General speaker info

[Infinity714]

I recently bought a used pair of Polk RTi8's and have a couple of general questions.
1. The impedance is 8 Ohms, my Infinity center speaker (RC252) is 6 Ohms. Is this difference something which needs to be addressed? I think they sound good together.
2. These Polks can be bi-wired. Is bi-wiring a game changer? I googled it and it sounds to me it can be pretty subjective. I've never had speakers that had this option.

 

[Tonygeno]

The answer to both of your questions is "no".

 

[DVDdoug]

1. The impedance is 8 Ohms, my Infinity center speaker (RC252) is 6 Ohms.

You'll get more power (Watts) with lower impedance* but different speakers have different sensitivity/efficiency so the lower impedance speaker won't necessarily be louder and there is a possibility it will be quieter.

These Polks can be bi-wired. Is bi-wiring a game changer?

It does nothing. The connections are in parallel in either case except with bi-wiring the parallel connection is back at the amplifier instead at the speaker-end. Doubling the wires does cut the wire resistance in half but wire resistance is rarely an issue, and if it is you can use heavier gage wire or simply double the wires without "bi-wiring".

Bi-amplifying (separate amplifiers for the woofer & tweeter) can sometimes make a difference. Most home theater systems have a separately-amplified "active" or "powered" subwoofer, and I have a tri-amped system in my van.



* Impedance (and resistance) is "the resistance to current flow". With lower impedance (and the same voltage) you get more current, so more power. Under normal conditions the speaker voltage doesn't change when the load impedance changes. With a lower impedance load some amplifiers clip at lower voltage (because they can't supply the current) but as long as you're not pushing your amp into clipping you're OK.

 

[Infinity714]

You'll get more power (Watts) with lower impedance* but different speakers have different sensitivity/efficiency so the lower impedance speaker won't necessarily be louder and there is a possibility it will be quieter.


It does nothing. The connections are in parallel in either case except with bi-wiring the parallel connection is back at the amplifier instead at the speaker-end. Doubling the wires does cut the wire resistance in half but wire resistance is rarely an issue, and if it is you can use heavier gage wire or simply double the wires without "bi-wiring".

Bi-amplifying (separate amplifiers for the woofer & tweeter) can sometimes make a difference. Most home theater systems have a separately-amplified "active" or "powered" subwoofer, and I have a tri-amped system in my van.



* Impedance (and resistance) is "the resistance to current flow". With lower impedance (and the same voltage) you get more current, so more power. Under normal conditions the speaker voltage doesn't change when the load impedance changes. With a lower impedance load some amplifiers clip at lower voltage (because they can't supply the current) but as long as you're not pushing your amp into clipping you're OK.

Thanks for the information, I understand it now.