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AW4-LS-BR & AW6-LS-BR Product Manual
Adjust the Tap Settings
The tap settings will affect the overall sound volume of the loudspeaker in
the system. When designing a 70V/100V system, care must be taken not to
exceed the power rating of the amplifier or dangerous clipping may occur.
Clipping is the most common cause of damage to loudspeakers and should
be avoided at all times. The standard rule is to design a system that leaves
20% of the amplifier’s rated power as a reserve. For example, with a 300-
watt amplifier, speakers should never be set with taps that total higher than
240-watts. The amplifiers total load is determined by adding the wattage of
each speaker. When thicker wire or exceptionally long wire runs are used, there
is an additional component of current loss due to the cable that can become
significant and must be considered in the calculation. For our example with a
300-watt amplifier, here are the approximate number of speakers that could be
used if each speaker used the following tap settings:
Example: 300-Watt Amplifier (saving 20% for overhead, means 240 usable
watts maximum)
Tap Settings and maximum number of speakers (depending on wire gauge
and length)
2W: Max of 120 speakers
4W: Max of 60 speakers
8W: Max of 30 speakers
16W: Max of 15 speakers
32W: Max of 7-8 speakers
For a 70V/100V system, most installations are designed to blanket an area using
more loudspeakers at a lower tap setting rather than using fewer speakers at
higher tap settings. This is done to avoid hot spots where very loud sound
is heard in certain areas and less in others. It is much more common for 70V
speakers to be set at their lowest tap setting than at their highest, but each
installation may require adjustments due to the application or environment.
You can adjust the tap setting at any time by turning the tap setting knob to
the new position, but make sure not to exceed the amplifier’s total available
wattage when doing so.
WIRING INFO - 70V/100V OPERATION
AW6 Tap Settings:
70V - 7.5W, 15W, 30W, 60W
100V - 15W, 30W, 60W
8Ω Bypass
AW4 Tap Settings:
70V - 2W, 4W, 8W, 16W, 32W
100V - 4W, 8W, 16W, 32W
8Ω Bypass
TAP SETTINGS
7.5W: Max of 32 speakers
15W: Max of 16 speakers
30W: Max of 8 speakers
60W: Max of 4 speakers
