KLH model 20 impedance matching

[Guest lance]

I recently acquired a pair of KLH model 20 speakers. They are 4 ohm and so I am wondering if they will work with my amplifier, which list the speaker output inpedance as 8-12 ohm. Also, since the inputs are RCA style jacks, what is the best way to rig connectors for these speakers? Would it help the impedance mismatch to use 12 guage speaker wire attached to RCA plugs?

Thankyou

Lance

[dynaco_dan]

>I recently acquired a pair of KLH model 20 speakers. They

>are 4 ohm and so I am wondering if they will work with my

>amplifier, which list the speaker output inpedance as 8-12

>ohm. Also, since the inputs are RCA style jacks, what is the

>best way to rig connectors for these speakers? Would it help

>the impedance mismatch to use 12 guage speaker wire attached

>to RCA plugs?

>

>Thankyou

>

>Lance

Hi Lance;

I was hoping that someone else would jump in and try to help you, but here I am.

First of all, if your amp has a recommended output of from 8 - 12 ohm load, we may have a small problem.

The amp may just cough and die if you try to drive this set of speakers at lower or higher volumes.

If your speaker is rated at 4 ohms, it may even dip below that at some point in its response.

Usually the impedance is rated at 1,000 Hz but can climb up to 10 times that at it's woofers resonant frequency.

This would not be as big a problem, but I suspect you have a lower powered imported amp, am I correct?

The RCA speaker connection will be tricky, but not impossible.

Buy 2 plain RCA male connectors from Radio Shack, and carefully, solder your 12 guage speaker wire to it, polarizing the wires.

Lampcord wire has a rib running down one side of the cable, printing or a internal thread for identification purposes, choose the one with the rib as your hot and the other is your common.

Your core wire should be soldered first and be sure the wire insulation still insulates from the outer shield connection.

Another route but only to try to give you options, would be for you to buy a cheap double ended RCA - RCA male cord 12" long and cut in half.

Carefully strip back 1" or so, of outer insulation from each wire end, and un-braid the outer shielding.

You should now have the shield wire and the core insulated wire exposed.

Strip back 1/2" of the core wire insulation.

Solder one of the speaker polarized wires to the core wires and the other to the shield wires.

You will have to protect the bare contacts from touching, with at the very least, electrical tape.

See if I am on target or way out in left field.

I've been there before.

Good luck and please let us know what is happening.

[Guest lance]

Thanks Dan

Since I first posted this message, I have already tried some cheap radio shack RCA to blank speaker wire and it seems to work fine. The sound is excellent but I do have to crank the amp up a little higher.

By the way, do you own a Dynaco amp? I always wanted one but then decided on the Eico kit instead. I waa 16 and it took me almost a month to build because as a solid state unit, there was a lot of individual components and wiring to solder.

Will

[dynaco_dan]

>Thanks Dan

>

>Since I first posted this message, I have already tried some

>cheap radio shack RCA to blank speaker wire and it seems to

>work fine. The sound is excellent but I do have to crank the

>amp up a little higher.

>

>By the way, do you own a Dynaco amp? I always wanted one but

>then decided on the Eico kit instead. I waa 16 and it took me

>almost a month to build because as a solid state unit, there

>was a lot of individual components and wiring to solder.

>

>Will

Hi Will;

Yes, I do own a Dynaco amplifier, in fact a few different models.

As well as a few Dynaco pre-amps.

Not the best by today's standards today but definitely affordable compared to Krells, etc. and my old ears probably can't tell.

There is at least one Dynaco web-site elswhere.