Daisy Chaining for Dummies

[megajynx]

Oh boy where to being? I'm neck deep into confusion about how chaining speakers (in parallel) works. In a nutshell heres my setup:


(2) Peavey PA115 Speakers: 400 Watt RMS @ 8 ohms
Behringer EP2500: 500w@8; 750w@4; 1200w@2


Works like a charm, I can ride the speakers pretty hard and they seem like they just wont give. However, my question is what happens if i add ANY of the following setups into the mix:

(2) Behringer B1520 Speakers: 200 Watt RMS @ 8 ohms
- OR -
(2) JBL MP225 MPro Speakers: 500 Watt RMS @ 4 ohms


Now unless electronics class has failed me, the math would come out with the Behringer solution would wind up with 4 ohms and the JBL one with 2 ohms, right? My next three questions are the following:

Would either speakers handle having the ohms go down to 4 or even 2, would this underpower them, in a nutshell, how does this affect them if at all?

How does the wattage come into play from here? My current setup is pretty straight foward, but would it mean that with Setup A i would have 750 watts @ 4 ohms to play with on both speakers; Setup B 1200 @ 2?

Finally... does it matter how I chain em together? like what one goes first? =P


Any response would be of help, ty in advance

 

[rexter]

So you have:

2 Peavey PA115 Speakers: 400 Watt RMS @ 8 ohms, original set up

and you want to add:

2 Behringer B1520 Speakers: 200 Watt RMS @ 8 ohms
2 JBL MP225 MPro Speakers: 500 Watt RMS @ 4 ohms

So if you take the 1 Peavy + 1 Behringer + 1 JBL and parallel them together you get your 2 ohms @ 1100 Watts on one channel.

 

[rexter]

I was too tired to answer everything last the last time.

Anyhow, here's the rest:

Would either speakers handle having the ohms go down to 4 or even 2, would this underpower them, in a nutshell, how does this affect them if at all?

No, actually 2 ohms means more current going through the wires. That's why you need to setup the amp to go as low as 2 ohms to match total impedance of speakers because more speakers are sharing its energy.

Finally... does it matter how I chain em together? like what one goes first? =P

When you parallel, each speaker connects the same way, so it does not really matter. However, it's always better to create a terminal distribution unit (like a junction box) and connect each speaker with it's own wire. If you daisy chain, there might be a chance that the last speaker will not have enough juice and troubleshooting is also harder.

 

[americanaudiophile]

Your amplifier is what has to handle the combined impedance of each pair of speakers. One combination is 4 ohms and other just under 3 ohms. Since the amp is rated to 2 ohms it should handle it but I agree with rexter on the hookup. Heavy wire (12 awg or better) would be good and a 20amp outlet for the amp would insure that it actually can get enough wattage in to deliver that power out to the speakers.
Since each speaker will have a different sound & efficiency the combined sound may not be to your liking so you might not want to use both pair when you don't need the added level.