Lee M T

Yamaha and B&W

Hey everyone,

I have a Yamaha RX-V640 reciever. I'm hunting and pecking my way through a ton of speaker options and one utilizes B&W speakers. The DM601 S3's for the most part. They are rated at 8-ohm's nominal, but I see they can drop to 3-Ohm. Should I pass on these or would the Yamaha be able to handle that if I flip its switch to 4-Ohm?

Thanks,
Lee

ryan_kramer

My brother has the 602's running on his old Sony reciever (RE: crappy reciever) and the ohm load has NEVER been a problem. Don't bother flicking the switch, the amp will run a little warm, but it'll probably run even hotter if you drop it to that 4-ohm load.

Lee M T

Sweet, thanks for the help.

Chuck Kent

Uh, actually, the receiver will run hotter when set to 8 ohms. The reason the switch is there is to pass UL/CSA heat safety testing with 4 ohm loads. The switch lowers the potential output as much as 20 to 30%. Lower output = lower heat buildup.

Unless the receiver will be in a very ventilation restricted area (do not put ANYTHING on top of it!) or unless you are driving it at constant high levels for long periods of time, you are better off leaving it set in the 8 ohm setting. This maximizes the output potential and helps prevent clipping (which can eat tweeters for lunch.)

Harry Lincoln

I used to run 601 and 602s with a cheapo yammie rvx 395 I think. I never touched the ohm switch and it never ran hot.

Lee M T

Excellent. Good to know. I still haven't decided on speakers, but I have plenty of time. I've dwindled by speaker package options down to five I think. LoL.