Will "Nominal 6ohm" NHT Absolute Zero speakers work with a Denon AVR1610?

[kuko92]

Now I hit the wall I think...or maybe I am making a big deal about nothing...please give me some good news. I started the thread "cant decide on home theater system"...after much thought I decided for a Denon 1610 as I had planned...fell in love with the SVS 12" sub "beast"...and decided on the Absolute Zero speakers over DefTec800s and Aperion 4Bs...now I find out the zeros nominal impedence is 6ohms? Is this going to burn my reciever or make it run a lot hotter reducing its life? I might get laughed at but thats ok as long as I get some kind of answer haha. Would appreciate any advice. Thanks

 

[adwilk]

You'll be fine. Theres a lot of chatter about impedance, but you're fine. You'll likely have dips lower than that, and you'll still be fine. If you find you want more power, however, you can always add a separate amplifier later.

 

[kuko92]

Do you mean it will affect sound quality...volume? When u say "if I find I need more power"?

 

[j_garcia]

The Zeros are sealed and are low sensitivity. They prefer a lot of power, but impedance shouldn't be a problem with that receiver unless you have a farily big room. Volume would be the issue, not quality. IMO, the 16xx Denons do not have preamp outs for use with an external amp, but I am not familiar with your particular model.

 

[kuko92]

My room is only 11 by 11 with 8 ft ceiling...wood floors...do you think I should upgrade to the 1910?...90 watts instead of 75 per channel?...or would you recommend another reciever under 500 dollars?....the 1910 is $550 I believe.

 

[j_garcia]

I will always recommend more power if you can afford it, simply becasue you will eventually hit the point where you just want more. The less you start with, the sooner that upgrade seems to come. In a room that size, I think you will be fine with the 1610.

It looks like you won't get preamp outs until the 3310.

 

[markw]

In either case. the jump from 75 to 90 watts is insignificant. With that jump up the line you're paying more for features than power.

 

[j_garcia]

I have to disagree. I made a similar jump from 105 to 120 (receivers) and the difference was quite noticeable. If it is any indicator, the weight jumped by about 10lbs from one to the other as well, so the power supply was a lot more beefy, so it really depends what you are jumping from and to. My amps are 150w@8/250w@4 but their power reserves are MUCH higher than my receiver.

 

[kuko92]

I agree Garcia...those 15 watts can make a difference...but like you said the small room should be fine with the 1610....there's only so much ur head can take before exploding...I have a question for you specifically though...since you seem pretty knowledgable and I'm a newbie...do you think I am making the right decision in choosing the KHT over the aperions and the DefTecs?

 

[j_garcia]

I haven't heard the Aperions and I am not a big fan of DefTech. I like the NHTs; they are a bit on the bright side, which could be a factor in a hardwood floor room, but they are very good speakers. I almost bought some Evolution M5s or M6s when I was looking for speakers, but ended up with the GRs I have now for about the same price.

15W isn't going to give you a ton more headroom, but in most cases, it will be noticeable. If one were to go from a receiver to an external amp, the difference would likely be a lot more obvious.

 

[kuko92]

Thanks a lot. I think ill stick with the KHT's and the 1610. Don't mean to be a pain....but I have a post in the subwoofer section..."wood floor vs down firing vs front firing"....I also want to clear that up before I buy my system. If you could take a look at that issue I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again

 

[adwilk]

I would almost never consider 15 watts making an audible difference. Like you said though, John, its more than likely the quality components that would make a difference.

As far as your receiver goes, OP, the only thing I might suggest if you're still not dead set on the one you've got is perhaps get one with preouts for the future...

 

[njedpx3]

6 ohm power with 75 watts might be a problem

Do you mean it will affect sound quality...volume? When u say "if I find I need more power"?

You possibly will have a problem with 6 ohm speakers. First you are only starting with 75 watts per channel. Comparing 6 ohm to 8 ohm nominal impedance, remembering the formula for power ( simplifying and not including inductance or capacitance is P= I^2 * R and typically unless specifcally stated AVRs are current limited. So take maximum power for 8 ohms to find maximum current = I = sqrt ( 75/8) = 3.06 amps . Now substitute 6 ohms and you total effective maximum power drops to (3.06)^2*6 = 56.25 watts


The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that ( looking at section 4 on page 6 of your owners manual) that your preouts are very limited: subwoofer and surround l/R ,mainly for a second zone. here is you manual online:http://www.usa.denon.com/AVR-1610-OM_E_004.pdf This means it is not possible to add addtional power to your front channels by adding and external amp; you would have to buy a new AVR.

