Speaker wiring help?

[brats.n.harleys]

ok, i wired up 8 speakers in the garage. they have multiple wires on the back to be used for 70volt, 8 ohm, and some other types. the amp i have also has multiple configuations to run either 70volt, 8 ohm, etc... i wired them all up using the 70 volt config. with 24 gauge ( i know its too thin, im replacing it tonight with 16) when the volume is low, there is a constant hum from the speakers. So, my questions are..

is the hum just caused by the wire being too thin?

is 70 volt better than 8 ohm? from what i can find (and understand) online, you cant link a bunch of 8 ohm speakers together, buy you can do that with 70 volt. but 70 volt is mono only not stereo (not even sure what that means exactly)

just want to have loud music and tv in the garage.. any help is appreciated

 

[Steevo]

What are you feeding the speakers from?
That will determine the appropriate wiring and identify which terminals to use.

Most likely, you'll use the 8-ohm connections, one speaker per wire run, each wire run terminated on its own speaker out connection on your amplifier/receiver, and using 16ga wire (12ga if for long runs)

 

[brats.n.harleys]

The amp has multiple conections. It has a common, then one spot for either 8 ohm, or 70 volt, so theres no way 8 wires will fit under those terminals, is it possible to daisy chain 8 ohm??

 

[Steevo]

What is the amplifier?
A common, and two "hots" sounds like a P.A. system or something.

Daisy chaining speakers doesn't work.
Wiring them in parallel might, but will likely lower the maximum volume with each added speaker.

 

[hifi_hokie]

70 volt primer: http://www.proacousticsusa.com/blog/2011/09/70-volt-speakers-and-sound-systems/

 

[hifi_hokie]

but 70 volt is mono only not stereo (not even sure what that means exactly)

Stereo is 2 channels - left and right.

With 70V, you're more concerned about providing fill for large spaces, so maintaining proper channel separation isn't as important.

 

[brats.n.harleys]

yea, it was a PA system only has 2 inputs that i can use (one for tv, one for ipod) guess i'll just keep it 70 volt as it has been. only reason i was looking to change it was the hum at very low volume, and im moving some speakers around and re wiring them with larger wire gauge anyway. thanks guys

 

[Steevo]

70 volt primer: http://www.proacousticsusa.com/blog/2011/09/70-volt-speakers-and-sound-systems/

Thanks!
I learned something new by reading that.

 

[APEowner]

If you're using the 70v output you need to be using either 70v speakers or transformers at each speaker to feed conventional 8ohm speakers.

 

[GreyOwl]

If the amp has any age to it, the power filter capacitors are probably going bad causing a 60 cycle hum.

 

[jeffmoss26]

Speaking from experience here...did installed and live sound work throughout school:

70V systems are for background music and paging. You are not going to get stellar audio quality out of a ceiling speaker, in most applications. I will say that we had a very nice system in our auditorium at school with JBL ceiling speakers and powerful 70V amps, but that is not usually the case.
In my own basement, I have several 8 ohm speakers wired together in series parallel which still presents an 8 ohm load to the amp. I do have a small paging amp that sounds like what the OP has...it's got 4, 8, and 16 ohm along with 70V outputs.
The nice thing about 70V systems is that you can run smaller wire and loop between speakers. You just set the tap at each speaker for the wattage you desire. As long as you leave a decent safety factor on the amp, you can have a large amount of speakers.

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Daisy chaining speakers doesn't work.
Wiring them in parallel might, but will likely lower the maximum volume with each added speaker.

Actually, u CAN daisy chain speakers, in either parallel or series. I was an audio engineer for years and I also use to install car stereos. When u wire speakers in parallel, the impedance/resistance seen by the amp is cut in half. Exp. (2) 8 ohm speakers wired in parallel will give an amp 4 ohms of resistance. If those same speakers are wired in series, then the resistance doubles- 16ohms! Also, when an amp sees a lower impedance, its wattage output will increase. Be careful though when wiring multiple speakers together because amps have a minimum impedance.

The OP has speakers which are usually used for broadcasting and announcement systems which I wouldn't recommend for use with TVs and stereos because they won't sound as good. Klipsch makes a really nice in-ceiling home theater speaker and I've installed quite a few of these! There are models from other brands as well like Polk.

The buzzing could be from the speaker wire being ran to close to electrical wires. I've seen this happen a few times!

 

[jeffmoss26]

wyliesdiesels, that is what I ran into with my speakers at home...did not want to cause damage to the amp, so I wired them in series parallel. 4 speakers and it still presents an 8 ohm load.