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Thread: "Series/parallel" wiring ?

  1. #1
    Audio Al is offline Pishanto Specialist & Super-Daftee
    Join Date: May 2012

    Location: Dagenham Essex

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    I'm Allen.

    Default "Series/parallel" wiring ?

    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

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

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

    HELP
    [

  2. #2
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

    Posts: 37,779
    I'm Martin.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Audio Al View Post
    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.
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  3. #3
    Audio Al is offline Pishanto Specialist & Super-Daftee
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    Quote Originally Posted by Macca View Post
    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
    [

  4. #4
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

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    I'm Martin.

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    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.
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  5. #5
    Join Date: Nov 2012

    Location: London

    Posts: 756
    I'm paul.

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    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

  6. #6
    Join Date: Dec 2011

    Location: South downs

    Posts: 3,477
    I'm James.

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    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





    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

  7. #7
    Join Date: Oct 2012

    Location: The Black Country

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    I'm Alan.

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    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

    alan
    I love Hendrix for so many reasons. He was so much more than just a blues guitarist - he played damn well any kind of guitar he wanted. In fact I'm not sure if he even played the guitar - he played music. - Stevie Ray Vaughan

  8. #8
    Join Date: Nov 2012

    Location: London

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    I'm paul.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Firebottle View Post
    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
    get those frames built AL
    Paul

  9. #9
    Audio Al is offline Pishanto Specialist & Super-Daftee
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    Quote Originally Posted by loo View Post
    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
    [

  10. #10
    Audio Al is offline Pishanto Specialist & Super-Daftee
    Join Date: May 2012

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    I'm Allen.

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    So being a Audio Numpty

    parallel wiring is the way to go ?
    [

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