Speaker & Receiver compatibility question

[RJB]

I have always been a "tech head" but the area of HT is new to me so please suffer my ignorance...

As a Christmas gift, my wife gave me permission to finally complete my home theatre. Along with the big DLP TV, I have purchased, based on significant research, a Yamaha RX-V1500 A/V receiver and a Velodyne "Deco" speaker system.

I now suspect that the speaker system won't be compatible with the A/V receiver. According the specs for the speaker system, it's 4ohm (nominal) but "compatible with most 4 / 6 / 8 ohm receivers and amplifiers." This information isn't expanded upon anywhere that I can find and it leaves me with serious doubts about its suitability.

Having read and read and read until my readers are crossed , I still haven't been able to fully determine if the speakers will be compatible with the RX-V1500 which allows for 6 or 8ohm settings. I would prefer to leave the settings at 8ohm if possible.

After reading reviews, FAQ's & how to's on this site and others, the answers I have come up with seem to vary from: probably ( with proper attention to receiver cooling ) to maybe, to not at all.

I hope someone can offer me some sage advice in my moment of need!

I don't really have a problem returning the speaker system if that's what I have to do ( I'll suffer the humiliation in front of my wife ) but the "wife factor" may become an issue for the price of a replacement speaker system. I got the Deco speaker system for under $800 CND. If it needs to go back I will need advice on picking a replacement as well.

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

[mtrycrafts]

I have always been a "tech head" but the area of HT is new to me so please suffer my ignorance...

As a Christmas gift, my wife gave me permission to finally complete my home theatre. Along with the big DLP TV, I have purchased, based on significant research, a Yamaha RX-V1500 A/V receiver and a Velodyne "Deco" speaker system.

I now suspect that the speaker system won't be compatible with the A/V receiver. According the specs for the speaker system, it's 4ohm (nominal) but "compatible with most 4 / 6 / 8 ohm receivers and amplifiers." This information isn't expanded upon anywhere that I can find and it leaves me with serious doubts about its suitability.

Having read and read and read until my readers are crossed , I still haven't been able to fully determine if the speakers will be compatible with the RX-V1500 which allows for 6 or 8ohm settings. I would prefer to leave the settings at 8ohm if possible.

After reading reviews, FAQ's & how to's on this site and others, the answers I have come up with seem to vary from: probably ( with proper attention to receiver cooling ) to maybe, to not at all.

I hope someone can offer me some sage advice in my moment of need!

I don't really have a problem returning the speaker system if that's what I have to do ( I'll suffer the humiliation in front of my wife ) but the "wife factor" may become an issue for the price of a replacement speaker system. I got the Deco speaker system for under $800 CND. If it needs to go back I will need advice on picking a replacement as well.

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated!

Ifv those speakers are sensitive enough, the impedance will not be a problem. But, if not, it may need more power more often that the Yam can do. Not familiar with that Yam myself. Sensitivity is measure in dB spl with 2.83V and at 1 meter distance.

 

[RJB]

Thanks for the reply. The sensitivity is 88dB for 2.83 volts @ 1 meter.

Hope this will be efficient enough for me to use them.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Thanks for the reply. The sensitivity is 88dB for 2.83 volts @ 1 meter.

Hope this will be efficient enough for me to use them.

Just be careful how loud you are driving the amp.

 

[annunaki]

What may happen, is that the receiver may seem to work fine until you start reaching peak reference type volume levels 105db or possibly higher. Then you may find that the receiver's protection circuitry may kick in to prevent damage to the amplifier. Or it may kick in even sooner, it is tough to tell as I do not know how picky the protection circuit is in the Yamaha with a low impedance load. I say try it. If it works great through a demanding movie (Saving Private Ryan, Star Wars, ect.) with no shut downs it should be fine.

If you cannot try it (speakers) because of return policy, I would say check out other systems that would be more impedance friendly to your receiver. You may want to check out the Energy Act 6 system at $800 U.S. Msrp. Also look into systems from Mirage, PSB Alpha Into series about $869 msrp US, Jamo's E series at about $816 msrp US, Pinnacle's DigiSat/Sub package at $778 msrp US, Athena's Micra 6 package at $549 msrp US, and I am sure there are others.

 

[RJB]

Thanks very much for your feedback. It looks like I'll be heading back to the audio shop with the Deco system and auditioning some other speaker lines.

Any opinion on Axiom? Since they are not carried in the retail world an audition is out. Of all the reviews and comments I have read at LOTS of sites there has only been one bad comment. Also, being in Canada, shopping with a home grown firm has its appeal, not to mention avoiding "sticker shock" when converting from US to CDN $

Best regards for the holiday season

 

[markw]

Canadian speakers? Great values

You might want to look into the API family of speakers. These include, by descending price (not quality) Mirage, Energy and Athena. Likewise PSB and Paradigm also fit into your geographic needs.

FWIW, The Athena Micra 6 has gotten some prety good reviews, both on this site and others.

 

[Lagger]

Why dont you just try them out? I mean, you bought them for a reason, right? I don't think you're going to have a problem with clipping or getting enough power to them with the reciever you have....Although, I do not think they will sound the way the were intended too. I have ran my 4 ohm Dynaudio's on the 8 ohm setting, and while they sounded OK, they were lacking something. The soundstage didnt really have 'presence'. They sounded shallow, with the midrange really missing. Once switched over to the 4 ohm setting, they sounded much better as a whole. Peace_

 

[zumbo]

Why dont you just try them out? I mean, you bought them for a reason, right? I don't think you're going to have a problem with clipping or getting enough power to them with the reciever you have....Although, I do not think they will sound the way the were intended too. I have ran my 4 ohm Dynaudio's on the 8 ohm setting, and while they sounded OK, they were lacking something. The soundstage didnt really have 'presence'. They sounded shallow, with the midrange really missing. Once switched over to the 4 ohm setting, they sounded much better as a whole. Peace_

I have to agree with this. I used MB Quart 4ohm speakers on my 1400 set to 8ohm without any problem. But, I added an amp and gained a better quality sound at high levels. Sounds the same around -14 or so.