You need to look very carefully at the sensitivity of the speakers you select, you might be able to use 6 ohm speakers, but to do so they need to be very high sensitivity ( on the order of 100 dB) and/or you need to listen at low volume, i.e. less than 56 watts . Even low effiiciency ( 80dB) 8 ohm speakers might cause problems. Average efficiency.sensitivity (90 dB) might work okay for 8 ohm speakers and high efficiency 8 ohm speakers should have no problem.


Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Bottom line, 6 ohm speakers might not work and/or you might need to consider upgrading your AVR in the near future.


Good Luck!

Forrest Man

 

[kuko92]

Are there any under 500 dollars that are still HDMI compatible with TrueHD and DTS HD?

 

[njedpx3]

$500 AVRs

Are there any under 500 dollars that are still HDMI compatible with TrueHD and DTS HD?

See this thread post :

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=626975&postcount=3

You can try 6 ohm speakers with your current system and if you don't listen at loud level, you may notice no problem.

Good Luck!

Forest Man

 

[cfrizz]

Will your receiver work? Yes. Will it be able to let your speakers operate to their full potential? No not really. If you can save more money & get a better receiver that has more power & has preamp outputs to be able to add a separate amp further down the line, you will be in much better shape.

 

[j_garcia]

These guys are only 86dB sensitivity, which is fairly low, but I have heard the SVS SBS-01s with a average 100w receiver in a larger room (19x14x10) and they did fine with a sensitivity of 85dB. Where you need to watch out is if you intend to listen at higher levels and during loud peaks (movies). I have heard the two models above the Zero with a mid range Denon receiver in a medium size room (open to the rest of the store) and with them crossed over at 80Hz, they were fine.

As I mentioned, I would go with as much power as I could afford. The 1610 is probably the minimum you could get away with. I agree with cfrizz, it will work, but it might be pushing it's limits and a more stout receiver would be a good idea.

 

[danpritts]

How about B&W dm600i's?

I am considering this same receiver.

I have a fairly small room.

I don't expect to play things particularly loud.

I have B&W P4's as fronts. (8 ohm)

I have no center, may not get one. If i do I will look out for an 8 ohm speaker.

I have B&W dm600i's for rears. (4 ohm, 87dB sensitivity at 2.83v 1meter)

I have read various discussions here that suggest Denon makes good amplifiers. I've read other statements that as long as have a reasonably efficient speaker, 4 ohm may be OK as long as you aren't going for maximum volume.

I'm missing one piece of information: what's an efficient speaker vs. an inefficient one? I don't know how efficient a speaker this is, since I don't quite know what the reasonable range of sensitivity is.

[edit]

hee - now i see that j_garcia says directly above me that 86dB is "fairly low" sensitivity. Interesting.

Given that these are rears, any particular thoughts?

 

[lsiberian]

I am considering this same receiver.

I have a fairly small room.

I don't expect to play things particularly loud.

I have B&W P4's as fronts. (8 ohm)

I have no center, may not get one. If i do I will look out for an 8 ohm speaker.

I have B&W dm600i's for rears. (4 ohm, 87dB sensitivity at 2.83v 1meter)

I have read various discussions here that suggest Denon makes good amplifiers. I've read other statements that as long as have a reasonably efficient speaker, 4 ohm may be OK as long as you aren't going for maximum volume.

I'm missing one piece of information: what's an efficient speaker vs. an inefficient one? I don't know how efficient a speaker this is, since I don't quite know what the reasonable range of sensitivity is.

[edit]

hee - now i see that j_garcia says directly above me that 86dB is "fairly low" sensitivity. Interesting.

Given that these are rears, any particular thoughts?

I think for rears external amping is rarely needed. Generally they are closer to the ears.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I had 7 of the NHT SuperZero speakers (6 ohms nominal) and used a 50w x 7 Harman Kardon receiver in a 15ft x 16ft x 15 ft room. They sounded extremely good @ 90dB volume.

So I would not worry about it.