johnBrownsdream

harman kardon sansui 4 ohm receivers and blowing them

Alright sorry if this is in the wrong forum. But I have been recentally been looking at lots of cerwin vega 4 ohm speakers because I like lots of deep bass and I am aware that 4 ohm speakers can hit those lower frequencies. I thought I was crusing right along, I was going to either use my harman kardon avr 65 or sell that and get a sansui 9090 and use that for these for ohm speakers. However I did not realize there were 4 ohm receivers and I was wondering if this was really true? I was also wondering if 4 ohm speakers would blow the aformentioned amps for any reason. I am specifically looking at three sets of speakers to hopefully use with the amps. Please or even need to, look at these specifications and tell me if these amps would blow with these speakers or not. If you need amp specifications just ask and I will post them. I just never even heard that there were 4 ohm and 8 ohm receivers. I only saw it once and that was on some message board. Any information clarifiying all of this will help and please respond aspa I am looking at a few auctions right now. Speaker specifications below:

thanks
matt

Cerwin-Vega RE-38 Features:
Power Handling (RMS): 5 to 400 Watts RMS
Frequency Response: 27Hz-20kHz
Sensitivity (dB): 102 dB dB
Impedance (Ohms): 4 Ohms
Weight (lbs): 90 lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d): 35.75/18/17.75 in. (width/height/depth)
Description: 15 inch 3-way

cerwin vega rs 30
Here are the specs,3 way bass reflex - 12" Woofer, 4" Mid and 1" Tweeter,
5 watts minimum
250 watts maximum
97 dB [ 1w / 1m ]
4 ohms

and finally the cerwin vega at 15
Description: 15" 3-Way
Frequency Response: 28Hz-28kHz
Power Handling Capacity, Minimum/Maximum: 5/400 Watts
Sensitivity, 1W at 1M: 102dB
Nominal Impedence: 4 OHMS
Distortion, Midband at 96dB/M, THD & IM: 0.4%
Maximum Output Level,Pair at 3M,Full Power: 127dB

EvanW

Re: harman kardon sansui 4 ohm receivers and blowing them

first off the impedance of a speaker has little to do with the freq. response, just about any 2 ch recevier wont have a problem driving a pair of 4 ohm speakers, i do alot of car audio and on one old yamaha RX-460 on section A i have a Kicker L5 subwoofer in a 4 cu foot slot ported enclosure, i have 1 channel to each of its 2 coils, so a 4 ohm load on each of those channels, its not rated for below 6 ohms, then on section B i have a pair of memphis audio 6x9 power reference coax drivers in sealed enclosures, it states that when running sections A and B that the section B shouldnt be lower than 12 ohm resistances, well i run 4, 4 ohm loads of this little thing and the only thing that happens is it gets slighty warm and the display dims, the display dims because the transformer isnt large enough to supply the output, but o well it does fine, with an osscilliscope and some resistors i got around 214 watts per channel unclipped 214x2 not by 4 it just splits the channels when u run section B, anyway, to take care of the warmth coming off the transitors i took an old cordless phone transformer and choped the termination and wired it to a 12 volt 80mm fan, cools it right off, and the receiver has no problem driving the 4, 4 ohm loads. ull be fine with anything basically as long as its not total crap

johnBrownsdream

Re: harman kardon sansui 4 ohm receivers and blowing them

so you are sure that that old vintage tube sansui 9090 that puts out 100-110 wats a channel into 2 channels at 8ohms would be able to power this...
Power Handling (RMS): 5 to 400 Watts RMS
Frequency Response: 27Hz-20kHz
Sensitivity (dB): 102 dB dB
Impedance (Ohms): 4 Ohms
Weight (lbs): 90 lbs.
Dimensions (w/h/d): 35.75/18/17.75 in. (width/height/depth)
Description: 15 inch 3-way
...without blowing the receiver? are you absoultely positive? i need to know by this time tomorrow because an my fate in an auction rests in your hands please respond asap
thanks
matt

John Garcia

Re: harman kardon sansui 4 ohm receivers and blowing them

Yes it should work.

