"Series/parallel" wiring ?

[Audio Al]

Before I start I will tell you ALL I know NOTHING as I am a AUDIO NUMPTY

The problem

I want to double stack my quad 57's :) and yes I have 2 pairs ( result ) so that bit is sorted

I contacted Quad direct and they told me I need to buy either

Quad 11 40w
or
Quad 11 80w amps

Mucho cost £££££££ :(

I want to use the kit I already have

The list of kit

Quad 11 amps rebuilt and with matched salve sets :eyebrows:

I have been advised that if I wire these in "Series/parallel" I can run my original Quad 11 amps :scratch:

So has anyone ever done this ? and if you have , How would I wire up the speakers

HELP :eek:

[Macca]

I contacted Quad direct and they told me I need to buy either

Quad 11 40w
or
Quad 11 80w amps

:

I bet they did! You just need two identical power amps - a couple of 303s will do the job just fine. Use a splitter out of your pre-amp.

[Audio Al]

I bet they did! You just need two identical power amps - a couple of 303s will do the job just fine. Use a splitter out of your pre-amp.

I want to use kit I already have

A pair of Quad 11's rebuilt with matched valves

A Sony TAN-7B

or

Yamaha pre and power combo CX2 MX2

I also have 3 Sony TA FB 940R amps but have been advised not to try using these

[Macca]

You will need a power amp per pair of speakers so if you want to use your QUAD II monos you will need another set. If you have an integrated that can run 2 sets of speakers simultaneously you could try that but it will stress the amp if it is not that powerful, also may not sound that good. Can you use the 2 identical Sony amps as power amps? Do they have pre in sockets? I thought amongst all that kit you would have a couple of 303 power amps just lying about. Anyways, I only suggested 303 as I have heard that work with the ESL 57. Good luck, will sound awesome if you can get it working properly.

[loo]

Hi Al, found some notes from my days with stacked 57's and what you do is wire the. Bottom speaker as normal from one quad II then wire the top 57 from the speaker terminals of the bottom 57 and you will be just fine with a single pair of Quad II's however should you wish to make yourself deaf you can easily add a second pair as Macca said one amp per 57 , Should you wish to try that approach I have 4 quadII's and am not that far from you and yes I would gladly lend you a pair for while to mess with, but honestly I think you will be amazed how good a single pair sound . Enjoy yourself
Paul

[istari_knight]

Al, your options are either wire in series or parallel... I'm sorry for suggesting series/parallel earlier that was a bum suggestion & is what you do if you have 8 ESL57's stacked... 4 per channel :eek:

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5472/10004101315_b455286651_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/87920837@N06/10004101315/)

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2843/10004157716_4ced45f9eb_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/87920837@N06/10004157716/)

When you wire in series, the speakers resistance is additive - ie. putting two 8 ohm speakers in series results in a 16 ohm load. When wiring in parallel, the resistance of the speakers decreases. Two 8 ohm resistance speakers in parallel result in a 4 ohm load.

What Paul suggests above is parallel wiring... Oh and sorry about my crappy diagrams, I'm not so hot at MS paint :lol:

[Firebottle]

Al, go with Pauls suggestion. Wire both positive (red) terminals together and both negative (black) terminals together then on to the output of the Quad II.

This puts your speakers in parallel. The nominal 30 ohm impedance (each speaker) is thus halved to 15 ohms. You shouldn't find any problem driving these from your Quad IIs.

My OTL amp only puts out 6W into an 8 ohm load but goes well loud driving the 57s.
Let us know what you think of stacked, you lucky boy:eek:

:cool: alan

[loo]

This puts your speakers in parallel. The nominal 30 ohm impedance (each speaker) is thus halved to 15 ohms. You shouldn't find any problem driving these from your Quad IIs.

AH that's the crucial bit I could not remember about halving the impedance, well done Alan and james but those diagrams look confusing ,hey Alan any more thoughts on taking on commissions ,I only want one:eyebrows:
get those frames built AL
Paul

[Audio Al]

Hi Al, found some notes from my days with stacked 57's and what you do is wire the. Bottom speaker as normal from one quad II then wire the top 57 from the speaker terminals of the bottom 57 and you will be just fine with a single pair of Quad II's however should you wish to make yourself deaf you can easily add a second pair as Macca said one amp per 57 , Should you wish to try that approach I have 4 quadII's and am not that far from you and yes I would gladly lend you a pair for while to mess with, but honestly I think you will be amazed how good a single pair sound . Enjoy yourself

Paul

Thats a splendid offer to loan the quads , I will see what happens when I wire up the pair I have and if needed or curious to see what 4 quads sound like I will PM you

Thanks again :D

[Audio Al]

So being a Audio Numpty

parallel wiring is the way to go ? :)

[istari_knight]

So being a Audio Numpty

parallel wiring is the way to go ? :)

It would appear so ! :D





but those diagrams look confusing

I agree, they are awful :doh:

[loo]

HI Al , yes but do it as Alan suggests by wiring the Quads together with a short cable then run your cable from the Quad amp to the bottom Quad only , Oh and your welcome on the Quad offer Happy to help a fellow Quad fan, the price QuadII.s seem to fetch now it would be silly to buy before you've tried:)
Paul