[ShannonT]

I want to use a receiver to power 5 mono ceiling speakers throughout my home. I know this isn't the preferred way, but I'm looking to do it as cheap as possible.


Currently, there are 5 speakers placed individually throughout the home with speaker wire running to a receiver. I would like to take 2 channel stereo from the receiver and distribute it to 5 mono channels.


I don't have volume control at each speaker, but I wouldn't mind having it for each speaker at the receiver. What I envision is a speaker distribution hub with built in volume control, instead of having to have wall plates for each channel.


The hubs I've found have no volume and are all stereo out. I imagine I can just use the positive from right and the negative from left to send mono to the speakers, but what about the volume and impedance?


I hope this hasn't been already posted. But, I did search the forum fairly well before posting and didn't see anything.


Thanks in advance.

 

[ShannonT]

I've searched the web a little more and it looks like I need a "Speaker Selector" not a "Speaker Distribution Hub".


Is this correct? Can anyone recommend a decent cheap one? Or a cheaper method to do the same thing?


Also, I imagine I can still just use the right positive and left negative to get mono?

 

[duvetyne]



Quote:
Also, I imagine I can still just use the right positive and left negative to get mono?

no. Figure out what you really want first. Don't connect the amp outputs together, or use + from one and - from the other.

 

[GoGo Delicious]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ShannonT /forum/post/15487160


I've searched the web a little more and it looks like I need a "Speaker Selector" not a "Speaker Distribution Hub".


Is this correct? Can anyone recommend a decent cheap one? Or a cheaper method to do the same thing?


Also, I imagine I can still just use the right positive and left negative to get mono?

A fire waiting to happen. DO NOT DO THIS. Be SPECIFIC and give details as to what you want to accomplish. Do you want to have audio running from all the speaker at once? If so, the way you described it above is a No No. You will over heat your receiver and possibly start a fire. If you just want audio from 1 speaker (mono) or 2 speakers (stereo) your set up MIGHT work if it's done correctly. Either way you CAN NOT run 5 speaker mono all at the same time from your receiver. Like I said, your receiver will over heat and possibly start a fire.

 

[ShannonT]

I want to be able to run any or all speakers at a given time. Two are in the house and will likely be run at the same time all of the time. Three are at different locations outside and will likely be run at different times. But, there may be a time where I want all on.


I want them all to play a mono signal, no stereo. But, I don't want to play just one channel (left or right) I want the left and right channels in mono.


So, the speaker selector does not adjust the impedance for the multiple speaker load, then? To clarify, I was going to use left and right + and - from the amp into the hub / selector and use just the positive of right and negative of left from the selector to the speaker. Still a no-no I'm guessing. We used to bridge amps this way, so I thought it may work if the hub / selector upped the impedance.

 

[GoGo Delicious]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ShannonT /forum/post/15487604


I want to be able to run any or all speakers at a given time. Two are in the house and will likely be run at the same time all of the time. Three are at different locations outside and will likely be run at different times. But, there may be a time where I want all on.


I want them all to play a mono signal, no stereo. But, I don't want to play just one channel (left or right) I want the left and right channels in mono.


So, the speaker selector does not adjust the impedance for the multiple speaker load, then? To clarify, I was going to use left and right + and - from the amp into the hub / selector and use just the positive of right and negative of left from the selector to the speaker. Still a no-no I'm guessing. We used to bridge amps this way, so I thought it may work if the hub / selector upped the impedance.

Ok . .So 1) You want L/R stereo summed to mono and 2) You want to create a Mono Bridge.


You can do number one thats not a issue. As far as #2 goes, if you want to bridge mono you can only use ONE speaker on a Mono bridge from an amp. I have not seen a hardware piece that will create a mono bridge and allow you to connect more than one speaker.


In a mono bridge mode you are essentially creating a mono block amp output from a stereo output and thus every speaker will have to have it's own amp. Once you do a mono bridge all the other speaker outputs on the amp can not be used.


To do this right I would look for a multi-zone receiver/amp. If cost is a consideration look for one on ebay.

 

[ShannonT]



Quote:
Originally Posted by GoGo Delicious /forum/post/15487770


Ok . .So 1) You want L/R stereo summed to mono and 2) You want to create a Mono Bridge.


You can do number one thats not a issue.

Can we tackle number one first? It may be all I need. Can I do number one without number two & without a new receiver? I'm going to be running this with a Denon AVR-2700.


To clarify what I want:


1) Ability to play 5 left/right summed to mono channels independently or together.


2) Separate volume for each of the 5 channels in one location.


3) Cheap.


How I attain those goals doesn't really matter.


What I have:


Denon AVR-2700 receiver in entertainment cabinet. The entertainment cabinet will be where the 5 speakers are controlled from.

 

[crutschow]

To obtain a mono signal you need to combine the two stereo signals into one. This can be done for external sources with a 2:1 combiner cable. This won't work for the receiver FM unless the receiver has an FM mono mode.


Alternately two stereo power outputs can be combined with a stereo-mono, impedance-matching volume control such as http://www.outdoorspeakerdepot.com/momovoco.html . You would use one control for each speaker. It's designed to drive two speakers with the same mono signal, but I'm quite sure you can use it to drive just one speaker. The controls are not particularly cheap but it may be your best option.

 

[Gman-north]

You are kidding, right???

 

[crutschow]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Gman-north /forum/post/15490455


You are kidding, right???

Who's kidding about what?

 

[egnlsn]

Get a 70 Volt amplifier with 2 aux inputs. Feed your source into the aux inputs. Homerun each speaker and put each speaker on its own on/off switch (the interior ones could be daisy-chained since they would both be either on or off together). Stereo source to mono output to as many speakers as you want controlled however you want.

 

[crutschow]



Quote:
Originally Posted by egnlsn /forum/post/15494916


Get a 70 Volt amplifier with 2 aux inputs. Feed your source into the aux inputs. Homerun each speaker and put each speaker on its own on/off switch (the interior ones could be daisy-chained since they would both be either on or off together). Stereo source to mono output to as many speakers as you want controlled however you want.

A 70 Volt amp also requires a 70V to 8 ohm transformer for each speaker.

 

[egnlsn]



Quote:
Originally Posted by crutschow /forum/post/15500778


A 70 Volt amp also requires a 70V to 8 ohm transformer for each speaker.

Yes, it does. You can also have volume controls on each speaker if you want. You can easily add more speakers as needed. Much more versatile and user friendly than 8-ohm systems.