8ohm Fronts with 4ohm Surrounds? (1 Viewer)

[Richard Little]

Can I cheap out for a little while by using 8ohm mains and center while at the same time drive 4ohm surrounds on the same reciever (Elite 45TX). Will this lead to problems or dammage the reciever?

 

[Andy Goldstein]

as long as each channel of the amp can handle the load you are presenting to it, it will be fine. mixing impedances is ok. i'm running doubled advents across the front, which give 4 ohms nominal per channel (3 ohm minimum) and 8 ohm speakers in the rear. no problems.

ag.

 

[John F. Palacio]

As long as the receiver can handle 4 ohm loads you'll be fine.

 

[BenK]

Would the "ohm switch" need to be changed to accomodate the 4 ohm surrounds or is that just if the main l/r speakers are less than 8 ohms?

 

[Cees Alons]

If all channels can be switched separately, set each to the actual impedance of the connected drivers. If there's only one master switch, set it to the impedance of the fronts & center.

The rationale here being, that the surrounds will seldom get as much sound power to process as the mains.


Cees

 

[BenK]

So with that same rationale what if the mains are 8 ohms and the center is 6 ohm with one master ohm switch? Should it be kept on the default 8-16 ohms? I also have a Pioneer Elite and I'm curious about this. My manual recommends nothing less than 6 ohms but not about how to configure the switch for mixed speakers?

 

[Cees Alons]

What are the exact settings to choose from?

In principle, I would still choose 8 Ohms in your case, but 6 Ohms wouldn't be too bad (if it exists as an option).

Cees

 

[BenK]

Those are the exact settings to choose from. 8ohms and 6 ohms. So it sounds like either would be fine. Thanks Cees.

 

[Cees Alons]

You're welcome!

Cees