Any low priced AV Receivers that can do 4 ohm speakers?

[Toff the Wanderer]

Hi there,

My old Outlaw 1050 is having to many problems to bother fixing. I'm kinda annoyed as the thing has had on and off again problems since I got the thing and wouldn't have bought it if I knew it had quality issues.

I am looking for a lowish priced revceiver (I would prefer no more than $400) that is at least 5.1. I don't need tons of power or anything to fancy. The main requirement is that it can push 4 ohm speakers as I'm not buying all new speakers.

If anyone knows of anything out there that can do what I need for my price range or fairly close, let me know.

Thanks

[anamorphic96]

The Harman Kardon AVR 147 or 247 will do the trick. The 147 is 299.00 and the 247 is 499 but can usually be found for less. The manual does not quote specs for 4 ohm loads but I know of two friends using the AVR 140 with no issues. Just make sure there is plenty of space for the receiver to breathe and you will be fine.

[drseid]

Hi there,

My old Outlaw 1050 is having to many problems to bother fixing. I'm kinda annoyed as the thing has had on and off again problems since I got the thing and wouldn't have bought it if I knew it had quality issues.

I am looking for a lowish priced revceiver (I would prefer no more than $400) that is at least 5.1. I don't need tons of power or anything to fancy. The main requirement is that it can push 4 ohm speakers as I'm not buying all new speakers.

If anyone knows of anything out there that can do what I need for my price range or fairly close, let me know.

Thanks
What 4 ohm speakers are you trying to use with the receiver? Since not all 4 ohm speakers have the same requirements, knowing this would be helpful in giving you the most accurate response.

Thanks,

---Dave

[kexodusc]

While you'll never hear it recommended by manufacturers, I've run 4 ohm speakers on most receivers I've owned, including small, cheap Sony and Technics receivers without issue. The Sony didn't mind at all, the Technics ran hot enough to fry eggs, but it ran hot enough to make omelettes on standby. If the sensitivity is decent andy you don't get really stupid with volume (ie, turn it down when it starts to sound bad) most receivers can handle a pair of 4 ohm speakers, and decent 8 ohm speakers in surround capacity without blowing up. If you're only using 2 speakers you should be safe.

A receiver of decent build quality from the likes of Harman Kardon, Yamaha, Denon, etc should be enough. I'd advise you get one with pre-outs and buy an amp later. For $300 you should be able to buy a very capable, recent model used and a decent power amp on audiogon or something for around $100 to round off your budget. Think this would put you far ahead of a $400 brand new receiver.

I like what drseid is asking - which speakers. Ohm ratings are a funny business. Some speakers are rated at 4 ohms because they have a minimum around 4, some are rated at 4 ohms and have minimums below 2 ohms - you don't want to run THOSE on a small a/v receiver with 3 other speakers going.

[Toff the Wanderer]

Thanks for the responses.

I have 5 Ascend Acoustics CBM-170's which I bought about 5 years ago.

Here is the link for the CBM-170 SE.
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cbm170/cbm170.html
Specs:
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cbm170/cbm170specs.html

This one does say 8 ohms but it is also a newer version and mine are not SE. It doesn't say on the speakers and I could have swore that they were 4 ohm.

I don't mind being incorrect.

[GMichael]

It doesn't look like any receiver should have trouble with these. Of coarse, how one will sound over another is subjective. What Kex said about pre-outs is a great point. Once you have these, you can always upgrade to external amps of higher quality.
I like the Yamaha's, Denon's and Onkyo's because of their dependability. Others prefer the sound from HK or Marantz.
I guess the bottom line is that any should drive them fairly well.

[Toff the Wanderer]

Aye, I'm not sure how I got it in my head that they were 4 ohm...

I've been looking around and can't fine anything that says they were 4 ohm and couldn't get a human on the line at Ascend.

Its good to be wrong in this case.

Edit: Yup, found a review from 2002 that says they were 8 ohms. Who knows what I was thinking ...

[Toff the Wanderer]

I was thinking of getting the Denon 1507 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-D0tS5Y8S71M/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=10420&I=033AV1507).

After the quality issues and bugs in my Outlaw I'm more concerned with build quality with sound quality being a close second.

I'd love to hear suggestions for AV Receivers for what you guys think put out great sounding music. Connected to it will be the 5 CBM-170s and an Hsu sub.

thanks

[GMichael]

I was thinking of getting the Denon 1507 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-D0tS5Y8S71M/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=10420&I=033AV1507).

After the quality issues and bugs in my Outlaw I'm more concerned with build quality with sound quality being a close second.

I'd love to hear suggestions for AV Receivers for what you guys think put out great sounding music. Connected to it will be the 5 CBM-170s and an Hsu sub.

thanks

That one would work. But it doesn't have pre-outs other than for a sub. If you ever want to upgrade your speakers you may not be able to use this depending on what speakers you get. If you think that these will be the last speakers you ever own then it won't make a flake of difference.