4, 6 or 8 ohms?

[Good4it]

What is best? Can 6 ohm speakers be used with 8 ohm speakers at the same time? Can you use 6 ohm with a 8 ohm amp?

 

[lovinthehd]

What do you mean by best? Yes, you can mix 6 and 8 ohm speakers (if they're really even 6 or 8 ohm speakers). Amps aren't strictly 8 ohms. They may be more suitable to 8 ohm loads but doesn't mean they won't work with 4 ohm speakers, just perhaps that they won't be able to be driven loudly for long without issues (or self protection circuits kicking in). If in doubt get an amp more suitable to lower impedance loads (sometimes called high current).

 

[XEagleDriver]

Good4it,
There is no best speaker impedance number, but you are better off if the speaker impedance matches the amplifier's impedance design (i.e. 4 to 4, 6 to 6, etc.). Please keep in mind amplifier design impedance is much more precise than the provided speaker impedance value. Speaker impedance changes with frequency and different speaker manufacturers have different methods for how they "average" a 20-20k Hz graph of impedance values into one number for the marketing brochure.
- Matched speaker impdeance is not a hard and fast rule, but as lovinthehd indicated, if the speaker impedance is lower than the amplifier impedance you may run into issues as the amplifier tries to provide more current than it is designed for and overheat/trip the protection circuits.
- IMHO the key is to find/buy the speakers you like best first, and then find/buy a receiver/amplifier able to support them. FYI, a 4-ohm capable receiver/amplifer (more expensive) can drive 4, 6, or 8 ohm speakers. A less expensive 8-ohm receiver/amplier should be able to drive most 6-ohm speakers with little issue, but probably have some trouble driving 4-ohm speakers at loud vloumes or over longer listening sessions.

Clear as mud?
XEagleDriver

 

[markw]

What is best? Can 6 ohm speakers be used with 8 ohm speakers at the same time? Can you use 6 ohm with a 8 ohm amp?

what do you mean by the bolded text. If you're talking about using them in a multi-channel setup, then yes. If you're talking about using them as a second pair of speakers on the same amplifier channel, then you MAY run into problems.

But, not having any idea about what amp you're using makes it difficult to give a more precise answer.

 

[Good4it]

The bold text is not mine. What I mean is on a 5.1 system my fronts are 6 ohm and my rears are 8 ohm. The amp is a Yamaha RX-A1050.

 

[markw]

The bold text is not mine. What I mean is on a 5.1 system my fronts are 6 ohm and my rears are 8 ohm. The amp is a Yamaha RX-A1050.

I bolded the text so I wouldn't have to repeat it.

As for your question, you should be fine.