If I want to wire two speakers in parallel, say a 20mm circular speaker, and a sugarcube speaker, both 4 Ohms, is there any reason I cant solder both of their leads together onto the motherboard speaker terminals?
I'll try to elaborate as best I can so my question is understandable. Most wiring diagrams from manufacturers show a single lead coming from each speaker terminal, + and -, and then the wire being split, and feeding the speakers. Can I have individual wires coming from the + and - terminals on the speakers, and solder them together right on the same speaker terminal on the motherboard?
Basically the split would be happening right at the output from the board.
Hopefully I explained this well.
Thanks
Matt
Matt,
Two comments. First, if you wire two 4Ω speakers in parallel you'll end up with 2 ohms overall. The most common output for sound decoders is 4 or 8Ω so you want to wire two 8Ω speakers together to achieve 4Ω...or two 16Ω speakers to achieve 8Ω.
Secondly, make sure your speakers match polarity. So wire the two positive (+) terminals together and the two negative (-) terminals together.
I recently installed two speakers in parallel in the boiler of a brass 2-6-6-2 Mallet using a Loksound 5 decoder and it sounds fantastic. Let us know how it goes...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
here is a link I suggest you to read: Wiring Multiple Speakers To A Decoder
Tsunami 2 - minimum speaker impedance: 8 Ohm
ESU Loksound 5 - impedance speaker range: 4 - 32 Ohm
Hrvoje
Matt -- short answer to your question is 'yes'.
While at this size it won't matter much, you could install a crossover that filters some of the audio signal to different drivers -- these are common in multiple-driver hi-fi speakers. You can find wiring and component diagrams on the Web. I bring this up to note that most of these speakers only have a 2-wire connection between amp and speaker... essentially the same thing as 'remoting' the + and - connections as on your sound output.
The important consideration, as noted, is getting the impedance correct when connecting the drivers in parallel. If you have the room you can add components to adjust the overall impedance of the combination to what your decoder 'expects'...
tstage Matt, Two comments. First, if you wire two 4Ω speakers in parallel you'll end up with 2 ohms overall. The most common output for sound decoders is 4 or 8Ω so you want to wire two 8Ω speakers together to achieve 4Ω...or two 16Ω speakers to achieve 8Ω. Secondly, make sure your speakers match polarity. So wire the two positive (+) terminals together and the two negative (-) terminals together. I recently installed two speakers in parallel in the boiler of a brass 2-6-6-2 Mallet using a Loksound 5 decoder and it sounds fantastic. Let us know how it goes... Tom
Thanks for the info! I do have some background in electronics, but I'm a bit rusty. Good to know.
I think most sugarcube speakers are actually 8ohms, so my initial example was a bit flawed to begin with.
Lastspikemike Parallel circuits reduce the resistance of each circuit, counterintuitively. If you had a bucket of electricity and punched two holes in it (positive and negative) you'd get water leaking at a certain rate and pressure. Punch two more holes in and you increase the flow and reduce the back pressure. That's why you need to match total impedance of the two speakers to the power capability of the decoder sound signal output to the impedance that one speaker provided. Like punching four new smaller holes in the electricity bucket to match the total size of the two holes you were planning to put in. The wires feeding the speakers can be joined up anywhere from the solder pad on the decoder to the connections at one of the two speakers as long as they are connected in parallel.
Parallel circuits reduce the resistance of each circuit, counterintuitively.
If you had a bucket of electricity and punched two holes in it (positive and negative) you'd get water leaking at a certain rate and pressure. Punch two more holes in and you increase the flow and reduce the back pressure.
That's why you need to match total impedance of the two speakers to the power capability of the decoder sound signal output to the impedance that one speaker provided.
Like punching four new smaller holes in the electricity bucket to match the total size of the two holes you were planning to put in.
The wires feeding the speakers can be joined up anywhere from the solder pad on the decoder to the connections at one of the two speakers as long as they are connected in parallel.
Excellent info and explanation. Thank you!