csmpez Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 I recently installed one pair of Klipsch AW525 outdoor speakers on my deck along with an indoor Niles volume controller. I want to add another pair of speakers to the other side of our deck (huge deck) but would like to run my wiring back to the one volume controller. Right now I have the volume controller impedance matching set to 8x per the instructions, but is it okay to put 2 pairs of speakers to one controller and do I keep it set to 8x? Thanks!!!Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Lowe Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 you should be just fine as is as long as you get similar speakers and keep the wire length to a regular length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csmpez Posted July 6, 2014 Author Share Posted July 6, 2014 Good to know... Thanks. I'm running the same 16/2 speaker wire to the other side and I'll get another pair of Klipsch AW525 speakers to match. The cable run is father, but under 35 feet. Honestly, I wish I could just buy one AW525 because I think that's all I'll need for the other side, but they come in pairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstafford388 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 You will have to change the setting on the volume control to change the impedance. Look up the set up instructions for your particular volume control and you should find a chart that tells you what to set it at based on your amp's ohm output and how many pairs of speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csmpez Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 I currently have a total of 7 pairs of Niles 8 ohms speakers throughout the house each with their own VCS50 Niles volume controller. I have the deck speaker's volume controller (VCS100) set to 8x, per the chart (see link below) for the deck speakers. http://www.nilesaudio.com/images/PDF/VCS100_100R_manual.pdf The amp is the Control4 16-channel amp. The amp output is 120w @ 8 ohms. However, when I tested the deck speakers, I had to turn the Control4 volume up to 80 percent on my touch panel to get any real volume out of the speakers. Every once in a while (like around Christmas) I will play music throughout the house in all zones. The other volume controllers (VCS50) don't seem to have impedance matching, which is why I got the VCS100 for the deck. I went ahead and ordered another pair of speakers for the other side and will install them next weekend. Any thoughts??? Thanks! Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 According to that spec, if you currently only have 1 pair of 8 ohm speakers, then the switch should be set to 1x. Now when you add another pair of 8 ohm speakers, the switch will need to be set to 2x. That will clear up the low volume issues you were seeing. It says right n the doc that setting to 8x cuts the amplifier power to only 1/8th of its output, which would be 15W to each speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 ^Yeah, not sure where the 8x setting came from. Aside from that, I'll just mention that I ripped every single one of those transformer-based controls out for Knoll VC100PM (105PM is the new one) and the audio fidelity improved drastically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csmpez Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 In the Niles instruction manual it stated, "In a typical application of IM volume controls, a system has eight pairs of 8-ohm speakers throughout the house and in adjacent outdoor locations. Each pair of speakers is connected to an IM volume control with its switches set for 8x." I took this to mean 7-8 pairs of speakers throughout the house, set the swtich to 8x. If I power all 7 pairs of speakers at the same time around the house, which are tied into the Control4 amp, this will only draw 15w to each speaker location, so not to overload the 120w amp capacity. I take it I can go back and change the switch to 2x for the two pairs of speakers on the deck for a draw of 60w per speaker pair or can I be safe and try 4x? I have a new 16-channel Control4 amp, so I'm babying this one, as I've had a V1 and V2 amp power source die on me in the past. Thanks for the help. Scott ^Yeah, not sure where the 8x setting came from. Aside from that, I'll just mention that I ripped every single one of those transformer-based controls out for Knoll VC100PM (105PM is the new one) and the audio fidelity improved drastically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Babying? I beat mine (amp) everyday... They do go down to 4 ohms you know. I also keep the cooling air to the amp at 60 degF and keep it moving 24/7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 The switch setting is determined by the number of speakers connected to the single volume control. So 1 pair = 1x, 2 pairs= 2x, 3 or 4 pairs= 4x, anything more gets set to 8x.I'm still wondering why you have analog volume controls in place? Was this just your existing setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csmpez Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Thanks for the explaination... I get it now. That's correct, it was an existing set up in the house when it was built back in 2005. All the speakers and volume controls are Niles, so instead of switching out the other 6 Niles volume controls, I opted to just get the same style volume control for the deck, which was the VCS100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I'm still wondering why you have analog volume controls in place? Was this just your existing setup?For areas that are on the same zone but use multiple pairs of elements to cover a large area, L Pads are the way to go. That is if you use transformer-less units... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.