4 ohm Pioneer speakers, Yamaha Receiver says centre and rear speakers must be 6 ohm+

[johnboybog]

Hi,
I was hoping someone could help me. Details as follows:

I own a Pioneer XV-DV360 DVD player and 5.1 speaker system. It doesn't have an optical in and will only output to the front speakers on the stereo phono in (so putting the tv through the system only outputs to the front speakers).

I've came across a 2nd hand Yamaha amplifier (Rx-V620RDS) that I was going to buy but after reading its manual it stated that the centre and rear speakers needed to be 6 ohm impedance or more each. Note that all front, rear and centre pioneer speakers are 4 ohm impedance each.

Question is this, if I hook this amp up to my pioneer speakers will it work and if so am i in danger of causing any damage to either the speakers or the amp?

Any help/advice greatly appreciated!

 

[runswithscisors]

Something like this impedance matching volume control could be used.

50-Watt Impedance Matching Volume Control, Decora Insert Rotary Knob - Smarthome

Normally, most amplifiers can easily drive between four and 16 ohms of speakers. With each speaker added to an amplifier, the impedance level drops by half. If you hook two 8-ohm speakers up to an amplifier in parallel, the amplifier actually sees an equivalent resistance of 4-ohms. Hooking three pairs to one amplifier, the equivalent impedance is 2.6 ohms, which is too low for most amplifiers to operate properly. For the engineers in the crowd, the most commonly used formula in the speaker industry is 1/R(total) = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + etc. (R is the resistance of a speaker).

When this Impedance Matching Volume control is used between a set of speakers and an amplifier, the volume control can present a higher impedance level for the amplifier to see. Once all the higher impedance volume controls are added up, you're back to a safe level for your amplifier.

Shop around for a price and wattage rating that fits your needs.

 

[j_garcia]

An impedance matching volume control allows you to add multiple speakers without causing impedance issues, not for impedance leveling a single speaker.

I can't find enough info on that receiver, but from what I saw, it probably isn't going to be 4 Ohm capable, however with just one pair of speakers that are 4 Ohm, it may be OK.

 

[johnboybog]

Thanks guys. I can't post a link to the manual for the receiver because i haven't posted enough I'll try to add a few words and see if that works. www dot go-gddq.com slash down slash 2012-04 slash 12040109019224 dot pdf

the manual for the speakers is docs dot pioneer dot eu slash Manuals slash DCS_360_ARB7352_manual slash ?Page=1

 

[j_garcia]

What speakers are you using? That might be helpful as well.

Normally, most amplifiers can easily drive between four and 16 ohms of speakers. With each speaker added to an amplifier, the impedance level drops by half. If you hook two 8-ohm speakers up to an amplifier in parallel, the amplifier actually sees an equivalent resistance of 4-ohms. Hooking three pairs to one amplifier, the equivalent impedance is 2.6 ohms, which is too low for most amplifiers to operate properly. For the engineers in the crowd, the most commonly used formula in the speaker industry is 1/R(total) = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + etc. (R is the resistance of a speaker).

When this Impedance Matching Volume control is used between a set of speakers and an amplifier, the volume control can present a higher impedance level for the amplifier to see. Once all the higher impedance volume controls are added up, you're back to a safe level for your amplifier.

That doesn't answer the question. If you hook up a single pair of 4 Ohm speakers this way to the receiver, the receiver will still see the same 4 Ohm load. An IM volume control also doesn't just present a constant load to the receiver giving you a free pass to add as many speakers as you like. They all still draw current, so the receiver still needs to be able power them all as well as handling a lower impedance load than it would be seeing if it were only one pair.