Yamaha RX-V1400 and 4 ohm Speakers?

[Unregistered]

Hey All- anyone care to opine on the use of this fine 120w reciever with a set of Polk LSi7 (4ohm) bookshelf speakers? I am wondering if I am going to burn out the amp in my Yamaha trying to drive them with the rest of my surround sound system ((Polk RT4/CSi3) 8ohm stuff).
Thanks for any insight-
Rob

 

[Yamahaluver]

By all means go ahead, you wont burn anything, Yamaha's own speakers have been tradationaly low impedance designs so their amps are able to handle these loads easily. Their NS-1000 goes all the way down to 1.5 ohms under certain conditions and their newer NS-555/777 are nominaly rated at 6ohms but go down to 3.5 oms on the average.

 

[av_phile]

I suggest you check out the user manual or even the back panel of the receiver, adjacent to the speaker terminals. If either of them CAUTIONS you against the use of any speaker lower than 8 ohms or 6 ohms, then you can always disregard that at your risk. You may not reach half volume without triggering the protection relay switches.

 

[mcwilson]

You most likely won't damage the receiver, but you could "clip" it. I've done that with my 2400 trying to drive 4 ohm speakers. It just shuts down occasionally. I ended up buying separates. I've heard some experts claim the Yammie receivers should have no problem handling the 4 ohm loads, and I'm sure that's true. But in my case the receiver surrendered.

I ended up purchasing separates for my 4 ohm speakers.

 

[Rex]

You most likely won't damage the receiver, but you could "clip" it. I've done that with my 2400 trying to drive 4 ohm speakers. It just shuts down occasionally. I ended up buying separates. I've heard some experts claim the Yammie receivers should have no problem handling the 4 ohm loads, and I'm sure that's true. But in my case the receiver surrendered.

I ended up purchasing separates for my 4 ohm speakers.

What amp did you purchase?

 

[CosmicOne]

REX
look at the title of the thread.
he got the RXV1400.

 

[Unregistered]

Cool

Thanks for the tips, gents. I just have a chance at getting a set of nice Polk LSi7s for $350 and want to make sure I'm not going to burn anything by replacing my Polk RT4s.
I am having a real problem deciding to spend another $150 (after returning the RT4s). I just got the 1400 and the RT4s a couple of weeks ago, but the thought of having a set of Polks high end speakers seems an awful tempting way to kick start my audiophile dreams... Any thoughts?
Thanks again-
Rob

 

[av_phile]

You most likely won't damage the receiver, but you could "clip" it. I've done that with my 2400 trying to drive 4 ohm speakers. It just shuts down occasionally. I ended up buying separates. I've heard some experts claim the Yammie receivers should have no problem handling the 4 ohm loads, and I'm sure that's true. But in my case the receiver surrendered.

I ended up purchasing separates for my 4 ohm speakers.

Should be obvious from your experience that those "experts" on Yammies are not as what they seem to be. Most entry and mid receivers have problems driving 4 ohm loads.

Congrats on your separates purchase.

 

[av_phile]

Thanks for the tips, gents. I just have a chance at getting a set of nice Polk LSi7s for $350 and want to make sure I'm not going to burn anything by replacing my Polk RT4s.
I am having a real problem deciding to spend another $150 (after returning the RT4s). I just got the 1400 and the RT4s a couple of weeks ago, but the thought of having a set of Polks high end speakers seems an awful tempting way to kick start my audiophile dreams... Any thoughts?
Thanks again-
Rob

Are your new Polk LSi 8 ohmers? If so, then they should work with your yammies. And if you want to go the high end route, receivers from mass market products are simply not the way to go.

 

[Unregistered]

Actually, the LSi4's are 4 stated to be 4ohms. They aren't exactly high-end, they are pro-ported to be some of the best bookshelf speakers under $1000 in a lot of audiophile-ish reviews I found. I have seen them selling for between 500 and 800 bucks, so at $350 ($100 more than my "mass market" rt4s) I figured I'd go for it if I didn't need an amp to enjoy them.

So far, I've managed to scare the **** out of myself and my dog while watching Band of Brothers in DTS for the first time last night. My wife was none-too-pleased to hear a mortar attack at 11:45. That was with my 10 year old Cambridge Soundworks bookshelf/passive sub with the "cheap" polks in the front and their sister RT3c. I just told my groggy wife she was sharing a PTSD flashback with me... So, question is still can anyone say that an $800 pair of speakers will sound appreciable better than my current $200 setup?
Thanks again-
Rob

 

[izub]

Yes they will sound a lot better

 

[Yamahaluver]

Should be obvious from your experience that those "experts" on Yammies are not as what they seem to be. Most entry and mid receivers have problems driving 4 ohm loads.

