Experience Wiim Amp at 2.67 load?

[marticus24]

Greetings, all!

I'm considering using a WiiM Amp for an outdoor patio zone that will have 6 x 8 ohm satellite speakers (similar to Sonance MAG system). If I run 3 in a left channel (in parallel) and 3 in a right channel (in parallel), it will end up presenting with a 2.67ohm load to the amp on each channel.

Official WiiM manual and documentation says minimum supported impedance is 4 ohms, but if I look at the UK version, it says 2.67. There is also a forum post from what appears to be the WiiM official account on this forum (over in WiiM Pro announce thread, from just a month or two ago), stating that 2.67 is actually the minimum supported and that documentation is still being updated.

So, here are the questions I'd appreciate anybody's input on:

• Does anybody have experience running this kind of load on either the Amp or Pro? If so, what has your experience been?
• Any chance that @WiiM Team can officially confirm if a 2.67 would/would not be supported?

Note: I'm aware of alternatives that include other amps + WiiM Pro, or impedance matching devices, but I'm really just seeking experience/input on the WiiM Amp in the configuration above before I go either route.

Thanks!

 

[Burnside]

@WiiM Support are official WiiM staff, but if you want it said again straight from the horse’s mouth, I’d raise a ticket thru the more/ feedback section in the WiiM Home app.

 

[slartibartfast]

Greetings, all!

I'm considering using a WiiM Amp for an outdoor patio zone that will have 6 x 8 ohm satellite speakers (similar to Sonance MAG system). If I run 3 in a left channel (in parallel) and 3 in a right channel (in parallel), it will end up presenting with a 2.67ohm load to the amp on each channel.

Official WiiM manual and documentation says minimum supported impedance is 4 ohms, but if I look at the UK version, it says 2.67. There is also a forum post from what appears to be the WiiM official account on this forum (over in WiiM Pro announce thread, from just a month or two ago), stating that 2.67 is actually the minimum supported and that documentation is still being updated.

So, here are the questions I'd appreciate anybody's input on:

• Does anybody have experience running this kind of load on either the Amp or Pro? If so, what has your experience been?
• Any chance that @WiiM Team can officially confirm if a 2.67 would/would not be supported?

Note: I'm aware of alternatives that include other amps + WiiM Pro, or impedance matching devices, but I'm really just seeking experience/input on the WiiM Amp in the configuration above before I go either route.

Thanks!

Presumably those 8 Ohm speakers will not be a constant 8 Ohm load and will dip below 8 Ohms at some frequencies.

 

[marticus24]

@WiiM Support are official WiiM staff, but if you want it said again straight from the horse’s mouth, I’d raise a ticket thru the more/ feedback section in the WiiM Home app.

Thank you, great call. Will do this, as well.

 

[marticus24]

Presumably those 8 Ohm speakers will not be a constant 8 Ohm load and will dip below 8 Ohms at some frequencies.

Yes, understood. Further why I'm interested in hearing directly from WiiM or anybody that has run this kind of load. I realize it can/will differ even across different 8 ohm rated speakers.

 

[harkpabst]

Yes, understood. Further why I'm interested in hearing directly from WiiM or anybody that has run this kind of load. I realize it can/will differ even across different 8 ohm rated speakers.

It will not just differ a little. Many - if not most - 8 ohm speakers today will dip down to 4 ohm (or even less) in certain frequency ranges. You could end up with a 1.33 ohm load which is definitely too low for the WiiM Amp.

 

[marticus24]

It will not just differ a little. Many - if not most - 8 ohm speakers today will dip down to 4 ohm (or even less) in certain frequency ranges. You could end up with a 1.33 ohm load which is definitely too low for the WiiM Amp.

Thank you - running anything in parallel like this is completely new to me. Something I've only ever done (blindly) with 4 speakers, never 6. So, this helps. Can you help with another question... what happens in the case that the load dips too much? Would the amp just enter some sort of protection mode, burn out, blow the speaker? Not an electrical engineer, so, I realize this may be rudimentary stuff, so thanks in advance.

Regardless, it's looking more and more like I'll need to go with Plan B or C, which is either 1 x Fosi stereo v3 amp (says can handle 2 ohm load) + WiiM Pro or get an impedance leveling device and run with WiiM Amp.

 

[harkpabst]

Regardless, it's looking more and more like I'll need to go with Plan B or C, which is either 1 x Fosi stereo v3 amp (says can handle 2 ohm load) + WiiM Pro or get an impedance leveling device and run with WiiM Amp.

The V3 is not going to be a solution. It implements a single TI TPA3255 in bridge-tied load configuration. It won't be able to reliably pump out the required current into 2 ohm loads, even if the specs say "Terminating Impedance: 2-8Ω". For real compatibility with 2 ohm loads you need two TPA3255 in parallel tied-bridged load configuration.

A pair of V3 Mono would be a better (and obviously much more expensive) choice, but even the V3 Mono cannot keep it's output voltage fully stable into 2 ohms. The absolute amount of power is still very high. The 3e Audio amplifiers A5, A7 and A7 mono would also be suitable choices, producing even less distortion, but again at a higher price. Might not be worth it for outdoor use.

If you can find actual impedance measurements of the speakers you are after then we could compare judge on a less abstract level.