How to wire a double Advent system

[Guest russwollman]

Does anyone know the proper way to wire a double Advent system run from one 150w/ch amp with only one set of speaker outputs?

I don't plan on extremely loud volume settings but I recall some advice from years ago about fuse protection, etc. Your advice and help will be gratefully acknowleged and appreciated.

[Guest]

you must connect the + of the amplifier to the + of the 1st speaker, after the - of the 1st speaker to the + of the 2nd speaker and ,at the end , the - of the 2nd speaker to the - of the amplifier.

the same for the other channel

so you have less power because the speaker impedance increase, but you don't have risks of short circuit on the amplifier.

for further info link to

www.mariohifi.it/hifi_pratica/hifi_impedenza.htm

you find diagrams of connections, look at collegamento in serie diagram.

it'is write in italian, but you says that speak italian!

bye

[Guest SpruceMoose]

i beg to differ. the standard way to connect a double set is in parallel: both + on each pair to + on amp, and both - on each pair to - on amp. that gives a 4 ohm impedance to the amp, per channel. i dont think there is an amp on the market that cant handle a simple 4 ohm load. thats how mine is wired, and it sounds great! they say that a series hookup will degrade performance, but i dont remember exactly how right now. also, IIRC, a 3 amp 3AG glass fuse wired in series with each + terminal will protect the speakers from too much power. of course, i have yet to do that myself, even after 25 years. oops! remember.... the original specs for the large advent stated a 15 watt MINIMUM power per channel.... no MAXIMUM limit on a typical home system ON MUSICAL MATERIAL. naturally, test tones at high levels will make something go POW!

sm.

[Guest russwollman]

Hmmm...thanks, friends, for the quick replies. At least someone is listening! I don't plan to play test tones. Musically speaking, they've never done much for me.

[Guest russwollman]

The other thing is, will most amps handle the load of two speakers on each channel? Two 8 ohm speakers wired to one channel create a 4 ohm load, right? So what happens, what does the amplifier "see" at its output terminals when there's a pair of Advents on each channel?

[Guest]

me and sm give you 2 different ways to connect 2 pair of speaker for each channel of yor amplifier.

with a series connection (my solution) the ampli see at the output terminals a nominal load of 16 ohm. you lost power due the major impedance that the ampli see, but during a musical program the impedance module of the speakers(that is not constant ) don't reach too low level that is dangerous for the ampli final section.

the sm solution is also ok. the parallel connection give you more power, but a nominal charge of 4 ohm per channel and (i think) that is more dangerous for the ampli because during music listening the impedance can go down to 2.5 or 3 ohm in some audio regions.

normally an ampli that can handle a nominal charge of 4 ohm can handle

lower charge, so if your ampli is one of these you can connect the speakers in parallel ( the sm solution) without problems.

my ampli (Denon PMA 920) have a nominal load of 4/8 ohm but can handle

without problems a load of 1 ohm so it can handle speakers with a bad impedance module.

bye and good listening

[Guest russwollman]

Yes, wildcat, thanks for your explanation. I understand the difference. I'll have to check on the specifics of my amplifier. I certainly don't want to destroy it.

[Guest russwollman]

...so after much deliberation (actually there was very little deliberation), I wired them in parallel to a NAD 2600 that I think makes 150w/ch. Powerful, impressive sound. But my room is too small, and since I live in a basement, enlargement will be, the word is, ahem, impossible. Pray for peace, everyone. There's too much beautiful music to enjoy.

When I hear what symphonies can do, I wonder why we can't all live like that and create something beautiful. It's just a matter of common purpose and high motivation. The human heart and mind are capable of great, laudable things. With world peace, everyone can move on to better things. Maybe one day someone will create a speaker that's better than the Advent. Any bets?

[tysontom]

>Does anyone know the proper way to wire a double Advent

>system run from one 150w/ch amp with only one set of speaker

>outputs?

>I don't plan on extremely loud volume settings but I recall

>some advice from years ago about fuse protection, etc. Your

>advice and help will be gratefully acknowleged and

>appreciated.

>

The speakers could be wired either way, series or parallel, but the preferred way is definitely parallel. If wired in series, as stated by others, the amplifier will see a 16-ohm load, and will produce quite a bit less maximum power into this load. This is fine for some old-style tube-type amplifiers, but modern-day solid-state amps are current devices, and produce higher current and more power into the lower impedances for a given voltage level. In fact, an amplifier can produce four-times more power into four ohms than sixteen ohms, up to its maximum output capability. Nearly all modern amplifiers are easily capable of driving 4-ohm loads, and the impedance will rarely drop much below that with double-Advent systems.

Also, the series connection seems to impart a less cohesive or authoritative sound, but that is probably due to the power difference and lack of adequate headroom for most amplifiers in the 16-ohm position. Many solid-state amplifiers, in fact, reach distortion quickly into 16 ohms, and are rarely rated for this impedance.

