Onkyo SR600, Marantz 5200, Pioneer D811S and 2 back center speakers (1 Viewer)

[ThomasL]

I'm thinking of purchasing one of these receivers as a new receiver for a small home theater setup. The SR600 and Marantz 5200 have 6 amplified channels including the rear center. In my room's current configuration, it will have to have 2 rear centers on each side of a window which sits in the middle of the wall behind the couch. Would it do great harm to wire both of them in parallel off of the one channel on either of these receivers? We do not listen to our system at reference levels and the room is small so I don't feel we'll be coming close to clipping. But anyhow, I'm wondering if the Onkyo in particular will not like this arrangement. I notice it has a switch in the back telling it what ohm rating one's speakers are at and thought this might cause problems if it sees a 4 ohm load on that one channel. Does anyone else have 2 rear centers wired in parallel off of one amplified channel?

And with regards to the Pioneer model, it has two outputs on the back for 2 speakers yet just one amplified channel so I suspect it has wired these in series. Can anyone who owns the D811S verify that?

thanks,

--tom

 

[Paul Clarke]

Tom,
check out this review from Hi-Fi Choice on the 5200:
http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=1878
...food for thought for multi-channel useage.
I have yet to see a thorough test on the 600 yet. The publication lead times are 2-3 months and the 600 is just hitting the shelves with decent supply. The recent tendency has been to incorporate these impedance switches on lower to mid-level receivers even from companies like Onkyo and Yamaha. I am distrustful of their implementation and suspect a sharp lowering of power when utilized...just the opposite of what you would want with

 

[ChrisAG]

In this case it may be worth buying a cheap 2-channel amp for the rear centre(s), using the 5200's pre-amp output for that channel, or stepping up to the 6200 for its slightly more robust amplification.

 

[Ryan Schnacke]

I am distrustful of their implementation and suspect a sharp lowering of power when utilized...just the opposite of what you would want with

 

[John Garcia]

And I don't think there's a particular reason that 4 ohm speakers need more power than 8 ohm speakers.

Regardless of resistance, it is the driver's motor structure, the voice coil and magnet, that determine how much current it will draw.

The rears are not quite as active as the mains, so I would expect either of these receivers to do fine with two rear speakers, provided they are not power hungry. However, with the 5200s pre-outs, you will be able to add extra amplification if needed or desired later on.

 

[Ryan Schnacke]

I guess the point I was making is ... how much are you really going to use? and how overdesigned do you need the amp to be? Even a good amp has its limits. You can't put 16 speakers in parallel on a good amp and expect 16 times the nominal power output into a 1/2 ohm load.

I do like the idea of pre-outs. Flexibility is a good thing.

 

[John Garcia]

You can't put 16 speakers in parallel on a good amp and expect 16 times the nominal power output into a 1/2 ohm load.

Exactly my point. Even if you put TWO speakers which are drawing a lot of current, you could easily overdrive the amp. The limit is the amp's ability to provide current, not the actual impedence. Impedence varies with load, so the nominal value for a speaker is not the only deciding factor. See the "double down" post.

 

[ThomasL]

Thanks everyone. It sounds to me like I'd be ok hanging a 2nd speaker in parallel off of the 6th channel on the Marantz or the Onkyo (with the Onkyo in the 8 ohm switch position) as long as I'm not driving them very hard (for example, running 6 channel stereo and cranking the volume ). We normally listen to movies and music at relatively low levels since the room is small. I also currently have a Niles speaker switch for the front L/R channels but if that is on and we're driving two rooms, the surrounds won't be in use. It also has an impedance protector switch which introduces a 2.5 ohm resistor into the mix.
cheers,
--tom

 

[ThomasL]

I just wanted to correct something or verify it. I just took another look at the manual for the Onkyo and for the life of me, I can't find the page on an ohm switch in the back. But the Yamaha 5560 that I was also looking at seems to have one. So, I guess I meant the Yamaha and not the Onkyo when mentioning the switch in the back. Can any Onkyo 600 owner verify that it doesn't have any switch? I guess tbis is what happens when you're looking at manuals for 6 different receivers at once..gets hard to keep track of all the features on each
cheers,
--tom

 

[Nathan Cook]

do it and let us know of the outcome.

 

[parin_patel]

Tom, there is no impedence switch in the back for the Onkyo 600. It basically only supports 6 ohms minimum impedence speakers. You can check out my impressions on the receiver on this thread.
Parin

 

[Jim Tressler]

parin is correct.. NO switch in the back.. 6 ohm min
jim .. still happy with his 600 (even though its only been 1 day )

 

[ThomasL]

thanks guys. I was getting my manuals confused.
I don't think I'll have any trouble running two small rear centers in parallel off the one channel even though that will be a 4 ohm load. I've done this numerous times with other 8 ohm min receivers (stereo receivers) and as long as one doesn't drive the channel hard, the amp has no problems. We don't listen anywhere near reference levels in our home anyway
thanks everyone,
--tom