speaker-to-receiver connection question

[DaRealzG]

I have had this question in my mind for a while. I found this site today, and registered immediately. So, I finally let this one out of my chest.

I have a pair of 4-ohm impedance speakers that I wanna connect to my receiver(Aiwa AV-D57) for stereo playback. The receiver's user's manual mentions no information on a recommended speaker impedance range. The receiver came with a set of five speakers rated at 8 ohm. I know connecting a 4-ohm speaker will put more stress on the receiver, but I don't know if my receiver will handle it. I asked a guy at Aiwa technical support, and he said "the receiver will be OK, but we don't recommend that you connect them." What confuses me more is that the receiver's "set-up instruction" manual has a diagram of back panel of the receiver, which says "8ohm/4ohm" under the front speaker terminals. However, it only says "8ohm" on the actual back panel of the receiver. So, surely, the manual says it's OK to connect a 4-ohm speaker, but the receiver only says 8ohm speaker; that's an inconsistency in between product documentation and the actual product.

Generally, is it OK to do this? The receiver is like any home theater system ones with AM/FM tuner, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Digital, and a bunch of connectors for other audio devices.

I can't wait till I try my speakers on this receiver, but I don't wanna risk the chance to mess up the receiver.

I would appreciate any comments.


John

[DrJeff]

Generally, it is OK to connect 4-ohm speakers to a receiver, most are stable in that range, and many of the better amps are stable to 2 ohms or lower. However, your brand is not one of those, and I would not connect anything other than 8 ohm speakers to it unless you're willing to risk a meltdown. On the bright side, you could rationalize it by hooking up the speakers, putting on some good music with a lot of low end, and waiting for the receiver to blow. Then you can go ahead and get a model that will do the speakers justice, such as a Yamaha, Onkyo, Denon, etc. My personal (although biased due to ownership) vote would be for a Yamaha.

Jeff

[DaRealzG]

Thank you for your input, Jeff.

I don't wanna risk it, but I can't afford another receiver now. And, I wanna try these speakers so bad, urgh!

Has anyone done this to your AV-D57?

[Bryan]

Your receiver is not built to handle the load from the speakers. That being said, you should be able to hook them up and they will work fine. Now, I would listen to them at reasonable levels rather than see how loud they will go for that may fry your receiver. Aiwa is generally not acknowledged as one of the better, more reliable brands in HT. Look around for a new or used Marantz, Yamaha, Denon, Harmon Kardon, or Onkyo receiver.

[tullymars]

DaRealzG I think the majority has spoken and I have to agree...that being said let me tell you what I figured out when it comes to running 4 ohm speakers.Like you I use a receiver mine does have a high current amplifier its a Denon dra 685,it works fine on 4 ohm speakers,but I use to have a Onkyo tx 8511,same as the Denon its 100wx2 high current,great reciever for the money,but even though the manual says it will handle 4 ohm speakers,and it will it doesnt handle them very well,it gets real warm,real quick!Now what I came to understand that if a receiver has a switch on the back that needs to be changed to 4 ohm setting then it really wont handle 4 ohm speakers well.Onkyo may make a receiver that will handle 4 ohms but remember about the button,the reseason its their is to keep the amp from melting down! When I used the Onkyo it got a good bit warmer than the Denon does on 8 ohm speakers,after 3 or 4 hours of continuos play the Onkyo is very warm,my Denon is very cool,thats what made me understand just the heat factor alone,the Denon has a much better amp than the Onkyo,the tx 8511 is great reciever for $300,the Denon has the same power but cost $500 now I understand why!

[mtrycraft]

Thank you for your input, Jeff.

I don't wanna risk it, but I can't afford another receiver now. And, I wanna try these speakers so bad, urgh!

Has anyone done this to your AV-D57?

As Bryan stated, try it but at low levels and see if it goes into protection mode after a while, or at all. Don't drive it loud. But, if that receiver is designed properly, the worst thing that should happen is it turns off or blows a fuse.

[Umrswimr]

It's a rare occasion when I agree with mrty... But this is one of them. I would play them at low volumes just to be sure.

[zapr]

An 8 ohm speaker is stated as nominal as is a 4 or 6 ohm speaker. The truth is the draw from the speaker on the amp will dip as low as 2 ohms and and peak as high as 16 or more.The 4 ohm load should be ok as long as you don't over drive your system. I had the same thing with my first stereo yrs ago and it was never a problem.

[mtrycraft]

It's a rare occasion when I agree with mrty....

The statistics are on my side We are bound to agree, from time to time on some things.