Question Impedance w/ Speakers and Passive Sub

Rory M

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Hi,

I'm just building my first hifi and recently got a Yamaha AS-501 amp which I have connected to an old pair of Sony speakers (SS-H900) as I cant afford new speakers just yet. The amp can power two sets of speakers and as mine are missing a bit of bass, I was thinking of adding on a pioneer sslw500 passive sub I found in the sale.

The issue is with the amp's impedance switch with settings as follows:
A or B - 4ohm low, 6 ohm high
A+B - 8ohm low, 12ohm high

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SoYdvrBDH...ZSc/s1600/Yamaha+A-S500+speaker+terminals.jpg

My speakers have 6ohm impedance (and 160W power rating), so with just them wired up I'm fine with the high setting. If I have A connected to my 6ohm speakers and B connected to this passive amp which impedance setting should I choose?

Even the low setting for A+B is above my speakers, but if that is split across the channels do I still need high to get 6ohms to the A channel?

Thank you very much in advance.
 
Passive sub must be connected between amp and speakers, not to separate speakers connection.
For that your sub has line in and out terminals. Connect amp and speakers there.

This way no need to worrry about ohms.
 
Passive sub must be connected between amp and speakers, not to separate speakers connection.
For that your sub has line in and out terminals. Connect amp and speakers there.

This way no need to worrry about ohms.

Well that is totally wrong.

Here is pic of the rear of this sub which shows two spring clip terminals to connect speaker cable to.
http://www.audiounion.jp/stock_images/76665_big.jpg

You say you found it in a sale. Was it this cheap Richer Sounds for £4.99
PIONEER SSLW500Black PASSIVE SUB - SEE INFO BELOW

The sub is 4ohm impedance. I cannot exactly answer your question but it does say this on the Richer Sounds sales page-

Please note; this is a passive subwoofer and therefore requires powering by a suitable output from your amplifier. A standard RCA subwoofer output will not power this subwoofer. Active (powered) speaker output(s) are required. Please check with your local store or our telesales department on 0333 900 0093 if you're unsure about your amps' compatibility.

Added info:

As the sub only appears to have connections for one speaker then buying two, one for left and one for right might be a good idea and at £9.98 for why not?
 
Last edited:
My mistake, newer checked out that model. I assumed, that this is usual passive sub for stereo systems. This is somekind of... don't know what...
Forget my first comment above, agree, totally wrong.
 
Well that is totally wrong.

Here is pic of the rear of this sub which shows two spring clip terminals to connect speaker cable to.
http://www.audiounion.jp/stock_images/76665_big.jpg

You say you found it in a sale. Was it this cheap Richer Sounds for £4.99
PIONEER SSLW500Black PASSIVE SUB - SEE INFO BELOW

The sub is 4ohm impedance. I cannot exactly answer your question but it does say this on the Richer Sounds sales page-

Please note; this is a passive subwoofer and therefore requires powering by a suitable output from your amplifier. A standard RCA subwoofer output will not power this subwoofer. Active (powered) speaker output(s) are required. Please check with your local store or our telesales department on 0333 900 0093 if you're unsure about your amps' compatibility.

Added info:

As the sub only appears to have connections for one speaker then buying two, one for left and one for right might be a good idea and at £9.98 for why not?


Yes that's where I got it from. Thanks for sorting that confusion. I hadn't thought of getting two but that's not a bad idea at all! I think i'll go with high impedance so the speakers are still receiving 6ohms and just watch the volume as I saw on another thread (unless anyone else comes in with any suggestions).
 

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