Speakers for Sony DAV-S400

[mmg]

Hi,

I currently have a Sony DAV-S400 HTiB system which I have had for about 5 years. I don't really like the speakers; I would like a richer, fuller sound. So I have decided to get me some new speakers. Probably JBL Cinema Sound (sorry, can't post the link since I don't have 5 posts yet).

However I still have some questions I hope you can help me with:
1. The manual states not to use any other speakers than the ones in the kit. Do I risk damaging the new speakers if I hook them up to the amp?
2. The amp is rated at 6 ohm (3 ohm for the subwoofer), the JBL speakers are 8 ohm. Again, could I damage the speakers by connecting them to the receiver?

I realize I need a better amp to unleash the full potential of these speakers, but I will upgrade that later. For now I would just like to know if anything can go wrong connecting the JBL speakers to the Sony receiver.

Thanks,

Mathias

 

[j_garcia]

Using a higher impedance is actually easier on the amp, however depending on the speakers you may still have an issue since you might need to turn the amp up higher to achieve the same levels as before as well as the fact that the new speakers could simply draw more current than the ones included. I'd start by replacing the front 3 speakers and see how that goes, since the vast majority of your sound comes from them. How about the sub? Is it powered by the unit and does the unit have a sub pre-out or a special connector?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I hooked up a spare pair of decent speakers to my Sony DAV to just to see what would happen before I sold all the "junk" and it sounded worse than the cheap Sony's.

You would probably be better off replacing the AVR as well. You can get a good one for ~300 bucks.

 

[mmg]

Thanks for your replies.

The sub is a passive one (powered by the amp), it uses the same connection as the speakers (speaker wire). I don't think there is a seperate subwoofer (lfe) output on the amp. The JBL sub also supports passive mode.

The reason I don't want to change the amp yet is I'm waiting for the new Denon line to be available (which will support HDMI 1.3a, TrueHD...) or something equivalent by Harman Kardon.

I gues I'll wait a couple of months for the new receivers to be available and I'll upgrade everything then.