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d-120 · Posts: 5

quick question... i'm not very knowledgeable about these things so maybe someone can help.

i have a stereo system which puts out 120 watts per channel (2 channels) at 6 ohms. my current speakers are 6 ohm speakers, which i'm assuming is a perfect match.

i'm looking into buying a new pair of (bigger) speakers for the system, and i have pretty much made a decision as to what i will buy... only thing is the they are 8 ohm speakers, as i am having trouble finding 6 ohm floorspeakers i like. from what i've read, if i use 8 ohm speakers with a 6 ohm amplifier i will not be getting the most power possible per channel from the amp. is this true? and if so how much power will actually be going to the (8 ohm) speakers? is there a chart or something somewhere i could use to figure it out?

i just want to know what the new watts-per-channel rating will be.

SteveG · Location: United Kingdom Posts: 6695

Read 'How can you wire 2 -8 0hm speakers to 8 ohm amp??' - it's all explained here. Actually. the impedance really doesn't matter as much as the power handling. It may sound a bit odd, but you really need speakers that are rated at a slightly lower peak rating than your amp - you will stand a better chance of not wrecking them at high volumes! (If you are really desperate to know why, there's a thread in here somewhere explaining this as well...)

d-120 · Posts: 5

thanx i missed that thread when i was searching.
i've always heard that it is best to get speakers with a higher power rating than the amp... the speakers this stereo came with are rated at 150 watts maximum. upon searching for new ones i figured it would be best to find something with a similar rating in mind. these particular ones i'm looking into have a rating of 10-200 watts max. maybe i should look for something lower? or does it really not matter. i love the way these sound...

SteveG · Location: United Kingdom Posts: 6695

d-120 · Posts: 5

thank you for your help.
i just like to know things about my hardware (and software when it comes to that)... i always want to know how things work and why, and what will happen if i do this or that. i find your posts most entertaining to read =)
so thanks again. Approve

d-120 · Posts: 5

so the power output will still be 120W per channel?

SteveG · Location: United Kingdom Posts: 6695

d-120 · Posts: 5

hmm..
well as long as the speakers sound good when i hook them up to my amp i'll be happy! i think ultimately that is what i'm concerned about. they sound great in the display at the store, and i want them to sound that way here as well, naturally.

motorhead6 · Posts: 193

If you really want to know how things work then you should know that the power output probably wouldnt be 120 watts into a 6 ohm load. The rule in electronics that I was taught is that all measurements are RMS unless specified otherwise. I dont know about your specific equipment but I can tell you that car stereos are notoriously NOT measured RMS and not specified otherwise. Its usually measured peak to peak. To convert peak to peak to RMS divide the RMS level by 2 and then multiply the result by .707. If you dont believe that than try sitting in a car with something that you know is measured RMS like a 100 watt Marshall and see if you cant hear the difference. Or even a 50 watt Marshall for that matter. When I worked at Ross Systems they had a watt meter and I put a 100 watt Marshall on it. It was over 100 watts RMS (close to 120 if I remember correctly but its been a while) so I know a Marshall is 100 watts for real at least. As long as it has all 4 power tubes in it and isnt fudged up.

motorhead6 · Posts: 193

If it were 120 watts into 6 ohms you can figure it would be roughly 30 watts less into 8 ohms. Just an approximation. It wouldnt be that hard to figure out exactly what it would be but it still wouldnt be worth the trouble. In my opinion it would be better to run it at 8 ohms. Human hearing isnt linear as someone allready said. So the difference wouldnt be very appreciable to our ears but it would make an appreciable difference to the amp though as far as heating.

motorhead6 · Posts: 193

Before the jokes start I am aware of the quality of most Ross equipment.

