can you hook up 4 6 1/2 pioneers to a 2 channel amp and get a good sound?

Question

or do i need a 4 channel amp..........
will it sound better if i hook up only 2 of the speakers...........
since it is a 2 channel amp..........
800 watt pioneer amp......please help...

Answer 1

You could, but you need to pay close attention to impedance and polarity. The total circuit impedance is important because you can both degrade the output power, and DAMAGE the amplifier if you do not match the total circuit impedance to the amp's rating. The polarity is important, because if you have non-matching polarity on either side, the speakers basically cancel each other out (very over-simplified explanation I know). Sort of like the "noise-cancelling headphones you hear about where every sensed sound wave is offset by an opposite one, creating a psudo-silence. You need to do a lot of researce on the wiring of speakers before messing with this if you don't understand how impedance is calculated in serial and parallel circuits.

Answer 2

Sure you can hook them up - but it's very much dependant on your amp.

There are two ways you can connect all four speakers - parrallel or serial.

Parrallel will put your amp's [+] and [-] outputs to each of the speakers' [+] and [-] inputs. This causes the resistance across the circuit to drop by 1/2. So if you have 4Ohm speakers - your amp MUST be able to handle a 2Ohm load. Not many do - so please please check with Pioneer to make sure yours can before you hook it up this way. If it can't handle a 2Ohm load - you'll effectively shortting out the circuit and blow your amp (if you're luck - just the fuse).

Serial allows you to hook up your speakers in a daisy chain fashion. Starting with your amp's [+] you connect to the first speaker's [+] then connect that speaker's [-] to the next speaker's [+] and finally take the 2nd speaker's [-] and connect it to your amp's [-].

This increases the resistance by 2. So your circuit will be 8 Ohms instead of 4. While this won't cause your amp to short out, it will reduce your speaker's volume by 3dB (or about 1/2).

If your amp can handle a 2Ohm load - you'll get more volume and power by using parallel connections.

If your amp can't - then serial connections are your only choice. Since your amp is 800watt - and your speakers probably can't handle more than 1-200watt, you should be just about right on the output after you've connected your speakers in serial.

Before you run out and do this - I would STRONGLY suggest checking the manual that came with your amp just to make sure your amp can perform well under a 4Ohm load. If you don't have it anymore, take a look on Pioneerelectronics.com for your amp's model. Or feel free to call them for assistance, their number is listed on their website.