Simple speaker switches....I need some help.

I am installing speakers in the ceiling of my house in six rooms. The speakers will connect to my stereo receiver for music in every room. But I would like to have a switch for each room on a single control panel in my office. Up to there I am fine, but I want to use some rocker switches that have built-in LEDs. I need help with providing power to the buttons. They are rated 25A at 12VDC. I want to convert the AC from the wall so that I don't have to use batteries. I would greatly appreciate some help because I am new to this kind of work. Thank you, all.

You cannot simply switch many speakers onto the outputs of your stereo amplifier. It will blow up (it will get damaged from too much current).

Your amplifier has a minimum load rating, 4 ohms or 8 ohms. If it is rated for no less than 8 ohms and your speakers are 8 ohms then the limit is only one set of speakers can be connected at a time. If the amplifier has a minimum rating of 4 ohms then two 8 ohm speakers can be connected to each channel at a time.

Stereo shops (now called home entertainment) sell transformers that can be installed in each room to feed reduced power to the speakers and avoid blowing up the amplifier.

The LEDs in the switches do not have a current of 25A, they are probably 25mA which is 1000 times less. If the LEDs use 12VDC then power them from a 12V AC/DC adapter. Connect the LEDs with the correct polarity.

I just want to be able to turn the speakers on and off with a switch. I was not planning on overloading the amplifier or turning on more speakers than possible. I just want to turn the speakers off and on with switches. Like if my wife is asleep in the bedroom, I want to switch those speakers off, but leave the speakers in the other rooms on. Is this possible? Or am I just a really confused novice? Thanks for the reply anyway.

The amplifier is designed to drive only one set of speakers.
If you switch on the speakers in the other rooms then they will overload the amplifier.
You need to add transformers to the speakers so that each speaker will receive reduced power. Then their total amount of power used doesn't overload the amplifier.

PA systems use hundreds of speakers that are all connected to an amplifier. Each speaker has a transformer. Then the amplifier is not overloaded.

Connect your switch between the amplifier and the transformer in each room.
You can buy transformers with a built-in volume control for each room.

You have a transformer at the amplifier to increase the output to 100V, and a transformer at each speaker to convert it to a suitable voltage to power the speaker. This is similar to how power is generated by the electricity company at, steped to to a high voltage, then steped back down to a low voltage for the consumer.

Thank you very much for your help!

You could possibly find/make an amp small enuff to fit behind a switch plate in each room. But I would suggest having the switch in the room itself. A push on/push off volume pot next to your light switch would be perfect.

If your speakers have transformers on them, you're halfway there. I would use a 25 volt reference audio level, which is probably easily available from your amplifier (75W/ch). At each speaker, you select the transformer tap (in watts) that represents how much power you want in that room at maximum volume. For a simple system you don't have to boost the amplifier output to 100V.

Note: If your transformers are labeled 70.7 volts (a common type) then the 10W tap is actually about 1.25W, 1W tap is 125 mW, and so on.

The total power selected by all speakers must not exceed the amplifier rating. (You can calculate impedances but this way is simpler for a novice.)

Take a completely different turn.

Take a completely different turn. amp output wise that is..

instead of running all your speaker out of your speaker outputs....
i would run them out of the preamp rca type outputs. (if you amp has pre amp outs)

(if you don't have preamp outs.....stop reading right about....... now....)

i would:
*go from preamp outs
*into a box/wall plate
*splice the outputs into 6 (or however many you need)
*through a switch on each one of your 6 outputs
*put a D.I kind of unit on each output...(to change your signal from high impendents to low and unbalanced to balanced, letting you transmit over long distances with less interference)
*and in each room, place a pair of active speakers, like computer speakers.

please let me know if im talking ****, id like to know of any flaws in my idea.

upriverpaddler said:

You could possibly find/make an amp small enuff to fit behind a switch plate in each room. But I would suggest having the switch in the room itself. A push on/push off volume pot next to your light switch would be perfect.

Click to expand...

You don't have a separate amplifier for each speaker, please read the thread from the beginning.