PSB 6 or 8 Ohms for ONKYO 601?

[jasoncorrie]

I am planning on getting some PSB speakers to go with my new onkyo 601 (which I really like, by the way). I have been looking into getting the Image B25s which are a 6.5" driver rated at 6 ohms -- nominal, and 4 Ohms -- minimum. (What is the difference between nominal and minimum anyway?) It has a rating of "program 70 watts, recommended 1-100". (What does this mean?) To this I would add an Image C40 Center channel which has the same impedence ratings, but requires an input power of 10-150 watts with the program being 120. The surrrounds are smaller, but the same impedence, with wattage being 10-80. Then the 150 watt sub (subseries 5!).

I know this is going to sound awesome, and I could swing it in the budget with incremental purchasing. But I am concerned that this may be too much for my receiver. It has a rating of 85 watts per channel at 8ohms at 20Hz-20kHz. But the 6ohm ratings are only at 1kHz and are 110watts. This difference in rating formats leaves me wondering if my receiver will have what it takes to drive all of the speakers listed above.

I guess my options are to go to the smaller Alpha B's all around with an Alpha C in the center. They are only 8ohm speakers. The frequency response is less. I would get the same sub, if it is compatible.

I appreciate your recommendations, comments, etc.

 

[3db]

Your OK with those 6 ohm PSBs

I own the Image T45s whiich have the identical impedance rating as the B25s and my cheap old technics can drive em really loud. The Image series are quite efficient speakers so you'll have no problems driving them.

Impedance of a speaker is a function of frequency with the imedance changing with freequency. What PSB is saying that the average imepdance of their speakers between 20Hz to 20KHz sits around 6 ohms but it will go down to not lower than 4 ohms at certain frequencies. I hope this answers your question.

 

[jcPanny]

Sub specs.

Sounds like a good speaker setup. However, 150 Watts is a little low for a sub. You might want to save up for a decent 10" or 12" sub in the 300+ Watt range.