OK after doing some research on these forums and reading not quite similar post from other folks I've decided to start yet another new whole house audio thread.

Here is my situation. I just bought a 4 room condo with 2 speakers built-in to each room (rooms are living room, kitchen, master br, 2nd br). All 8 speakers are wired to the living room to one set of red and black posts. I've unscrewed the mounting plate from the wall to discover that all the speaker wires are bunched together at this location so they could be wired up individually with a different wall plate setup. However given the size of the condo I don't see the need for more than one zoneat the moment but that could change. I'd like to send audio from my Airport Express and the radio through the system. So here is the question:

1) Is it OK to use the system as wired or should the speakers be separated?

2) If its OK as is, is the AudioSource AMP-100 stereo bridgeable amplifier ($80 at Amazon) a good choice?

3) Can you recommend a better setup for this system? (e.g. something with a built-in tuner?)

Thanks to everyone for their input. I should mention that I'm on a budget, and if need be will set everything up in phases.

1) Determine the impedance of the speakers that are being used (typically labeled on the back of the speaker). Use the equation (X*Y)/(X+Y) to determine the total impedance of the system. If it is below 4ohms then you will want to rewire (or get a better amp that can drive 1-2ohm loads). To rewire, you can wire a few of the speakers in series. The impedance equation for that is X+Y. Also, are you sure that the speakers in each room are not wired in series (i.e. you have 8 cables attached to each binding post in the living room)?

Example: You have 8 total speakers, each with an impedance of 8 ohms. If everything was wired in parallel, you would have an effective 1 ohm speaker (very hard load to drive with a cheap amp). However, if you wired a pair of each speaker in series and then each of those pairs in parallel, you would have an effective 4ohm speaker (able to be driven by most amplifiers at reasonable volume levels).

2) Look on Craigslist for a used stereo amplifier or receiver. You should be able to find something for under $100 that has a tuner and plenty of power.

Good luck!

Greg,
Thanks for responding so quickly.
I am sure that there are 8 wires going to each binding post. :(
I will check tonight on one of the speakers what the impedance is.

Based on what you said it would be to my advantage to setup the wiring differently. Although I want to avoid putting any holes in walls to redo the wiring. So it sounds like any series/parallel rewiring is out of the question.
What can I do at the binding posts? If my math is correct, even going to two sets of binding posts would be advantageous, as I could (assuming 8 ohm speakers) go from 1 ohm to 2 ohms for the setup.

Was each room also wired for a volume control? If so, the wires your looking at behind that wall plate are connected to where the volume controls are located in each room. If not, then you could simply install something like this: http://www.simaproducts.com/products/product_detail.php?product_id=44 that offers impedance protection to your amplifier/ receiver and individual volume control for each room.

Was each room also wired for a volume control? If so, the wires your looking at behind that wall plate are connected to where the volume controls are located in each room. If not, then you could simply install something like this: that offers impedance protection to your amplifier/ receiver and individual volume control for each room.

The rooms were not wired for volume controls. I think the whole setup was just one of those "added bonuses" for this development, i.e. nobody put a lot of thought into it.

The 4 way volume control module is a great idea. Is there a product that combines that with an amplifier?

EDIT: nm

OK, after a little more research how would something like the Sherwood RX-5502 stack up? That seems like exactly what I need. Though I wonder if I could get away with only 2 pair speaker hookups and double up the wiring for something like the Onkyo TX8255.

Any thoughts? I'm not familiar with the Sherwood brand, so I don't know their history or quality.

The Sherwood gear is fine for what you'll need it for. It's pretty basic, but it works. For $200ish it seems like an easy solution.

Based on what you said it would be to my advantage to setup the wiring differently. Although I want to avoid putting any holes in walls to redo the wiring. So it sounds like any series/parallel rewiring is out of the question.
What can I do at the binding posts? If my math is correct, even going to two sets of binding posts would be advantageous, as I could (assuming 8 ohm speakers) go from 1 ohm to 2 ohms for the setup.You can fix all those wiring issues at the binding posts. Grab 2 of the wire pairs and connect a positive to a negative. You now have 1 wire with a positive and negative end (connected portion should be sealed with a wire nut and stuffed into the back of the junction box). Do this with the other 3 pairs of wires. Now connect those 4 pairs in parallel to the binding posts. You may want to run a single strand of wire from the binding post to the 4 positive wires (and the same for the negative). This may be easier than trying to stick 4 wires on 1 binding post.

You can fix all those wiring issues at the binding posts. Grab 2 of the wire pairs and connect a positive to a negative. You now have 1 wire with a positive and negative end (connected portion should be sealed with a wire nut and stuffed into the back of the junction box). Do this with the other 3 pairs of wires. Now connect those 4 pairs in parallel to the binding posts. You may want to run a single strand of wire from the binding post to the 4 positive wires (and the same for the negative). This may be easier than trying to stick 4 wires on 1 binding post.

That's a real breakthrough! For some reason I was overlooking this idea of wiring them in series. I kept thinking it was impossible because the speakers were all wired up. This is a great solution because it was driving me mad trying to find a receiver that could power A+B at 4 ohms. I'm going to wire these up like this and get a A+B stereo receiver. Probably the Onkyo TX8555. That seems powerful enough to drive my (now that I checked) eight HTD MP-R50 60 watt 8 ohm speakers wired in series to Speakers A & B.

Thanks to everyone to replied to this thread. I finally feel as though I have a good understanding of how everything works.