connections are used the volume level will be bypassed as the amp output at maximum volume. Check the manual before proceeding. I accidentally hook up the interconnect to the tape out instead of the preout on my preamp once and nearly blew up the speakers. At any rate it is better to use one amp on a pair of speakers.

Does this count as using 2 amps for 1 pair of speakers?!

Using 4 mono blocs to drive 1 pair of speakers?!!!! @ mono blocs on each side, la. My experience? Out of this world, la.
..

Maybe some of u wise guys think I'm trying to pull your legs.........kekekekeeeee!!!

by amping ma..........1 for tweeters and 1 for the rest of the woofers(maybe 1 unit or 2 or more units)......2 way xover la.....
4 terminals......2 red 2 black......

Didn't think of that, did u?

Yupp, you a re right! we didnt think of that.
I think the thread starter does not mean "bi amping" as the way you decribe but maybe "by amping" two amps in one speaker will help boost the power. Didnt think of that do you?

Sorry Vijay, uncle vic too much hifi already veered out of topic....

I know what he meant. The conveniences of not having to plug and unplug to use whichever amps/equipments needed. I was suggesting (hinting actually, don't know if people want to be told outright) 2 pairs of speakers........1 pair for each amp. If 2 set of amps are required. some ht fans may not set up 2 amps, 1 for 2 channel stereo and another dedicated ht av amp for ht duties. may use the same amp for both usage, stereo and ht.

There is one hifi forumer that need our assistance, we gather together, we give good advice and we are in serious discussion. While talking about his hifi problem, in some one came talk outerspace stuff, no head and tail and no connection , left us never mind but leave us hanging upside down.

If nothing to say keep quitelah, don't open mouth and make a mockery of yourself lah.....

hoyhoysum wrote:There is one hifi forumer that need our assistance, we gather together, we give good advice and we are in serious discussion. While talking about his hifi problem, in some one came talk outerspace stuff, no head and tail and no connection , left us never mind but leave us hanging upside down.

If nothing to say keep quitelah, don't open mouth and make a mockery of yourself lah.....

Oooo.. looks like someone's got his panties in a bunch here as well...

What panties? Panties for ladies, men spander!

Dear hoyhoysum,

Just let one sing himself, one man concert is always boring.
Perhaps he wears p...... hehe.

hughesths wrote:
Number of posts: 6
Age: 50
Location: seremban
Registration date: 2009-10-04

so far only 6 postings ?? .. Cmon, u can do better than that ... work the keyboard , work those fingers ... yeah .... spank 'em good!

Ya, I agree, only a mere 6 posts so far, not as big mouth and experienced as the famous Panties Lover.

Thats right, you gotta lot of catching up to do, you.

... when you hit your first 100 post .. i'll sponsor you a set ya .... what colour do you like ? Blue ? Pink ? .. How about Polka dot purple on red ? ... Bet it'll sure match with the quality of the postings coming from you !


Oh & while you're at it ... hope to see some postings that are at least remotely-related to hifi ok? .... otherwise people might think you're the one with the panty-fetish instead (stay away, thats my territory!).

Lest my pair of Wharfedales might come off as 1000 times more interesting than your threads. We wouldn't want that to happen now, would we ?

Fun fun fun ....

Oh and one more thing, ... i dunno how this relates to you using your mouth here, but i type with my fingers, on a kayboard attached to a computer.
Wow .. you must have some special "oral skills". Happy for you. But i sincerely hope you don't listen to hi-fi through your mouth though...

The One man concert continues........

hughesths wrote:The One man concert continues........

... which still gets a one man audience! So it isn't boring after all coz the it's still getting responses. Ironic.

Here’s a schematic diagram on methods of biwiring and biamping the speakers.
Disclosure: Extracted from magazine What HI*FI? UK (May 1999).

