Two (Or More) Amps Connected To A Pair Of Loudspeakers

Hi-Fi Corner
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I am curious to know if there is anyone here who has a system with multiple amps connected to a pair of loudspeakers. If there is, I would be interested to know if it’s a fairly easy and straightforward process when people swap between the amps. Do you just unplug the speaker cable at one end of an amp and plug it to the other amp? That’s it?

I presume the speaker cables have to be switched between the terminals of the amps while the sources may or may not need to be switched. For example, the DAC can be connected to both amps using single-ended and balanced interconnects. If the amps have been switched, the input on the amp can be selected but I’m unsure if the DAC will automatically output to single-ended or balanced XLR if the cables are connected to the both outputs. However, the cables on the DAC will need to be switched if more than two amps are used in the system.

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You can use a regular speaker selector in reverse like the Luxman AS-55. Connect speakers to amp and 3 amps to speaker outputs.

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I guess the question this raises though is why do you want to do this?

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Thanks. I’ll check it out. I didn’t know about the existence of this Luxman product.

Using amps as tone control? Different amps give a different sonic signature. It may be useful for folks who have multiple amps, particularly surplus amps which are not in use.

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Yes I can see that. I’ve never subscribed to the notion of"correctness" and therefore accept different things can sound different; you might like more than one; and the idea we can know which sounds more “correct” is a fool’s errand.

Personally I like building different systems with different characters for different spaces in the home.

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Yes agreed. That’s ideal provided one has the space to set up an additional pair of speakers in another room, ideally a good room.

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I have my NAP160 and my Radford STA15 connected to my Focals via a DIY switchbox.

The Radford has a slightly more open midrange, but the Naim has better bass control. Before the Naim I had an Audiolab and most serious listening was done through the Radford, the Naim was such a step up that these days most serious listening is through it.

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