Fender 1205X, 1110X, 1201X owner manual Speaker Wiring and Connections, Speaker Wire Gauge

SPEAKER WIRING AND CONNECTIONS

Parallel or series are the two basic ways which multiple speakers can be connected to a single power amplifier. When speakers are connected in parallel, their combined impedance decreases. For speakers wired in series the opposite is true, their combined impedance increases. Thus, when speakers are wired in series, higher impedance speakers in the series draw more power from the amplifier than do speakers in the series with lower impedances. When speakers are wired in parallel, the opposite is true. Higher impedance speakers will draw less power from the amplifier than lower impedance speakers will draw.

At Fender®, we recommend connecting multiple speakers in parallel for several reasons. First, if one speaker fails, the others will continue to operate. Second, because in a series connection one speaker affects the

Keep in mind, power and audio signal cables are the most common sources of sound system failure. Well made and carefully maintained cables are essential to the reliability of the entire sound system. If long speaker cables are required, it is important to ensure the cable‘s gauge is sufficient to transfer all of the available amplifier power to the speakers rather than absorbing the power itself. As a rule of thumb, larger wires are better as they conduct more power to the speakers (larger wire has smaller gauge numbers).

Below are two charts listing speaker wire gauges and recommendations for best results.

SPEAKER WIRE GAUGE

output of the other speakers, unpredictable frequency response is a concern. Third, most speaker cabinets are already wired for parallel connections making parallel connections the most common wiring method.

Below are two charts demonstrating how to calculate both parallel and series impedance.

PARALLEL IMPEDANCE

WIRE LENGTH

100'-UP

(30.5 m-UP)

50'-100'

(15.25-30.5 m)

*25'-50'

(7.60-15.25 m)

10'-25'

10 12 14

12 14 16

14 *16 18

16 18 18

Cabinet B Impedance

16Ω*

8Ω

		Z p =		1
		1	+	1		1
5.3*	8	Z	1	Z 2 ... Z n
4	5.3	+	A		+	B
		-			-

SPEAKER

(3.05-7.60 m)

0'-10'

(0.00-3.05 m)

18 18 18

4Ω *8Ω 16Ω

8Ω* 16Ω
Cabinet A
	+	-
Impedance

SPEAKER IMPEDANCE [z]

*Example - If the speaker wire length required is between 25-50 feet (7.60- 15.25 meters) and the speaker impedance is 8Ω, the minimum

*Example- Cabinet A is 8 ohms. Cabinet B is

16 ohms . The total impedance when connected
in parallel is:	1
Z p =		= 5.3 ohms.

11

8+ 16

SERIES IMPEDANCE
16Ω*						Z s =	Z 1 + Z 2 ... Z n
		18	20*	24	32
CabinetB Impedance	8Ω
		10	12	16	24			+	A
	4Ω	6	8	12	20			-
								+
	2Ω
		4	6	10	18				B
								-
		2Ω	4Ω*	8Ω	16Ω
						+	-

Cabinet A

Impedance

recommended speaker wire gauge is 16.

AWG	Cross-	Resistance in Ω per foot
	Section
	2	(30.5 cm) @ 77º F (25º C)
	[mm ]
18	0.83	.00651
16	1.32	.00409
14	2.10	.00258
12	3.32	.00162
10	5.27	.00102
8	8.38	.00064

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