Which Receiver To Buy??

[dnovak]

I purchased a pair of Paradigm 11se MK 2's off my buddy. They run at 4 ohms and 160 watt max power. I am having problems finding a receiver that is in my price range that can run at 4 ohms and it needs to be 7.1 compatible. Waz looking at Onkyo TX-SR503. I have read that a well built 8 ohm receiver should be able to power it fine, if so what is considered a "well" built 8 ohm receiver aka what is starting price rang? what manufacturers should I be lookin at? lookin to spend no more than say $700-$750? any help is appreciated..

 

[Spiffyfast]

Ok, best bet, buy a receiver around the $500 dollar range and also buy a 2 channel amp to power those 4ohm speakers. It would take an extremely well built receiver to power 4ohm speakers as mains b/c they are used so much it would strain the receiver, by using an amp designed to support a 4 ohm load you will have much better results and wont risk damaging your equipment.

 

[dnovak]

would using the 2 channel amp still allow me to use my 4 ohm speakers as part of my home theatre?

 

[DTRUTH]

FWIW I'm currently pushing a pair of Cerwin Vega AT-15s (4 ohm), a pair of Vega AT-8s (6 ohm) and a center with a HK AVR635 with no issues. (None that I'm aware of anyway.) In the near future, I plan on adding a pair of Outlaw Audio 200 M-Block amps for the mains.

I got the 635 at Onecall for under $700.

 

[Spiffyfast]

FWIW I'm currently pushing a pair of Cerwin Vega AT-15s (4 ohm), a pair of Vega AT-8s (6 ohm) and a center with a HK AVR635 with no issues. (None that I'm aware of anyway.) In the near future, I plan on adding a pair of Outlaw Audio 200 M-Block amps for the mains.

I got the 635 at Onecall for under $700.

How hot does it get when running it loud for extended periods of time, thats a big load for a mid level receiver to push.

 

[Spiffyfast]

would using the 2 channel amp still allow me to use my 4 ohm speakers as part of my home theatre?

Yes it would, just find a receiver with pre/outs, these output the audio to the amp, and then it will run just like normal, hook up your other 5 speakers to the receiver in their respected outputs, calibrate it, and get ready for one heck of a time. Those Paradigm speakers look awesome by the way, almost bought a pair off ebay.

 

[Takeereasy]

That 503 should be nowhere near $700. As far as receivers go Spiffy is correct. Not many 7.1 capable receivers that can handle a 4 ohm load well in that price bracket and a cheaper receiver with a good pre-out section along with a seperate amp might be your best bet. Harman Kardon has an ebay site where they clear out their receivers, and a avr-635 or 630 might suit your needs and you should be able to get one right in your range. One of our members picked up an AVR-7200 for under $600, if you could get one of those you'd be laughing.Harman Audio
I did list A JVC receiver in the deals section yesterday that is capable of doing what you want, and of doing it very well. It is about 2 yr old technology, but it is sold brand new and has a 2 yr warranty. Available at JR.com, chech the deals section for a link if you are interested. Don't let the JVC name fool you, that thing is a monster and weighs 48lbs.

 

[Spiffyfast]

Yeah, a flagship receiver like that should be able to push a 4 ohm load with minimal problems, and at 48 lbs its a beast.

 

[Spiffyfast]

An amp like this would work great

http://cgi.ebay.com/Parasound-HCA-1000A-THX-High-Current-Power-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ5796544615QQcategoryZ39783QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[malvado78]

From the 503' Manual:

2 channel driven: (All at .08% THD)
North American:
75 W + 75 W (8Ω,20Hz–20kHz, FTC)
European:
100 W + 100 W(6Ω,1kHz,DIN)
Asian, Australian:
130 W + 130 W(6Ω,1kHz,JEITA)

Dynamic Power:
180 W + 180 W (3Ω,Front)
140 W + 140 W (4Ω,Front)
95 W + 95 W (8Ω,Front)

I currently have the HT520 reciever (Comparable to the last years 502 but they put the 520 in a HTIB). The spec's have change quite a bit for these recieves this year.

The 520 is rated at 130 W per channel (Still .08% THD). As you see above they rate the 503 at 75W per channel.

I do not understand the Dynamic Power. It looks like it can push 4Ω speakers. With the 502 audioholics did a review of it and I believe the reviewer had 6Ω fronts at which he expected the 502 to "baulk at" but he was quite pleasantly suprised.

I do understand that this is an entry level reciever and, to answer the poster's question, I woud not use the 503 with 4Ω speakers. I would get a reciever with preouts and and seperate amp. And yes you can use a stereo amp with your home theater. The preouts send the info via rca's to the stereo amp which only amplifies the fronts while everything else still is amplified by the receiver.

If you download the 503 manual the as you see above it seems Onkyo think depending what country you live in you may get more or less power out of your amp. Looks like we should all move to Australia (I do understand it has to do with different ways of measuring the power). I realy wish there was 1 standard way to measure it for all manufacturers to use.

In the manual it also looks like this things more or less depending what country you are in. Look at this from the manual:

Weight
North American: 9.4 kg 20.7 lbs.
European: 10.1 kg 22.3 lbs.
Others: 10.2 kg 22.5 lbs.

To clearify. I have only ever own Onkyo receivers and believe they are great product. I just don't understand this rating double talk.

 

[DTRUTH]

How hot does it get when running it loud for extended periods of time, thats a big load for a mid level receiver to push.

There's the kicker. I don't listen to it loud (-10db for me) for extended periods. The longest that I ran it for was ~20 minutes. My normal listening level is -45db to -30db depending on whether I'm watching a movie or listening to music.

I didn't check how hot the unit actually got though. In addition, the room stays around 62 to 65 degrees and the unit is well ventilated, so that helps some.

 

[Spiffyfast]

yeah those all would def. help, with how loud I listen to my stuff there's no way I'd consider running 4 ohm on even something like my receiver, i've got too much invested in it, plus external amps look really cool in audio racks : )

 

[Takeereasy]

I do think Onkyo makes some great products, but their entry level receivers were not meant to drive large sized inefficient floorstanding speakers. No entry level receivers are to my knowledge. Not many receivers up to the $1000 (new) mark will handle that kind of load well.

 

[El Toro]

I am pretty sure that the NAD T763 or T753 are in that price range and are fully capable and designed to pull those kind of loads. they aren't real flashy AVR's, but man are they precise. The Denon AVR-2106 is in that price range and could possibly do what you are looking for. It really is kind of hard to find a reciever at that price point to do those kind of loads. Maybe you can find a used Adcom pre/pro power amp combo used some where, it owuld be worth a shot anyway.

Oh yeah, here is a link to the NAD stuff www.nadelectronics.com