Where you cannot easily wire stacked speakers in parallel is in the case of many of the 4-ohm Acoustic Research speakers, such as the AR-3a, AR-11 or AR-LST systems, which can dip below 4 ohms at certain places in the frequency spectrum. In parallel, this presents an ordinary amplifier with a difficult load and nearly a short circuit, but some robust amplifiers -- such as McIntosh, Crown, Krell and others of this type -- are capable of driving loads down to 2 ohms and below. The stacked Advents are both higher impedance, and require less amplifier power than the big AR speakers, so amplifier choice isn't as critical.

--Tom Tyson

[Guest russwollman]

Thanks, Tom. I've wired them in parallel and the sound is good.

Oddly enough, I also have a pair of Advent 5012s, made after Jensen bought Advent, hooked to a 20w/ch NAD L40. This setup is amazing, with great detail and seemingly better damping, a tighter, better-controlled sound. Maybe these Advents have a better woofer.

[Guest Whitehall]

An alternate method is to use dedicate one amplifier channel to each speaker with separate wires from each amp output to each speaker connector. One can split the line-level input from the pre-amp easily with a small line splitter connector (say one female RCA feeding to male RCA connectors or vice versa) into the front end of the power amp. One could use a pair of stereo amps to do this or one quadraphonic or multichannel amp.

Many old Marantz quad units will do the same internally when placed in 2-ch. For stereo speakers, the RF and RR outputs go to the upper and lower right Advents and the LF and LR outputs go to the upper and lower left Advents.

I'm doing something like that with a pair of Baby Advent IIs as a center channel feed from a Marnatz 2440 "quadradial adaptor" with a pair of 20 wpc power amp channels.

[Guest rollei35guy]

I believe one of the problems with a series wiring is that the 2nd speaker will be out of phase. I have run a 4 advent system for over 20 years and have always wired them in parallel. It's an awesome sounding arrangement.

[Guest russwollman]

I still can't believe how good the double Advent system is.

I went to the local effete audio parlor to hear what princely sums would buy—some Martin Logan electrostatics which were very good, but I'd have to buy a house to contain them even if I could afford them. But I could not in good conscience plunk down that much money for speakers, even if I had the dough.

When I got back home to the dbl Advents, I didn't feel even a hint of desire for something new and better.

I drive mine with an older NAD 2600, which makes about 150w/ch and use a NAD C740 receiver as the preamp.

I have an assortment of older speakers, some AR2ax's and 3a's, and a pair of Advent 5012's, which are slightly larger than standard walnut A4 Advents and employ a slightly different crossover whose caps have different values.

When I listen with Advents, I feel something in the music that I do not feel listening with the ARs. They bring an emotional response that the ARs do not elicit. And yet the AR is a great speaker, too. Specs definitely aren't everything!

[dynaco_dan]

Hi there

Just to put in my 2 cents worth here.

I would like to draw your attention to the AR-LST and LST2 speaker systems in which midranges and tweeters were wired in a series/parallel configuration.

I don't remember any reviews of the AR-LST2 or the MST but the LST's certainly had favourable and numerous reviews.

And these same drivers seemed to be good enough for Cello to make $12,000.00 or I think $60,000.00 speakers with a LST configuration.

I think this came from the Arsenal site.

I don't remember the AR-MST configuration but it was probably series/parallel as well for the 3 tweeters.

>The speakers could be wired either way, series or parallel,

>but the preferred way is definitely parallel.

The 4 ohm rating was taken at 1k hz using a signal generator.

In reality music fluctuates and if I remember ( this half zeimers ) correctly the AR3a went from 1.9 ohm ( could have been 2.9 ohms ) to around 40+ ohms impedance.

The chances of our ever having, in normal use, a pair of AR3a's in parallel, dipping below 1 - 2 ohms would be slight, but not impossible in at least the case of electronic music.

I did read somewhere that the 3a represented a very reactive load to amplifiers. Phase angle was mentioned. Duh?

I have never noticed this type of commentary at that time about another speaker, except maybe electrostatics.

>Nearly all modern amplifiers are easily capable of driving

>4-ohm loads, and the impedance will rarely drop much below

>that with double-Advent systems.

the series connection seems to impart a less cohesive or

>authoritative sound, but that is probably due to the power

>difference and lack of adequate headroom for most amplifiers

>in the 16-ohm position. Many solid-state amplifiers, in fact,

>reach distortion quickly into 16 ohms, and are rarely rated

>for this impedance.

>

>Where you cannot easily wire stacked speakers in parallel is

>in the case of many of the 4-ohm Acoustic Research speakers,

>such as the AR-3a, AR-11 or AR-LST systems, which can dip

>below 4 ohms at certain places in the frequency spectrum. In

>parallel, this presents an ordinary amplifier with a difficult

>load and nearly a short circuit, but some robust amplifiers --

>such as McIntosh, Crown, Krell and others of this type -- are

>capable of driving loads down to 2 ohms and below. The

>stacked Advents are both higher impedance, and require less

>amplifier power than the big AR speakers, so amplifier choice

>isn't as critical.

>

>--Tom Tyson

That's my 2 cents worth. Fini.

Have a good one.