Adding Speakers Help

 

New member
Username: Soundbear

North Olmsted, OH United States

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-17
Hey everyone,

I'm new here and looking for a bit of help. I have an AIWA CX-NA303 speaker system with the pair of SX-NA302 speakers that came with it. They are rated for 40W and 6ohms. I just acquired a pair of Bose Interaudio 4000 speakers (10-100W, 4-8ohms) and would like to connect them to the speaker system in addition to the current speakers to create a surround sound system of sorts. Is this possible and what would be the best way to do it? Thanks for the help!
 

New member
Username: Soundbear

North Olmsted, OH United States

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jan-17
Also, does anyone know what gauge wire the Bose speakers use? Thanks!
 

Platinum Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 18354
Registered: May-04
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If you try this, you need to connect the two pairs of speakers in series. Do you know how to do that?
 

New member
Username: Soundbear

North Olmsted, OH United States

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jan-17
No, I don't have any experience with speaker systems outside of the basic, standard setup.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 18355
Registered: May-04
.

Then don't try cutting and splicing wires to add the Bose to the Aiwa. The total impedance load of the two pairs combined will very likely damage the amp unless they are connected properly. Even connected in series, this is not a good idea. Buy a new amp.

Four speakers do not create surround sound. And two more speakers in a room do not boost volumes levels appreciably.

Buy a new amp.

It doesn't matter what gauge wiring Bose uses. You select the appropriate cable gauge according to the system needs.



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New member
Username: Soundbear

North Olmsted, OH United States

Post Number: 4
Registered: Jan-17
Whether it might make a difference or not, I also found an old Yamaha AV-66 YST amplifier in my basement. It only has spots for a single pair of speakers, rated 8ohm min./speaker.

If that doesn't do the job either, are there are any relatively inexpensive amplifiers that simply have spots for all four speakers? The only input I really use is the aux.

P.S. - I know that simply having four speakers doesn't mean having surround sound nor does it make it louder. I just felt that, since I use them with movies and games, it would make it slightly more immersive. Plus, my AIWA speakers have a more high-freq balance, while I've heard the Bose speakers are more low-end oriented. Figured they'd balance each other out well.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 18357
Registered: May-04
.

Do you know why the Yamaha was in storage? Do you know whether it might blow out the speakers as soon as you power it up as a system?

Neither set of speakers on their own is well suited to an amp with "8 Ohm MINIMUM" warnings. Together they still represent a very low impedance load that would be dangerous for the Yamaha even if they were connected in series.

That's pretty much what ONLY one set of speaker outputs says.

This isn't an amp that was built for much other than filling a spot on a shelf. The Yamahas from this generation were cheaply made, sounded cheap and didn't last.

You risk damaging the speakers if you hook them up without knowing why the amp isn't in use. You risk blowing out the amp and speakers if you use it with these speakers.

Amps which are pulled out of storage are notorious for not lasting more than a few weeks. The capacitors in the amp age when sitting and when you slam them with a full 120 Volts, they may play for a week or so but they eventually die. When they die, they can take out the speakers.

You can ask a tech to run it on a bench for a few weeks but that's going to cost money that could go towards a new amp.

This still isn't a good solution.

"If that doesn't do the job either, are there are any relatively inexpensive amplifiers that simply have spots for all four speakers?"

Nope. Cheap amps are built cheap and don't like multiple sets of speakers. If you find an amp with two sets of outputs, it will likely also warn you about impedance loads.

You can buy an "inexpensive" amp for about $350 that would drive two sets of speakers.


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New member
Username: Soundbear

North Olmsted, OH United States

Post Number: 5
Registered: Jan-17
It was in storage because we bought a surround sound system for our main room a few years ago and no longer had need of it. As far as I know, it should still be working fine....
 

Platinum Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 18358
Registered: May-04
.

You are pretty insistent on using all these speakers with a cheap old amp, aren't you?

Read what I added to the above post about amps pulled from storage.


Place "how to connect speakers in series" in a search engine. Try that and see how long it works.

Or just use two speakers. The Aiwas and the Bose are not going to "balance" anything.


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New member
Username: Soundbear

North Olmsted, OH United States

Post Number: 6
Registered: Jan-17
More of, I'd like to be able to use all four speakers and either use what I have or avoid spending a couple hundred bucks haha.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 18359
Registered: May-04
.

Good luck. I've seen this approach dozens of times and it seldom works out. Old stuff that was cheaply made breaks. Old stuff that was in storage usually breaks. Putting stress on either type of "stuff" only hastens the inevitable end.

Cheap speakers that have audible problems don't get better by adding more cheap speakers.

You obviously are not after any semblance of "good sound" quality. You just have some stuff you want to use and any ol'stuff would do.

This is not a criticism, just a reflection on all of the other tries I've seen before your's.

There are plenty of technical reasons this may not be "a plan". Too many to go into actually.

Give it a try, you have little to lose. But I'd be saving your money for some new audio gear also. 95% of these "tries" end up with dead equipment.


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