QuestionQUESTION: I have a 4 channel autoradio (4x52w). I only need 2 channels to plug into a Niles multizone which distributes the sound in different cabins. Can I safely combine the 4 channel out into 2 in simply connecting them together in parallel? Right now, I am only connected to the front ones and use the fade, however, I assume I only get 2x52w...
ANSWER: Patrick, you are correct in assuming you are only getting the 2 x 52 watts in the front channels. However, you cannot wire the channels together in any way, because they all contain different signals. One will short out the other. If you are running the radio into a Multizone receiver, then you are not using the radio's 52 watts anyway. You are using the watts provided by the multizone amplifier. You have it hooked correctly already, just fade all the signal to the front channels, and use the front two channels for the multizone. There is actually a signal converter inside the multizone receiver that reduces your radio's power down to 3-4 watts, which it needs to feed to it's amplifier. Most times, when amplifiers have speaker level inputs, they have a gain control that lets you adjust how much the converter reduces your signal. If this is the case with yours, there should be a "gain" knob on the back, and you can turn it up to help get more volume. If it is turned up to high, you will start to hear distortion even at low levels. Hope this helps, Scott
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QUESTION: Thank you Scott. My Niles multi zone does not include an amplifier. (Just down... not up) Any way to get all the power?
AnswerSorry, still no way to combine channels. There is just no way to get more power with what you have. You might look into a mobile amplifier. You can get a lot of power out of a mono or bridged 2 channel amp, and the cost is about $100 for about 3 to 4 times the power you are currently getting. Good Luck, Scott