You generally don't damage the receiver when you clip, you damage speakers, typically starting with fried tweeters.

Tube meaning tube amp? Tube amps seem to be able to handle lower impedance loads well, but why get a nice tube amp to drive CVs? That's sort of like putting a tennis shoes on a race horse.

"The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so." - Mark Twain

HT: Marantz SR-8300, MA500 monoblocks x 2, 5X GR Research A/V-2s, Adire Audio Tempest sub, Denon 2900, Oppo 980H, Toshiba HD-A2, RC2000MkII remote, Panamax 5100, Panamax Max2 sub, Slim PS2, PS3 60G + 320G USB

Bedroom: Marantz PM-7200 Integrated, GR Research A/V-1s, Sony 222ES SACD, RC3200 remote, Panamax M8EX

Audio: Audioquest * Video: Bluejeans

My DVDs My HT

johnBrownsdream

Re: harman kardon sansui 4 ohm receivers and blowing them

well mainly because right now I have a harman kardon avr 65 and I am not sure that it would be able to drive the speakers very well. If you think it drive the cerwin vega re 38s can please tell me...I think the harman kardon only puts out 65 wats a channel however I have heard the actual amount is more maybe the 65 is when it is in surround mode and its different for stereo which is what I would be using....even with 65 wats of good clean power could the harman kardon do a good job at driving the below speakers?
Power Handling (RMS): 5 to 400 Watts RMS
Frequency Response: 27Hz-20kHz
Sensitivity (dB): 102 dB dB
Impedance (Ohms): 4 Ohms
I also thought an old sansui 9090 (tube?) would give the speakers and overall setup a much better sound. Do any of you know if this is the case? If not maybe I will just stick with the receiver I have right now for the speakers.
thanks
matt

John Garcia

Re: harman kardon sansui 4 ohm receivers and blowing them

I would think the Sansui will sound better than the H/K and deliver more power.

Those guys are 4 Ohm, but they are also 102dB sensitive; the H/K should be capable of driving them. It would definitely be worth it to try them out with the H/K before buying another receiver.

"The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so." - Mark Twain

HT: Marantz SR-8300, MA500 monoblocks x 2, 5X GR Research A/V-2s, Adire Audio Tempest sub, Denon 2900, Oppo 980H, Toshiba HD-A2, RC2000MkII remote, Panamax 5100, Panamax Max2 sub, Slim PS2, PS3 60G + 320G USB

Bedroom: Marantz PM-7200 Integrated, GR Research A/V-1s, Sony 222ES SACD, RC3200 remote, Panamax M8EX

Audio: Audioquest * Video: Bluejeans

My DVDs My HT

johnBrownsdream

Re: harman kardon sansui 4 ohm receivers and blowing them

and your sure the sansui would be able to handle the cerwin vega re 38s?

Arthur S

Re: harman kardon sansui 4 ohm receivers and blowing them

What John Garcia said.

Chu Gai

Re: harman kardon sansui 4 ohm receivers and blowing them

The 9090 was not tube based IIRC. Hell, just attach the speakers already!

EvanW

Re: harman kardon sansui 4 ohm receivers and blowing them

it will not kill the reciver for god sakes, and just because the speakers can handle 400 watts doesnt mean they need that, if the specs are right they are pretty sensative, the 15 inch driver on that monster can just probably handle alot of heat, if the amp starts clipping ull hear it, and if u do, well that means its time to turn it down..... but yea ur reciever will do fine on those proabably

Jeff Hipps

Re: harman kardon sansui 4 ohm receivers and blowing them

The Sansui 9090 was never my favorite receivier. While it is solid state and not tubed as has already been pointed out, I recall that it had a very low damping factor and very sloppy bass performance as a result.

Jeff