Technical question -Can I add an external resistor to my speakers in order to increase the impedance level?

 

gulash
If yes how do I do this ?
Should I connect the resistor with one tip touching the "+" and one tip touching the "-" ?OR should I connect the resistor linear to either the "+" or the "-" sign? OR should I connect 2 resistors (each 1/2 of the total resistance I want to add) linear to both the "+" and the"-"?
Thanks
 

gulash
One thing I forgot to ask - will there be a loss in sound quality?
 

Anonymous
No. You will increase DC resistance but that will not change the AC impedance of the driver. Keep in mind that some crossovers contain resistors and throwing another one into the circuit may cause unforseen results.
 

Derek
Yes, you can increase the apparent DC [and AC] resistence of what the amp sees but the resister simply turn your amps power into heat. If the resister and the woofer have the same impedence, you will loose 1/2 of your power and the speaker will end up being quieter.

Let's asume you have a 4 ohm woofer. You would add another 4 ohm resister in series with the speaker and you would end up with 8 ohms. Of course you loose 1/2 of your amps power.
 

gulash
But if the case is that I'm using an 8 ohm compatible amp an 4 ohm speakers, by adding the resister won't I make the amp run safer and cooler? Will I loose beats?
 

timn8ter
You haven't told us the rated power output of your amp. You may need a fairly hefty resistor (20W). As Derek says, put it in series with the driver. If you place it across the speaker terminals you'll reduce, not increase, the resistance. The downside of using a "hefty" resistor is you may "muddy up" the sound, but it doesn't hurt to try.
 

gulash
I own the Marantz SR4300 which I actually don't know if it can handle a 4 Ohm speaker load?I'm sure you guys know this model :-) and the speakers are Jamo E430 (rated 4 Ohms) - What do I do?. By "hefty" resistor you mean what?
If I want to connect the resistor in series to which cable will I connect it to + or -.
Thanks for all the help
 

timn8ter
The Marantz SR4300 is rated at 80W per channel @ 8 ohms. It MAY handle a 4 ohm nominal load but you'd want to be careful with the volume control. Resistors have two rating values. One for resistance and the other for how much power it can safely dissipate. While your amp is rated at 80W in reality you don't use nearly that much power. You may be able to get away with a 10W resistor. IMHO, the lower the better. To place the resistor in series connect to the positive side in line with the speaker wire.
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