HD and Video Sources

[FeverTaz]

I'm in the process of buying an audio video receiver, all of my speakers are rated 4 Ohms each. Can you suggest me a receiver that would do the job without any risk of damaging the receiver or the speakers? Thank you very much

[3M_3TI8]

Need a little more info:

What brand of speakers are they? Some speakers will dip down to 2 or even 1 ohm. What is their efficiency and power rating?

[FeverTaz]

Speakers: Bose 401 rated 4 to 8 Ohms 200 Watts

              Bose AM-5 first generation 4 Ohms 100 Watts

              Kef C35 4 Ohms 150 Watts

Thank you very much for your time

[Snapshot]

I have the Denon 1712, its a good receiver. Easy to set-up and produces a nice sound. I like Denon, Pioneer, and Yamaha...have owned all 3 brands. The Pioneer was my favorite, I only upgraded for the 3D.

[Atomic]

If you are purely looking for 4-ohm support, the 'Features & Specs' tab on each Future Shop description lists "Output - 4-ohm capable" as either yes or no.

Three receivers that do support 4-ohm speakers are two Yamahas and one Harmon Kardon:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/yamaha-yamaha-875-watt-7-1-channel-networking-receiver-rxv671...

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/yamaha-yamaha-7-2-channel-network-3d-receiver-htr8063b-htr806...

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/harman-kardon-harman-kardon-2-2-channel-stereo-receiver-hk990...

The two Yamahas are on sale this week.

I've owned a NAD and a Denon.  I loved my NAD, and hate my Denon.  The big reason I hate my Denon is because the manual is horrible and the menu systems are archaic.  I have a fairly simple system, but it has three video sources using two types of cables (HDMI and composite) and it was a nightmare to configure.

The remote control is terrible too because it has horrible button layouts and has buttons on the front and back.

The sound, mind you, is fine.  It was a nightmare to configure, but once it was done it works fine now.

More importantly, when choosing a receiver, it to make sure it handles all of the inputs and outputs of your system.  I checked that, but forgot to check the user-friendliness of its user interface.  Maybe they have fixed it now because mine is about 4 years old, but it behaves like something from the 1990s.  I think only a Denon Engineer can configure this thing easily.

Good luck on your search.

[FeverTaz]

What about the Marantz nr 1602 ? Do you think it will work with my speakers

[Atomic]

I think I would upgrade my speakers before jumping into a Marantz receiver!

But no.  Your Marantz would make a very fine, albeit expensive, campfire if you hooked it up to those speakers.

[FeverTaz]

What do mean by campfire?

[Atomic]

I mean that it may melt or catch fire such that you can toast marshmallows on top of it.

[3M_3TI8]

Your Bose 401's normally run at 8ohm, and will be fine with any mid level receiver, (Yamaha 671 or Pioneer 1026 and up, would be my recommendations). Your AM5's are powered by the base module, so no worries there either. However, your KEF centre will likely place some strain on an amplifier and may be an issue.

The receivers listed in the previous post will handle 4ohm loads in stereo (front left and right), but not in surround. As suggested, you may want to consider new speakers.

Speakers need to be timbre matched  for surround sound: same crossover points, same power handling, same driver size. The idea is for sound to flow around the room, if you were to close your eyes, you shouldn't be able to pinpoint the exact location of the speakers. When you mis-match speakers, the sound will jump around the room, and in your case, will strain the amplifier due to mismatched power requirements as well. 

Small satellite speakers and subwoofer combo's will work for smaller rooms and will suffice for movies. Larger bookshelf or tower speakers are recommended for larger rooms, and/or music aficionados.