4 ohm speakers 8 ohm system

[sonymantim]

Hi

I have an old electric piano.. 8ohm Speakers are shot.

I have some perfect sized 4 ohm replacements.

Should I wire up and hope I dont cook the amp.. I rarely play full volume

Or should I use one channel and wire in series.. Creating the required 8ohms.. However one channel will not be used...

Im not worried that I will lose stereo effect

Many thanks

 

[americanaudiophile]

It will be safer to wire the speakers in series. You might damage the amp in the piano if it can't handle 4 ohms. You could also wire a 4 ohm resistor in series with the plus going to each speaker. That resistor should be non inductive and have enough power handling not to go up in smoke.

 

[ElectrO_90]

I've never seen an amp go "pop" from adding a 4ohm to a 8 ohm system, as long as you don't crank it up.
In theory, 100% = 10 watts @ 8 ohms
now 10 watts @ 4 ohms would be 50%
Cheap amps may struggle, if you're careful you won't have a problem.
Always keep volume low when changing impedance.

But if you are a person who doesn't throw caution to the wind, series them up. Who needs Stereo, right?