Denon AVR-1700 question (1 Viewer)

[Matt Dolejsi]

Does anyone think i'll be able to get away with 4 ohm impendance on my fronts and/or rears to this receiver...

I know there's not fail safe way to really know, but is anyone here running something similar, The back of the unit rates it down to 6 ohm...

Help....

 

[Matt Dolejsi]

no one knows????

 

[Chuck Kent]

Probably. Maybe. But there are several factors that come into play. There is no easy exact answer.

Driving 4 ohm loads is about heat dissipation. If you cause more heat buildup than the receiver can handle at any given moment, then you could indeed have problems. Receivers are more susceptible to this kind of problem because their ability to adequately cool themselves is often very limited. (Internal fans or large heat sinks are 2 of the better ways to deal with heat. External fans blowing air around the unit can certainly help though. BTW, better to blow air through it rather than pull from it. Less static.)

I don't remember it's output power rating but the 1700 is not a higher output model. If you have speakers that are truly 4 ohm loads over most of the audio range, if those speakers have an output sensitivity rating that is below 89 or 90 db and you try to play them very loud for very long, you could have heat buildup and that could lead to trouble.

BUT, if the speakers are nominally rated higher than 4 ohm, they may not always place that bad of a demand on the receiver. Likewise the sensitivity. If it's 90 db or higher, the receiver will coast much easier.

If you already have both the receiver and speakers, is the unit getting really hot after a listening session? So hot you can't put your hand on top of it? If so, then try to give the unit as much breathing space as possible. (Oh and it belongs on the top of a component stack. NEVER the bottom as all the ads show. Not enough breathing room.) You could also try an external fan I mentioned above.

If you haven't bought the speakers, my advice is to do a little research and see how easy to drive they are. This will give you a clue whether you have any thing to be concerned about.

 

[Mark Dickerson]

I would second what Chuck has to say. I have both Magnapans and Dynaudio Audience 40s in my house. both are rated at 4 ohms, but they really represent different loads to the amp. The Magnapans are a true 4 ohm load and if I tried to drive them with a Denon, something would break, either the Denon or my beloved Maggies. NOT GOOD!

The Dynaudios, on the other had, are rather conservatively rated at 4 ohms, but over the audio spectrum, they only really dip down to 4 ohms at a couple of frequencies. Other manufacturers would probably rate them as a 6 ohm nominal load, so the Denon could do it, although with quite a bit of heat should I play them loud. Heat is the enemy of electronics.

I would check with the manufacturer of your speakers, or with your local dealer to find out what the load really is. Chances are pretty good that this will work, but you really need to check. Also check out the product reviews on ecoustics.com. They have thousands of reviews of products like speakers from all over the world. If someone reviewed your speakers, you may find that they will show measurements including the impedence curve. If it turns out that your 4 ohm speakers only dip to 4 ohms, you would probably be safe. It is also likely that the review itself would comment on the impedence curve (this is how I learned that my Dynaudios 4 ohm rating was a conservative rating and that they will work with most amps).

What are your 4 ohm speakers? If we knew, it would help us give better advice.

 

[Matt Dolejsi]

well i don't have the speakers yet actually but i'm trying to build some MTM's and i haven't found too many 16 ohm or 12 ohm midranges, plus all the designs i've been looking at are are 4 ohm nominal loads, i'd like to go with a proven design, but finding a 8 ohm nominal MTM has been daunting.

Perhaps you guys could recommend a site with some 8 or 6 ohm nominal designs, even if they aren't MTM's, I have plenty of bass via my sealed tempest setup driven externally by 400 watts, but I need to build some better speaks for front and rear channels,

So far i have some dayton 8 ohm silk dome tweets, and i'm looking for some good remaining drivers to get a 8 or min 6 ohm load.

thanks