Receiver 4 or 6 Ohm Setting

[ahblaza]

Hello to all,
I'm going (on a suggestion) to wire two identical monitor speakers in parallel with each having a nom. impedance of 8 Ohms and a stated minimal of 6.5, I'm assuming I will be looking at a four Ohm load, and using them in a center channel configuration . I don't know what to expect, I'm thinking higher (spl) output with bigger center presentation but with some off axis lobing, (I won't know how much cancelling is happening till I try) as they will be side by side vertically oriented. I will be driving them with a four Ohm capable reciever's center channel, of the remaining six channels of the receiver's amp section only two of them will be used to drive side surrounds, external amp drives the mains. I know this has been discussed somewhere on this forum but I will ask again. In my receiver's speaker setup menu I have the option of six or four Ohm operation, I have been using the six Ohm mode, should I continue to use this or select four Ohm, I believe the answer is to stay with the six Ohm, but I would like to hear confirmation from you guys. I will be using only three channels of the receiver's seven of amplification. Thanks guys for listening to this rambling and probably not so good idea that I'm trying.
Cheers Jeff

 

[PENG]

It is better to use neither as those settings put a major limit on the output, but without knowing the full specs of the speakers, the AVR, room size, listening distance, typical and maximum SPL you listen to etc., I would have to play it safe and suggest the 4 ohm setting.

 

[ahblaza]

It is better to use neither as those settings put a major limit on the output, but without knowing the full specs of the speakers, the AVR, room size, listening distance, typical and maximum SPL you listen to etc., I would have to play it safe and suggest the 4 ohm setting.

Peng, these are the only options to choose from in the speaker setup menu, I'm using in this setup an Onkyo TX-NR709. It just has 4 or 6 ohm, maybe someone with a X09 Onkyo could chime in, or maybe I'm missing something in the setup menu. Thanks.

 

[PENG]

Peng, these are the only options to choose from in the speaker setup menu, I'm using in this setup an Onkyo TX-NR709. It just has 4 or 6 ohm, maybe someone with a X09 Onkyo could chime in, or maybe I'm missing something in the setup menu. Thanks.

When I said neither I meant use the default setting. If the only choices are 4 and 6 then I would say 6 ohm is the default. Again, without knowing the other information, if you connect two 8 ohm nominal speakers I would have to error on the safe side and suggest you use the 4 ohm setting but obviously you know that already.

If say, you room is small to medium size, the speakers have sensitivities of 90 dB @ 1m, 2.83V and you don't typically listen to heavy metal/rock stuff at reference levels then you can leave it at the 6 ohm setting without much risk of damaging your AVR and speakers. The 4 ohm setting will put a limit on the output and may therefore result in degraded dynamic performance of your system overall.

 

[ahblaza]

When I said neither I meant use the default setting. If the only choices are 4 and 6 then I would say 6 ohm is the default. Again, without knowing the other information, if you connect two 8 ohm nominal speakers I would have to error on the safe side and suggest you use the 4 ohm setting but obviously you know that already.

If say, you room is small to medium size, the speakers have sensitivities of 90 dB @ 1m, 2.83V and you don't typically listen to heavy metal/rock stuff at reference levels then you can leave it at the 6 ohm setting without much risk of damaging your AVR and speakers. The 4 ohm setting will put a limit on the output and may therefore result in degraded dynamic performance of your system overall.

Peng, the default is 6 Ohms, each speaker is rated 85dB @ 1m 2.83V, my room is medium size and I don't usually listen at reference levels. I do realize selecting 4 Ohm could have a detrimental effect on the overall performance of the rest of my setup, that's why I think I'm going to stick with the 6 Ohm mode, thanks Peng for the help. Cheers

 

[gene]

Setting the A/V Receiver Impedance Selector Switch — Reviews and News from Audioholics

 

[ahblaza]

Setting the A/V Receiver Impedance Selector Switch — Reviews and News from Audioholics

Thanks Gene, that's the article I remember reading, much appreciated.
Jeff

 

[Jeff R.]

6 ohm is the best bet.

 

[ahblaza]

6 ohm is the best bet.

Thanks Jeff, it's quite clear in Gene's essay, answered all my questions.

Cheers Jeff