How To Wire 2 Channels To 1 Speaker?

There are plenty of purposes for wiring two channels to one speaker and there are plenty of ways to do so. Although wiring 2 channels to a single speaker is not a very complex process it is dangerous to a certain extent.

This is because if you are not giving proper attention and care to the minute details there are high chances that wiring 2 channels to 1 speaker will kill your amplifier.

To get the best bucks out of wiring 2 channels to 1 speaker and to ensure the safety of your amplifier at all times you need to know the best methods of connecting your speakers and amplifier. For that purpose, go through our review article to know about various methods and then choose the one that suits your requirements the best.

Before Getting Started…

In order for you to connect two channels to a single speaker, there are certain things that you should clearly comprehend even if you don’t have any technical know-how. The very first thing is the impedance level of the speakers. The impedance level of each speaker is mentioned on the back of it or it can be located on the box within which speakers are coming.

You can also check the impedance level by consulting the user’s manual or by looking up the speaker model online. The average impedance level of speakers available in the market is usually 4 ohm, 6 ohms, and even 8 ohms to a certain extent.

It is essential to know the impedance level of the speaker before connecting it with one or 2 channels. This is because the resistance passing through the channels must be within the impedance level of the speaker or it will blow away your stereos.

How To Wire 2 Channels To 1 Speaker?

Now it’s time to dig deep into the process of wiring two channels to one speaker and this can be done in various ways. We have discussed the three ways which will be helpful for different audio systems and will not be very harmful to the amplifier.

The three methods to wire 2 channels with one 1 speaker are:

1. Right and left channels connected together
2. By using a mono switch
3. By Bridge arrangement

Now we will see each of these methods and their specific requirements in detail in the coming paragraphs.

1. Right And Left Channels Connected Together:

To connect right and left channels together is the most commonly used method to connect 2 channels with a single speaker. It is based on the parallel circuit design and this design will be delivering the current level of a single channel into 2 channels. (That is the current following through both channels will be the same).

Although the sound quality of both channels will be similar in the parallel circuit design, the overall sound quality can be adversely affected by this method. Other than the sound quality another trouble will be caused by the current sharing of the channels.

Since the two channels are using the same input they will most typically fight for the resource power and it will lead to the heating up of your amplifier.

Therefore, despite the ease and convenience of wiring 2 channels to 1 speaker, this method is not the ideal way and should not be considered the only option.

2. By Using A Mono Switch:

The second method of wiring two channels to a single speaker is by using the MONO switch. The MONO switch is most commonly seen in most traditional and old amplifiers. Some latest amplifiers have retained this MONO switch while most of them have discarded it.  You can plug the two-channel wires in your MONO switch and this will be connected to a single speaker.

It is a safe method of wiring 2 channels to 1 speaker and will not cause any damage to your amplifier. If you are using the latest amplifier with no MONO switch you can easily make one yourself by watching some video tutorials available on the web.

MONO switch method can also be used for connecting two channels to two speakers out of which one speaker is a stereo amplifier while the second one is a mono speaker.

3. By Bridge Arrangement:

Bridge arrangement is also known to the masses as the bridge circuit and it is used to house two circuits in one. In the case of wiring 2 channels to 1 speaker, this bridge circuit can be used to connect two parallel channels to a third party that is your speaker.

To bridge two channels to a single speaker you would have to follow the given guidelines.

Take out the positive terminal of the first channel and connect it to the positive terminal of the speaker. Similarly, take out the negative terminal of the second channel and connect it to the negative terminal of the speaker.

In this way, both the positive and negative terminals of your speaker are connected with the two terminals of your two channels.

Final Words:

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