Altec Lansing 9444a

[rjdv1963]

Just got this. Have to replace the fan and the power cord. Is it worth it to have this done to hook up to my home theater/stereo system consisting of Onkyo TX603X receiver with a powered zone 2 to power 6 pairs of speakers thoughout my home, garage and rear deck? Is this amp "overkill" for my purpose?
Would it be better to look for another amp? Any suggestions?

[LICORNE]

Hi,

According to the 9444B continuos power is 300 watts per channel. So you will need 2 output transformers of 300 watts 70 volt and 6 speaker transformers from 300 to 100 watts 70 volt.

I've not done this in a while but that is the basic principle.

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[LICORNE]

Hi,

I misread your speakers. If you have 12 speakers
at 8 ohms with a power rating of 100 watt efficient type for example. Then you need 12 step down transformers of 50 watts 70 volt. Based on the 9444B Amp.

We will need more info on your speakers
Wattage?
Impedance?

Then you just change the input data.
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[rjdv1963]

Yes, I do need to power 6 pairs or 12 total speakers. The highest watts per channel is 60 on most of the speakers. I'm very basic with this electronic lingo though. My main concern is powering the zone 2 in my Onkyo receiver. I feel I should do this because there's probably not enough power to reasonably expect long-term life from my receiver. My brother-in-law gave me this Altec amp. He received it from an friend and installer of home/business electronic systems. This came from a school. I'm trying to figure out, if I get an amp, do I invest money to repair this one (how much will that cost,) or just go to a local store and buy a new one. I don't really understand the stuff you mentioned in your previous message.

[LICORNE]

Hi,

What do you mean by powering the zone 2 of your receiver?

What is this receiver hooked up to?

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[rjdv1963]

The receiver has a home 7:1 home theater as well as a powered zone 2. It's not enough power to send a signal to 6 pairs of speakers without have the volume control on zone 2 up to 70 on a scale of 1-100. I'm afraid I'll damage the receiver over time using it at the level. So, my purpose in getting another amp is to power that more realistically to what my needs are. Make sense? Thanks in advance.

[LICORNE]

Hi,

I think I get it now. Were talking of 6 extra pair of speakers,besides the ones for the 7.1.

In order to do that we must make sure that you have 2 line output besides the power zone.

The Altec could do the trick but being a pro amp I'm afraid it's balanced .Unless it has both output balanced and unbalanced.

To hook up 6 pairs of extra speakers you will need to feed the output amp with a high voltage
70 volt line to your extra speakers.

This way we have no problems with impedance matching.

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[LICORNE]

Hi,
I said

Unless it has both output balanced and unbalanced.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I ment input.

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[Old Guy]

Balanced to unbalanced really isn't a problem. Generally just wiring the proper cable will fix that.

I'd hate to see 70 volt in a "hi fi' app though. 70 volt isn't really good quality.

Many 70 volt transformers say 100 to 10K- and are misleading about being that good.

[hmole]

9444a is balanced input, 300watts@4ohms per channel, bridgeable to 600 watts @ 8 ohms.
Not really sure if it is suitable for your application, how are you wiring this?
It will be way better than the Onkyo most likely but you might want to boost the input level.
Are you just wiring 6 pairs of speakers in parallel/series to the amp?
Are you using a speaker selector and running one pair at a time?
Do you want to control the volume independently on the various pairs of speakers?
I would recommend 12 separate channels of amplification.
Another consideration how long are your speaker wire runs?
What gauge is the wire?
Harry