Speakers wired in series are all connected in a chain and increase the resistance of your system. This decreases the amount of power received by each speaker. Each speaker added will also raise the resistance of the system. The formula for finding total resistance for speakers wired in series is Z1 + Z2 + Z3 …. = Ztotal. Where Z is the resistance of a given speaker. For example, if you have three speakers with resistance values of 4 Ohms, 6 Ohms, and 8 Ohms your total resistance wired in series would be 18 Ohms (4+6+8=18). Speakers wired in parallel are all connected to the amp directly. This decreases the resistance of your system. This means more power will go to each speaker because adding speakers to the circuit will lower the resistance of the system. Do not decrease resistance too much or you will damage your amp. The formula for finding total resistance of speakers wired in parallel is a little trickier. It is (Z1 x Z2 x Z3… ) / (Z1 + Z2 + Z3…) =Ztotal. So say you have two speakers with resistances of 6 Ohms and 8 Ohms. This time it would look like this: 1) Multiply the values. 6 x 8 = 48 Ohms 2) Add the values. 6 + 8 = 14 Ohms 3) Divide the top by the bottom to find your total resistance. 48/14 = 3. 43 Ohms (rounded)
