Receiver Speaker ohm question

[Skav]

I'm in the process of upgrading to either the Denon 3805 or the 3806 but noticed speaker connections are 8 ohm but I have 4 ohm speakers. Common sense tells me it will be too much for the receiver to handle, is this correct?

 

[jcPanny]

Current speakers?

What are you currently using to drive your 4 ohm speakers?
Those Denons are solid mid-fi receivers and should be fine with moderately efficient 4 ohm mains. On the other hand, don't expect it (or any other receiver) to drive a seven 4ohm speakers to reference levels in a large room.

If you feel the need for more power, you can connect an outboard amp to the receiver. If you don't need HDMI and other "features" then av123.com has a new Ultralight pre-amp and amp in the same price range. The 6/7 channel amp staple into 4 ohms at over 200 Watts / channel.

 

[Skav]

Right now I am using a Panasonic 700 watt receiver. What swayed me to the AVR-3805 OR 3806 is it's auto calibration feature more than anything but I also need to upgrade anyway for the latest audio formats etc.

But I was afraid that having 4 ohm speakers would limit my choices and reading that the avr's have 8 ohm output, was wondering if it would overload it.

I run my speakers at 75 DB master level, but I only have a 12 x 13 ft room so it's not large at all.

The speakers themselves are 60 watt for the front right and left and also rears. But the centre is 260 (MAX).

 

[j_garcia]

The wattage rating on your speakers is almost irrelevant, but the impedance does matter. There was a fairly large discussion about the 3805 and a full compliment of 4 Ohm speakers and the impression that I got was it wasn't a good idea. Most amps can drive 4 Ohm loads, but it is when you get a sudden spike and need a burst of power when you find out where your receiver's limitation is.

My speakers are all 4 Ohm also, and my Marantz 8300 is rated for 6 Ohm operation only, so I added the monoblocks for the mains and I have no problems at all. Without the amps, I can hear the system strain at elevated levels.

Very few HT receivers are 4 Ohm stable.

 

[Skav]

Thanks for the info. I guess it puts me in a difficult situation in regards to making a decision over it.

Ideally, I don't really want to replace the speakers for 8 ohm so I guess it requires some hard thinking.

EDIT: I completely neglected to mention that I have rear dipoles that are 8 ohms. I've only just had them since last wednesday and forgot about the different impedance. So I actually have only 3 speakers with 4 ohms in a 5.1 setup.

 

[PENG]

I'm in the process of upgrading to either the Denon 3805 or the 3806 but noticed speaker connections are 8 ohm but I have 4 ohm speakers. Common sense tells me it will be too much for the receiver to handle, is this correct?

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=1497&page_number=1

Based on the latest S&V bench test results, I think the 3806 should be fine with 4 ohm speakers as long as they have average sensivity numbers such as 88 dB or higher, don't have multiple bass drivers, your room is not too large, and you don't use it to listen to 5/7CH Stereo (5.1, SACD,DVD-A are fine). As others mentioned, you can easily add an low cost amp if it turns out to be necessary. A 2CH amp will take most of the load off the receiver's power supply.

 

[Skav]

Thanks for that. Looks like I may give it a chance, even though it's a lot of money to waste if it screws up.

 

[PENG]

Thanks for that. Looks like I may give it a chance, even though it's a lot of money to waste if it screws up.

http://usa.denon.com/1854.asp#Q10

Skav, read this if you haven't yet, for more peace of mind.

 

[nova]

The Denon is 3.2 ohm stable (according to the Denon rep I spoke to). I run five 4 ohm speakers (mains 88db, center and surrounds 90db) using a 3805. It has had no problem driving them and has yet to go into protect mode. That being said I cannot drive them to reference levels,... well I can but they start to sound a little harsh, about -12 from reference is about as loud as it will go and still sound excellent.

My opinion, if your Panasonic drives your speakers Ok, the Denon 3805/3806 will have no problem with them.

 

[Skav]

Thanks Peng.

I'm gonna give it a shot.

There was no distortion at 75Db master level on my receiver. I've since reduced it by 2, bringing it down to 73db for just a bit more comfort. Having a 12x13 ft room sucks.

Thanks, guys.

 

[PENG]

I'm gonna give it a shot.

Don't forget to set the speakers to small, assuming you have a sub. If you don't have a sub, at least set your the big center to small and see how warm the receiver feels after playing reasonably loud for a few hours. Regarless of what you have, you normally get better movie sound overall by setting the speakers to small. When you play two channel stereo music in direct or pure direct, your speakers will get full range signal automatically.