4 ohm speakers 8 ohm system

May 6, 2018
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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
 
Solution
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.
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.
 
Solution

ElectrO_90

Commendable
Jun 21, 2016
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1,660
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?