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Need help choosing a receiver to push 6ohm speakers (1 Viewer)

JoshMa

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I was wondering if anyone could provide any help or advice in choosing a receiver to power 6ohm speakers. The speakers in question are:

Monitor Audio B4 Front L/R nominal 6ohm 91db
Monitor Audio Bronze Center nominal 8ohm 91db
Monitor Audio B2 Surrounds nominal 6ohm 90db

The speakers have pretty good sensitivity ratings but the 6ohm thing is throwing me off. I currently have a HK AVR 225 but it only mentions 8 ohm speakers on the back and in the manual.

I am finding it hard to determine what receiver would be a good match due to most brands rating their receivers at 8 ohms. It's also hard to tell a receivers true power output due to deceptive marketing.

If the HK is insufficient, a couple of receivers I am looking at are the NAD T742 or the Denon 1804. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 

Jeremy Stockwell

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Just about any quality receiver will drive 6 ohm speakers. Your HK should do fine. Try it out at least, monitor the receiver for overheating. Unless it gets really hot (too hot to touch), you'll probably be OK.


That is, unless you're just itching to upgrade (as most of us are around here). In that case, you'll have to upgrade to Outlaw, monoblocks, etc. :)

JKS
 

John Garcia

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The 742 should drive them just fine, but I agree - try out the H/K for now and see if it can handle it, at least for a while. If you expect high SPL often, or for extended periods, and/or want to bring the most out in your speakers, I'd upgrade. Marantz receivers are all 6 Ohm compatible.
 

JoshMa

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Thanks for the help guys. I will try out the HK and see if it will get the job done. I was just initially worried that I may cause harm to the receiver or speakers.

Thanks for the heads up on Marantz as well.
 

Paul Mor

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I have a pair of Polk Lsi 7's which are rated at 4ohms and have been driving them with an HK 7200 for about 2 months with no problems. I had the same fears as you when buying the speakers. I e-mailed HK and got basically the same answer from them as Jeremy has given you.
 

John Garcia

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You won't damage the receiver, but pushing it too hard may risk damage to your speakers. I believe the H/Ks have circuitry to shut off if the impedance drops too low, which would hopefully prevent damage.
 

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