Congrats on your separates purchase.

Coming from a fervent Yamaha basher or for that matter anything Japanese, the statement has no value. Have been driving a pair of Maggies with an ancient Yamaha RXV-800 for ages without any problems and the same receiver also healthily drives the NS-1000, which are rated at 3.5ohms nominal and go down to 1ohms. Considering that the person who is criticizing the Yamaha experts has no knowledge, never even owned or come close to owning one Yamaha due to his prejudices, his statements holds no value whatsoever so take it at your own peril.

 

[av_phile]

LOL Well, mcwilson, let your experience do the talking. I don't profess to be a yammie expert and will never be, thank goodness, since I have no intentions whatsover of owning inferior products to be an expert on them. Contact from dissatisfied colleagues will do. Afterall, I don't have to go to Baghdad to see for myself how dangerous it can be. The news footages will do just fine. Obviously the poster above is one of these self-proffessed experts on yammies. Listen to him attentively then. He can make your yammie do wonders for you.

 

[Yamahaluver]

As Gene and others have indicated umpteen number of times in their guides, the 4ohm warning from Yamaha is to pass UL certification requirements and nothing to do with load.

As for Yamaha being inferior, so be it, many others including musicians, studios and Grammy winning professionals of repute will continue to use Yamaha, doesn't make a difference if one bigoted, delusional, misinformed individual decides not to. Wont't make a dent on Sumitomo trust's finances and neither the Japanese economy.

 

[av_phile]

Ha ha, you've just further indicted the brand. So they just want to pass U/L requirements at the expense of conservative measurements to pass on to unwary customers. That's nice. Thanks.

 

[Yamahaluver]

Ha ha, you've just further indicted the brand. So they just want to pass U/L requirements at the expense of conservative measurements to pass on to unwary customers. That's nice. Thanks.

At least it doesn't try to pass off unreliable, non musical, over-priced crap to snobs who give preference to self vanity as well as snob apeal over anything else. Oh! Yes! Conservative measurements is another word for justifying low power at a high cost.

By the way, the number of us unwary customers are way more than the ones falling for the conservative hype, what does that tell you, doesnt it hurt to be in a minority.

 

[mcwilson]

I bit the bullet and purchased the ATI 3007 AMP and the AVP7.1 preamp. I considered McIntosh, but that may have cost me a divorce... ;-)

BTW - My speakers are JAMO D870s, D8CEN, D8SUR, and D8SUB. They sound very impressive with the Yammie, but the separates should be even better.

I think I'll put the Yammie in a music only room. Any suggestions on some mid-priced speakers to go with it?

I cannot wait until the toys arrive!

 

[av_phile]

At least it doesn't try to pass off unreliable, non musical, over-priced crap to snobs who give preference to self vanity as well as snob apeal over anything else. Oh! Yes! Conservative measurements is another word for justifying low power at a high cost.

By the way, the number of us unwary customers are way more than the ones falling for the conservative hype, what does that tell you, doesnt it hurt to be in a minority.

Nope, not on your life. The snob appeal is further enhanced.

 

[av_phile]

I bit the bullet and purchased the ATI 3007 AMP and the AVP7.1 preamp. I considered McIntosh, but that may have cost me a divorce... ;-)

BTW - My speakers are JAMO D870s, D8CEN, D8SUR, and D8SUB. They sound very impressive with the Yammie, but the separates should be even better.

I think I'll put the Yammie in a music only room. Any suggestions on some mid-priced speakers to go with it?

I cannot wait until the toys arrive!

Any speakers will do, just make sure they match the impedance of your Yammie. You can try speakers from the same brand. I'm sure they'd be a good match. Or go Wharfedale, Tannoy or Polk Audio. Just some thoughts, the yammie may work better in the HT area. Your separates would be better for music.

 

[3db]

Should be obvious from your experience that those "experts" on Yammies are not as what they seem to be. Most entry and mid receivers have problems driving 4 ohm loads.

Congrats on your separates purchase.

NAD and Outlaw are able to handle low impedance loads. I'm guessing that Rotel is alos able to hande low impedance loads