8 channel amp for outdoor speakers

[nocrapman]

Hi folks I am looking to upgrade my outdoor patio speakers to a proper amp from its current old HT receiver.
This will be run as 8 mono channels. All are 6-8 ohm loads wired with 12 gauge runs.
Considering a Hypex NC 252 based builds.
Monoprice seems to be the best priced but specd at 100wpc. https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=42565
Buckeye (150 wpc) and VTV (250wpc) have higher prices but better power ratings. Not sure why?
Shouldnt the same 252 module be producing more or less the same power.
Different implementations? Or inflated numbers? Or am I missing something?

Price is secondary - I care about the SQ and power consumption more.
Please advise and suggest if something else might be a better fit.

 

[anotherhobby]

If all mono, could you wire them up in a combo of parallel/series to get the ohm load correct and reduce your channel count way down?

 

[voodooless]

If they all use the same Hypex module, they all have the same power rating. I’m with @anotherhobby, if only mono or stereo, you can save a lot of amp channels by paralleling 8R speakers. You’ll also get more power out of the amps.

 

[nocrapman]

Parallel is definitely an option. Will drop the resistance to 4Ohms.
Wasnt sure if the increased load would be bad for the Hypex.
So maybe I can do a 4 channel while doubling up on each channel. Or 2 stereo amps.

 

[voodooless]

Parallel is definitely an option. Will drop the resistance to 4Ohms.
Wasnt sure if the increased load would be bad for the Hypex.

It’s no problem. In fact the amps would also run at 2R if needed, but probably not at full power.

 

[anotherhobby]

I fully admit to cheating with ChatGTP so I didn't have to sort the specifics myself, but seems to check out. This is what I meat by mixing series and parallel wiring (I've done this with subs).

To wire eight 8-ohm speakers in mono and achieve a total load of 8 ohms, you could use a combination of series and parallel wiring.

1. Divide the speakers into two groups of four speakers each.
2. Wire each group of four speakers in series. This will result in a total impedance of 32 ohms for each group.
3. Wire the two groups of four speakers in parallel. This will result in a total impedance of 8 ohms.

To instead wire the eight 8-ohm speakers in a way that results in a total impedance of 4 ohms.

1. Divide the speakers into two groups of four speakers each.
2. Wire each group of four speakers in parallel. This will result in a total impedance of 2 ohms for each group.
3. Wire the two groups of four speakers in series. This will result in a total impedance of 4 ohms.