Ohms and speakers, I have a receiver that lets me choose whether I have 4, 6 or 8ohm speakers. My speakers are

Question

Ohms and speakers, I have a receiver that lets me choose whether I have 4, 6 or 8ohm speakers. My speakers are rated 4-8 ohms. This is a 5.1 surround. What would be best and why? What difference does it make when setting my receiver to different ohms ratings?

Answer 1

The reason your speakers are rated 4-8 ohms is because the impedance (similar to resistance, measured in ohms) varies across the frequency range. The average will likey be 6-8 Ohms.

Matching your amplifeir to speakers will give you better use of of your amplifiers total power. If you set your speakers to 4 Ohms, and they are actually 8 Ohms, you will be sending less power and producing less volume than possible. If you set the peakers to 8 Ohms, and they are actaully 4, then you are overdriving. This means by the time you hit 5 (out of 10) on the volume dial your amp will already be at full power output and further volume increases will distort the amp, possibly damage the speaker, although these days this is unlikely with the cut offs and safety's.

Answer 2

The different ohm settings are for different speakers - most are rated at 8 ohms, and this is the case here. The best rating would probably be to stick with 8 ohms. The different ohms ratings on your amplifier seem to relate to the amount of speakers you are using - If you run two 8 ohm speakers off one amp channel, the combined resistance reduces to 4 ohms. Add a third, and it reduces to 2.6 ohms. A fourth, and it goes to 2 ohms. I can only guess this is what it is, although most modern amplifiers detect this and adjust accordingly.

Answer 3

If this is a Yamaha or name brand receiver - set it to 4 ohms for safety.

Here is a simple model: Speakers come in 8,6,4 ohms. The closer you get to 0 ohms, the closer you are to a short-circuit which will damage your receiver.

The 'good' receivers have protection to detect if speaker wires cross. This is a short-circuit or a "0 ohm" speaker.

If you set the switch to "4 Ohms" - you are telling the receiver that you are already close to a short circuit and that the built-in protection should be extra quick to respond if it starts to over-heat.

At least - this is the way my Yamaha works.

Answer 4

Read.