Crosswire Stereo Power Output

[HaydenJJ7]

I currently have a 100w stereo system which I've cross-wired to two 500w speakers (the stereo now powers four speakers) but this has taken down the max power of the stereo, it now shuts down if the volume goes past 40.
What can I do/buy so the stereo sends max power to all speakers?

 

[jcoultas98]

Well, for starters, your AMP is shutting down due to an overload. You have wired the speakers in parallel (Twisted both blacks, and both reds), you have effectively doubled the power it takes to drive a single speaker, as well as dangerously changed the speaker/amp impedance load. Stack both of these factors together, you are straining your amplifier to a point where its going to cause permanent damage. Don't do this. There are two workarounds. One, if your stereo has an A + B channel, just plug each speaker pair into a separate channel. This will reduce the volume of each speaker, but the internal circuitry of the amplifier will adjust to the pairs, and will not be in jeapordy due to the above factors. The second, which is basically the same as the first, but requires a speaker selector switch. These units will correct the impedance levels for multiple pairs of speakers. The more pairs you add, the more power required to drive them. IF the receiver is a 5.1/7.1 model, some brands like yamaha and denon offer a 5 channel stereo option. This drives all connected speakers at their full power limited by the power supply in most cases.

 

[HaydenJJ7]

Correct me if Im wrong because I have no idea about elecrtrical things, but are you saying if I brought a 500w AMP + a 2 way speaker selector I could effectively have the stereo running to the AMP, the AMP running to the selector and the selector running to all four speakers? Would this reduce the level of risk and give me a lot better performance?

 

[thee_prisoner]

You could use the separate amp to drive the other speakers.

 

[jcoultas98]

Absolutely. If you picked up a separate amp, you could use that to power all of your speakers, or as thee said, you could use one amp per pair of speakers! Either way is a pretty good alternative.

 

[HaydenJJ7]

Thanks, but I may have another problem.
My stereo does not have an Aux cable pug-in hole for a seperate amp, only two plug-in clip holes you would find on an internet modem etc. for the two original speakers and another for a radio antenna connection.
Is there any way I could get around this?

 

[jcoultas98]

Depending on what source you use, you can split that signal. RCA, 1/8".

These units are widely available online, or at a local radio shack/electronics store.