Can I safely connect a 0.25W 8 Ohm speaker to 3.5mm mini jack output from laptop/portable player?
What is the general calculation (thought) when doing similar stuff, like connecting a 2 watt 4 ohm speaker to a XY device for example.
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\$\begingroup\$ you can safely connect it, but don't expect loud noise. \$\endgroup\$– Jasen Слава УкраїніCommented Feb 5, 2021 at 23:56
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2\$\begingroup\$ You can also safely connect it to a 12” 8 Ohm speaker in a 1m high cabinet with 3mm wire \$\endgroup\$– D.A.S.Commented Feb 6, 2021 at 1:05
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\$\begingroup\$ you might want to put something like this: youtube.com/watch?v=4ObzEft2R_g in between the jack output and the speaker. \$\endgroup\$– Sredni VashtarCommented Feb 6, 2021 at 20:39
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1 Answer
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Safely: yes, you can expect all outputs on consumer electronics to be shortcircuit-safe, so lower impedances (down to 0Ω) are no safety problem.
You won't get much (or good) sound out of something that can only drive, say 32Ω headphones when you connect 8Ω speakers. It's simple as that: if the impedance of the speakers is lower than what the amplifier is designed to drive, the amplifier can't drive it sufficiently.
answered Feb 6, 2021 at 0:54
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\$\begingroup\$ Thank you. Could you please add some information about how to find out, what the amplifier is able to drive, is a line out from a portable speaker always the same? Reading this article en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level it seems I have to look for the line driver. But how to find out, if I dont have schematics of the board of portable player for example? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 6, 2021 at 10:52
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\$\begingroup\$ @stackunderflow you can't. You can guess by what it's designed to drive: if it's designed to drive headphones, then 64Ω is fine, 32Ω probably, too, 16Ω quite likely not anymore. A line out, as opposed to a headphone out, isn't designed to drive headphones, but much smaller loads (e.g. 10kΩ), so if you can still hear something, that means there was plenty of headroom in the line out's design. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 6, 2021 at 11:05
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\$\begingroup\$ So, a standard 3.5 mm mini jack line in/line out from a laptop would be similar to a headphone out from a portable player? In both cases I won't get much volume out of the 8 ohm speaker right? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 6, 2021 at 12:44
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\$\begingroup\$ a laptop doesn't have a line out, it has a headphone output. Yes, as said multiple times now, don't expect useful sound levels. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Feb 6, 2021 at 13:45