Hi Vijay,

I read with interest on the topic asked and the several good replies and some interesting off topic ones. I think you are not talking about bi-amping or bi-wiring your speakers as some suggestions indicated. Going back to your question, I think you really mean you want to use ONE pair of speakers (L&R) for HT and music (not at the same time though) and you will drive this same pair of speakers using an AV amp for HT and separate Int.amp for music. I assume that you also have other speakers (Center, surround L & R, subs etc) connected to the AV amp, but we can disregard those.

First and foremost you MUST make sure whether BOTH the amps have speaker RELAYS built in or not. I believe most AV amps nowadays have them, most power amps have some have not, smaller Int amps - many do NOT have relays. These relays are part of the 'protection' (mostly to protect the speakers). You can hear the characteristic "click" sound when the relays kick in after a few seconds of delay when the protection circuitry finds nothing wrong. On the other hand if your Int amp (with speakers plugged in) makes the speakers produce the "turn-on thump" sound then it does NOT have the said relays. I dont encourage this, but if you are sure you have a very good multi tester, check at the speaker terminals of your amps (switched OFF) : open circuit (infinite resistance) means your amps have relays, any other readings means your amp does NOT have relays.

Now, if any of your 2 amps does NOT have relays, you should NOT connect them to the same pair of speakers under any condition. The "on" amp is then 'driving' both the speakers and the other amp's circuitry even if its off - which is a no-no situation. Can't imagine the result if both are 'on' and signals playing!!

Now, if BOTH your amps have relays, you can (with CAUTION) do what you intend to do, ie. connect both amps to the same speakers using 2 separate pairs of cables of course. You have to operate with extreme caution to make sure that only ONE amp is 'on' at any one time - if you cannot 100% ensure that, please don't do it. Also, NEVER do it if your Int amp is a tube amp.

Thanks for looking, just my opinion.

Hi CLH,
Thanks for the detailed reply. Both my amps (Marantz Integrated and Pioneer AV) make the clicking sound when turned on, indicating that they do have relays.

How about if I connect both amps to the speaker, but deaden one amp completely while the other is playing? In other words pull the power plug out on one amp so that it becomes a dead piece of metal. I do have two other pairs of speakers to drive the AV amp, but the pair I have for the Integrated is really the best and I feel I am losing out a lot by using the other speakers, which are now being used as a stand for the 108 inch DYI screen I built!

But perhaps I should take your advice and just not mess with the arrangement. It is only a little trouble to unplug one pair of wires and plug the other.

How about using a switching box as some have suggested?

Thanks your patience.

Cheers
Vijay

Yes you can let Two Amps connected to 1 pair of Front Speakers but both Amp
must NOT BE Switched ON at the same time !!! But the best way is like what the Speakers Shop Taukey did with their Simple " Switch Board ". when we want to test say, 3 or even 4 different Pairs of Loudspeakers, the Taukey will just connect the Amp to the Speaker that you choose to Listen through the " Switch Board " and anytime he can disconnect and switch to another Pair anytime you ask him to...
This is just like the Telephone Operator's Switch board.
So I suggest you terminate you Speaker Cable nearest to the Amp itself (the Stereo Hi Fi Amp) but accesible to you anytime. But you must have a very good " Contact " like a piece of COPPER PLATE Switch and not those normal Lighting Switch in the House......(which has tiny contact point)
Although you have the Speaker Switch built in your Amp, the above Technique is the Safest. You still can use the " Plug in and Plug Out " from the
Main but it is more troublesome.....

....Forget to mention that ofcourse you are using Two separate pairs of Cables
from your HI FI Stereo Amp and your AV Amp. The copper plate Switch (or even better, the Silver Plate being a better Conductor) can be custom made.....

right just use the speaker switch box it was the only solution for this case. cheer.

Thanks guys, I finally decided to use two separate pairs of speakers for the two amps. Using one pair of speakers for the two was just not working out, mainly because of the different placements needed for listening to CDs and listening to HT sound. But thanks to everybody for your suggestions, some very useful and some very entertaining.

Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year to all.
Vijay