Can I bi-amp 4 ohm speakers

[griffinconst]

The manual for my Onkyo 805 says bi-amping speakers under 8 ohms could damage the receiver.

 

[lsiberian]

The manual for my Onkyo 805 says bi-amping speakers under 8 ohms could damage the receiver.

I would say no. If you need more power then get a Behringer A500. Otherwise leave it be.

 

[markw]

I'm sure you can, but since the manual advises against it, I think it would be highly unwise.

Are you sure it didn't say bi-wiring? It seems to me that when both sides of four ohm speakers are connected to one speaker terminal (in parallel) it presents an effective load of two ohms.

 

[highfigh]

I'm sure you can, but since the manual advises against it, I think it would be highly unwise.

Are you sure it didn't say bi-wiring? It seems to me that when both sides of four ohm speakers are connected to one speaker terminal (in parallel) it presents an effective load of two ohms.

That would be true if the speakers don't have a crossover but I'm not sure most people will use an active crossover before the power amps and abandon the passive x-over in the speakers.

 

[j_garcia]

I would say no just becasue biamping off a receiver doesn't really give you the true benefits of biamping.

With a low impedance speaker you are already drawing more power from the receiver, and most are not adequately capable of powering a more demaning 4 Ohm speaker. One of the benefits of biamping would be offloading part of the load to a different power supply; biamping off a receiver doesn't achieve this and may leave you with less actual power available.

 

[Vanhoecke]

Be careful, sometimes when you bi-amp a speaker you change the resistence. For example, RBH T-1 is a 4 ohm speaker, however it is not 4 ohm if you bi-amp it. The tweeters are somewhere around 2 ohm and the mid-range woofers end up around 6 ohm. In addition, the power rating for the speaker is not the same when it is bi-amped. You should call the speaker manufacturer and verify the speaker specs under a bi-amp'd configuration.