Receiver + ohms + speakers = confused. Will my setup work?

[bfan2]

Let me preface this by saying eventually I want to save up and get either seperates or a higher quality receiver. I currently have a Denon 2310 (unfortunately no pre-outs). I just ordered a pair of Salk Songtowers and Songcenter and it looks like the towers are 6 ohms and the center 4 ohms. I also have a pair of rear speakers that are 8 ohms. Reading online I'm seeing that you shouldn't mix different ohm speakers and this can fry a receiver. I only listen at moderate levels and I also will be crossing over the speakers at 80hz letting my velodyne sub handle the rest.....will this be sufficient until I get a new receiver/amp or am I risking damaging the Denon?

 

[Swerd]

Let me preface this by saying eventually I want to save up and get either seperates or a higher quality receiver. I currently have a Denon 2310 (unfortunately no pre-outs). I just ordered a pair of Salk Songtowers and Songcenter and it looks like the towers are 6 ohms and the center 4 ohms. I also have a pair of rear speakers that are 8 ohms. Reading online I'm seeing that you shouldn't mix different ohm speakers and this can fry a receiver. I only listen at moderate levels and I also will be crossing over the speakers at 80hz letting my velodyne sub handle the rest.....will this be sufficient until I get a new receiver/amp or am I risking damaging the Denon?

Congrats on the new speakers ! I've had my SongTowers for about 3 years and I am still thrilled with them. What finish are you getting?

When I first got my STs, I powered them with an older Denon 1800 which was rated at 70 watts per channel. It was fine. At the time, my center and rear channel speakers were 8 ohms. Jim Salk and Dennis Murphy, the ST designer, say that any receiver or amp that can produce an honest 50 wpc at 8 ohms will easily drive these speakers. I'm not sure what your Denon 2310 produces, but I don't think you need to worry about powering your speakers. For all intents and purposes, you can consider the SongTower and the SongCenter both as 4 ohm speakers. But they are an easy load to drive for nearly all receivers.

I've heard STs driven by everything from a 35 wpc tube amp (AVA Ultravalve) to a 200 wpc solid state amp (B&K EX4420). They all worked well. They can handle high power, but they do not require it.

 

[sholling]

I can't really answer your question about the receiver and 4ohm loads but congratulations on the Song Towers. I love mine.

 

[bfan2]

Congrats on the new speakers ! I've had my SongTowers for about 3 years and I am still thrilled with them. What finish are you getting?

When I first got my STs, I powered them with an older Denon 1800 which was rated at 70 watts per channel. It was fine. At the time, my center and rear channel speakers were 8 ohms. Jim Salk and Dennis Murphy, the ST designer, say that any receiver or amp that can produce an honest 50 wpc at 8 ohms will easily drive these speakers. I'm not sure what your Denon 2310 produces, but I don't think you need to worry about powering your speakers. For all intents and purposes, you can consider the SongTower and the SongCenter both as 4 ohm speakers. But they are an easy load to drive for nearly all receivers.

I've heard STs driven by everything from a 35 wpc tube amp (AVA Ultravalve) to a 200 wpc solid state amp (B&K EX4420). They all worked well. They can handle high power, but they do not require it.

Great, thanks for the info...I'm feeling better now...was a little worried there.

I just got the black satin as the finish...as much as I love the look of some of the other finishes, they just wouldn't go in my house. Now to find something to keep me occupied for the next 45 days until delivery.

 

[Swerd]

…Now to find something to keep me occupied for the next 45 days until delivery.

I'm sure that the time will just fly by…

All you need is a place to put them and some suitable music for their first sounds. You might also consider a hat with a sturdy chinstrap to avoid the slack-jawed fool appearance that often happens to new ST owners .

A detachable drool cup has been known to help as well.

 

[KEW]

Congratulations!
Those are beautiful speakers (I'm talking sound-wise, but they do look nice as well!).

I don't think you will have problems, but listen close whenever you think you are pushing the receiver to see if you are hearing any harshness.

According to the Denon website, your receiver does have:

Pre-amp Outputs for Multi-Zone
​High Pass Filter for Multi-Zone Outputs

That seems like a pretty decent unit and while I don't know, it seems like you could disconnect the mains and send the same signal with the same cross-over to an external stereo amp. The only question is whether you could have Zone two react to volume changes for the main setting without having to do a bunch of level matching crap every time you change the volume.

I really think the Denon (rated at 105W) will do the job, but it is always nice to have a more gradual upgrade path!

PS-I use a 100W Marantz and can crank the SongTowers and not get close to working it hard, but that is two channels use for a 7 channel receiver.

 

[bfan2]

Congratulations!
According to the Denon website, your receiver does have:
Quote:
Pre-amp Outputs for Multi-Zone
​High Pass Filter for Multi-Zone Outputs


it seems like you could disconnect the mains and send the same signal with the same cross-over to an external stereo amp.

I see that on the site which is weird because the only preamp output on the 2310 is for the subwoofer.

From what you said about your Marantz and what others on this thread have said, I should be ok until I decide to upgrade to seperates. Thx.

 

[zieglj01]

From what you said about your Marantz and what others on this thread have said, I should be ok until I decide to upgrade to seperates. Thx.

Marantz is a strong receiver - has handled 4 ohm loads for me.

 

[3db]

Let me preface this by saying eventually I want to save up and get either seperates or a higher quality receiver. I currently have a Denon 2310 (unfortunately no pre-outs). I just ordered a pair of Salk Songtowers and Songcenter and it looks like the towers are 6 ohms and the center 4 ohms. I also have a pair of rear speakers that are 8 ohms. Reading online I'm seeing that you shouldn't mix different ohm speakers and this can fry a receiver. I only listen at moderate levels and I also will be crossing over the speakers at 80hz letting my velodyne sub handle the rest.....will this be sufficient until I get a new receiver/amp or am I risking damaging the Denon?

Congrats on your purchase.

 

[bfan2]

Congrats on your purchase.

Thanks. I'm actually a little hesitant to get too excited yet. I purchased (after auditioning various speakers) Totem Sttafs and after 2 weeks of them being in my home, I wasn't really too thrilled with them...just sounded too laid back to me especially for HT use. I'm ordering these ST's based on reviews but I came across one review by Sean Fowler on SonicFlare comparing the Sttafs to the ST's and they were pretty much neck and neck. So...just being cautiously optimistic.

 

[fredk]

Don't worry about it. First, the worry about lower impedance power draws is overblown. Second, Denon always puts a very robust amp section into their receivers.

My speakers are solidly 4 ohm over a large part of their range and my Denon 2808 never gets anything more than warm.