# Connecting ceiling speakers to amplifier



## Joeywhat (Apr 18, 2020)

We'll need to know what speakers were installed, and the specifications of those speakers.

How you wire the speaker output greatly depends on the speakers. How they are wired is also important, especially if they are 25/70v speakers.


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## Joeywhat (Apr 18, 2020)

Also, the speakers _should_ be wired in parallel. They might actually be (and likely are if the electrician knew what he was doing and what the speakers are for.

It's not a huge deal either way, but there's no good reason to wire them in series, whereas wiring them parallel gives you more reliability in case of a speaker failure.


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## arrow80 (Oct 14, 2012)

Joeywhat the speakers are - JBL Professional Control 14C/T-BK Two-Way 4-Inch Coaxial Ceiling Loudspeaker. 

A pair of speaker specifications - Combined 70V/100V and low impedance direct operation 30 Watts at 8Ω nominal setting 25W multi-tap at 70V/100V
74 Hz - 20 kHz bandwidth with wide 120 Degree coverage

We have 4 speakers installed. I believe the handyman who installed it did it as it was easy to run the wire in the series form as 4 speakers were at random distances from each other and it was more work to bring 4 sets of wire back to the amplifier.

Arrow80


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## Joeywhat (Apr 18, 2020)

You can use the 70v pin on the speaker out connect. So you'll have the common and 70v pins connected.

You don't need 4 sets of wires brought back for parallel wiring. Still just 1 set of wires. It may actually be wired that way. Either way with the 70v connection it shouldn't matter. It matters more with the low impedance connections (the 8 ohm pin on the speaker output). 

When wiring speakers in parallel you divide the ohms by the number of speakers for your total impedance (so 4 8ohm speakers nets 2 ohms). For wiring in series you multiple (ends up being 32 ohms). For low impedance connections this can be an issue - too much impedance on the speaker side means the speakers cannot get the full power from the amp - they won't get as loud. Likewise with a lower impedance the amp can deliver more power to the speakers, but go below the rating of the amp and it can damage the amp or speakers (or both).

The reason the "high impedance" setups exist (these are the 70/100 volt speakers) is for stores and other facilities where many speakers are driven by a single amp, it makes connecting many speakers less of a headache.

The reason I brought up the wiring scheme (parallel vs series) is because I've never seen high impedance systems run in series. I don't think it'll cause any issues (especially with so few speakers), but it may - so if you're finding something doesn't work it could be how it's wired. Also, it could actually be wired in parallel, but the electrician might not have used the correct terminology.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

Do you have a manual for the amp? I was unable to find a manual for that TOA model. I would think the speakers should be wired between 'common' and '70v' pins (two outer) on the Speakers Out connector. Note the caution to the right: don't use the 4 ohm, 24v and 75v at the same time.
Those green things are connector blocks, not switches. Agree the speakers should be wired in parallel, observing consistent polarity for best performance. The middle diagram at the top of page 9 from this A2060 amp shows a parallel connection on a 70v string.


https://www.toa-products.com/international/download/manual/a-2030_l_mt1e.pdf


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## arrow80 (Oct 14, 2012)

So I found the manual for BF 2060. Any suggestion on which output should I do the speaker connection - 4, 25 V or 70 V? I have 4 speakers connected in a series pattern with distance between them not more than 40 ft each.

Also the input. We have the Playnetwork player with the RCA wire with red and gray jack. Should I connect to Line 2 Input or Line 3 input?

Thanks for all your help.


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## Joeywhat (Apr 18, 2020)

Joeywhat said:


> You can use the 70v pin on the speaker out connect. So you'll have the common and 70v pins connected.


Use the 70v.


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## adams1980 (Jul 17, 2020)

Joeywhat said:


> Also, the speakers _should_ be wired in parallel. They might actually be (and likely are if the electrician knew what he was doing and what the speakers are for.
> 
> It's not a huge deal either way, but there's no good reason to wire them in series, whereas wiring them parallel gives you more reliability in case of a speaker failure.


Thanks for this, didn't know it.


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