A/B Switch On Receiver (1 Viewer)

[Alexander Kuch]

Hey guys, probably a dumb question, but about five years ago I bought a nice Polk system from circuit city with a top of the line Sony Receiver. Now when I bought it the guy told me to not use channel A and B at the same time because it can damage the receiver. I didn't believe him so I did it anyway. Never had any problems. Why would they even make a A+B setting anyway. Just wondering if you guys heard the same thing and if its true.

Thanks

 

[Jim Mcc]

Are you talking about A and B speakers pairs?
I've never heard that before?
If it was a problem, it would say so in your manual.

 

[John S]

Well, the reason it appears on my Denon is so you can use different side speakers/arrangements for different 7.1 / Multichannel sound modes / applications. By selecting either speaker pair A or B per sound mode. A+B too as it does state in my manual that it is ok to run A+B (4 sides) to create a more theater like effect. I run the system this way. 10 speaker 7.1 (4 sides, dual centers)..
If you look at a pay theater there will be several down each side, and several along the back wall.


I have a long room, I like the way it keeps the side soundstage through the various seating positions, I use near field monitors and I think that impacts the rather odd setup that I have deemed best for me.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Since you're talking about receivers, please do so in the area devoted to such (A/V Sources is for talking about source components, not amplification).

 

[John Garcia]

That switch is technically meant for A OR B, not A AND B. It depends on how they are wired internally and how much current your speakers draw. The A/B switch is generally run off the same channels as the mains, so if you hooked two current hungry speakers to it, you could cause some problems with impedance and heat, which could result in clipping. I think John's Denon is a little different, because I remember the 3802 had this feature also when I looked at it.

 

[John S]

Yeah. It's a 4802, It does run them off of the same amp for sure though on the A+B.... I do understand this should effectively represent a 4 ohm load to those amps.

 

[RobCar]

Generally not a problem. I do it without worrying too much about damaging anything. One reason I do it is so that I can hear tunes in two parts of the house without cranking it in the living room, which means that when I play it through A + B, it's at a lower volume.

One thing I used to do was to play the music through all speakers in the living room (5.1) plus the B speakers, but I figure that's probably not the best idea.