VoodooRadio · Location: USA Posts: 3971

I remember back when you first posted about working for Ross Systems. FWIW, I have a (rackmounted) Ross graphic e.q., that I've had since @ 85-6' and it still does a good job in a P.A. rack! Wink

motorhead6 · Posts: 193

I was there then. You are lucky my friend. Either that or you are very easy on your equipment and dont take it on the road. Those EQs are made in Taiwan. The few Ross products that I would consider of good quality were made in Japan like the DDL-1000. I still have 2 of those and have never had a problem even on the road. Man my job was quality control inspector so I know. Those EQs had about a 50% failure rate brand new when I inspected them straight from the factory. The worst thing about Ross was the management though. One day they told me that I was failing too much equipment. BTW I was the entire quality control department. I asked them if they were saying that I should pass defective equipment and they said "of course not...just stop failing so much stuff". I couldnt f--king believe that s--t. That day I knew they wouldnt be in business forever. And sure enough they are out of business. Man I saw warranty returns that had been sitting on the dock for a year and hadnt been looked at or even recieved into the books yet. A ross warranty wasnt worth the paper it was printed on. The only reason they lasted the first year is because they are a division of International Music Corperation here in Fort Worth, which owns a bunch of other companies some of which turned a profit like Studiomaster, which is actually pretty good stuff, Grover, Hondo, Tokai, Jackson, a small part of Akai (just the AX-80 and MG 12-12) and some others I cant think of right now. They own Rythem Band Inc too which makes all the grade school music instruments like tamborines etc.... IMC was an authorized Electro Voice dealer which was really cool. Fane speakers too. Cool but not as cool as EV. Cant beat that lifetime EV warranty. They truly honor the EV warranty too. I picked the wrong company at IMC to work for thats for sure. Studiomaster, despite the Donkeyf--ers that run it would have been ....well not better but had more future in it.

motorhead6 · Posts: 193

BTW that silver sticker that says Ross in Red print stuck on the box meant that I had inspected it and passed it. Later on it was a little yellow sticker that said QA100. It had one or the other didn it?

VoodooRadio · Location: USA Posts: 3971

You made me go look... Mine is the R-12SP and I didn't find a sticker with "Ross" on it. There was a silver # sticker. FWIW, I bought the E.Q. from Tidewater Sound in Norfolk, VA around 85/86'. One of the salesmen at the time was... Bruce Hornsby! Wink

motorhead6 · Posts: 193

Oh excuse me the R-12SP is a damn fine piece of equipment. Thats the one that is stereo 12 channel graphic with the center frequency knobs underneath. I have one of those myself. I cant remember for sure but those might be made in Japan. On the back it has 1/4 inch and rca jacks. I was thinking of the plain R- whatever numbered units. You have a good EQ there. No wonder it still works. I remember that about 10 of those were missing during the inventory before we sold any of them.

motorhead6 · Posts: 193

The failure rate on those was almost zero.

jonrose · Location: USA Posts: 2901

We're back to Ross Systems again, eh? ;)

Yeah, there's still the DDL-1000 "time machine" sitting in a rack over here.

I remember loaning it out once - and of course, the [t:93d2d6f0e5]idiot[/t:93d2d6f0e5] guy shoved too loud a signal into the front end and blew out the 4558. I ended up soldering in a new chip and it still works just fine... Of course, that unit was also of Japanese make.

What a truly weird box it is... Heh! :D

Best... -Jon

motorhead6 · Posts: 193

They are good though. No programmable settings but if you know how to set it right it will do anything.

motorhead6 · Posts: 193

They have 2 inputs for that reason Jon. If you want to run an instrument you plug it into to -50db jack. I bet he plugged an instrument into the -20db input jack which still shouldnt really hurt it as long as you had the level on the DDL low enough. You would think he would have noticed the meter maxed in the red. Thats why its there. Man it would still be hard to cook it though. I have had friends use them with their guitars as not just a delay but a distortion box by maxing the level and it didnt hurt it. Of course that doesnt change the input level but what is a higher signal than a guitar? Oh wait a synth or something right?