I also posted this in the speaker section as I am not sure if belongs there or here in the setup/theory forum:

I have a few questions about my speaker setup. I recently purchased two Vienna Acoustics, Mozart Grand's, a Theatro center channel and four Waltz surrounds for my 7.1 setup. This setup will be driven by a Pioneer Elite SC-05.
The Mozart's and the Waltz speakers are rated at 4 ohms and the Theatro is rated at 6 ohms. The Pioneer Elite SC-05 ratings are given in 8 ohms. I could not find anything in the owners manual about using lower ohm speakers with this reciever. Would there be any issue besides having to turn the volume range up higher then a 8 ohm speaker?

Also, I bought some Monster XP wire from Best Buy and some bannana plugs. Monster cable hides the info but I found out the wire is 16 guage. The wire runs from the reciever to the loudspeakers are only about six feet. The run to the center channel is about three feet. The run to the surrounds are about 15-20 feet at the most. Will this type of wire be sufficient enough and not have a detrimental effect on sound quality versus going with a thicker cable?

According to the below web site, my speaker wire and run length fall into an acceptable range on the wire table:
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

I know there are people that think wire makes a huge difference and there are people that say an electrical lamp cord sounds the same as a thousand dollar wire. I would just like your thoughts on my setup and if it's necessary to return my current wire and go larger gauge.

Thanks.

I have a few questions about my speaker setup. I recently purchased two Vienna Acoustics, Mozart Grand's, a Theatro center channel and four Waltz surrounds for my 7.1 setup. This setup will be driven by a Pioneer Elite SC-05.
The Mozart's and the Waltz speakers are rated at 4 ohms and the Theatro is rated at 6 ohms. The Pioneer Elite SC-05 ratings are given in 8 ohms. I could not find anything in the owners manual about using lower ohm speakers with this reciever. Would there be any issue besides having to turn the volume range up higher then a 8 ohm speaker?


No issues expected, not even any need to turn the volume up.

Volume settings required for desired loudness relate to speaker efficiency, not speaker impedance.


Also, I bought some Monster XP wire from Best Buy and some bannana plugs. Monster cable hides the info but I found out the wire is 16 guage.


The sad part of the story is that for the same money you probably have gotten some 12 or 14 gauge fine stranded wire from Home Depot, Lowes, or the nearby hardware store.


The wire runs from the reciever to the loudspeakers are only about six feet. The run to the center channel is about three feet.


At those miniscule lengths, no issues expected.


The run to the surrounds are about 15-20 feet at the most. Will this type of wire be sufficient enough and not have a detrimental effect on sound quality versus going with a thicker cable?


The entirety of the Roger Russell site page you referenced looks pretty straight forward. As I read it, your speakers won't tax 16 guage wire 20 feet long.

I admit it, my speaker wires are all either 12 or 14 gauge cable from Lowes. ;-)


According to the below web site, my speaker wire and run length fall into an acceptable range on the wire table:
http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm



That whole web page looks to be very reasonable to me. I was infuriated by the Monster Cable demo rig that used 28 gauge wire as their standard. That shows how desperate they can be.


I know there are people that think wire makes a huge difference


There are people who believe in all sorts of crazy things, probably as many in audio as anything. It's possible to turn audio into an offshoot of one of several oriental religions.


and there are people that say an electrical lamp cord sounds the same as a thousand dollar wire.


Electrical lamp cord covers a lot of territory. I could find 22 gauge lamp cord, and that is IMO too little copper per foot for hifi speakers.


I would just like your thoughts on my setup and if it's necessary to return my current wire and go larger gauge.


Seems like you've found a good reference on the Roger Russell site.

I looked at the same website in deciding which gauge wire. I went with 14 gauge but some of my runs are 20 - 25 feet. I would think at your distances 16 would be enough. I have a 5.1 set up with Mozart Grands, Maestro center and waltz surrounds. I have it hooked up to a Denon 3808. Similar specs to your pioneer 130w x7 and 8 ohm rating. I too was concerned about driving 4 ohm speakers. According to a Denon thread, the main issue is that the Denon could run hot so best to keep it well vented. I have it in an enclosed cabinet and that I installed fans in; so far no issues.

Enjoy your system.

What type of sub do you have? I went with the REL B3. Seems to compliment the mozarts very well.

I have a few questions about my speaker setup. I recently purchased two Vienna Acoustics, Mozart Grand's, a Theatro center channel and four Waltz surrounds for my 7.1 setup. This setup will be driven by a Pioneer Elite SC-05.
The Mozart's and the Waltz speakers are rated at 4 ohms and the Theatro is rated at 6 ohms. The Pioneer Elite SC-05 ratings are given in 8 ohms. I could not find anything in the owners manual about using lower ohm speakers with this reciever. Would there be any issue besides having to turn the volume range up higher then a 8 ohm speaker?No issues expected, not even any need to turn the volume up.

Volume settings required for desired loudness relate to speaker efficiency, not speaker impedance.If it is not spec'd to drive 4ohm speakers, whether the receiver will have issues driving 6 - 4ohm speakers (and a 6ohm speaker) depends upon how hardy the receiver is. What does the instruction manual say regarding driving 4ohm speakers? Many amps CAN drive a lower impedance than what they are rated to drive, however, it really depends upon how low the impedance really drops with the particular speakers. If they are conservatively (or is it liberally?) rated, the Vienna's may not really drop much below 4ohms and the receiver may do fine with their load. You may just have to see how your receiver behaves with the speakers. If the speakers' impedance does drop really low, and the amps are not spec'd to drive 4ohms, there may be an excessive amount of heat produced. If there is an issue, it will most likely present itself at higher volumes and will most likely cause the receiver to go into some sort of 'protect mode' and shut down.

I looked at the same website in deciding which gauge wire. I went with 14 gauge but some of my runs are 20 - 25 feet. I would think at your distances 16 would be enough. I have a 5.1 set up with Mozart Grands, Maestro center and waltz surrounds. I have it hooked up to a Denon 3808. Similar specs to your pioneer 130w x7 and 8 ohm rating. I too was concerned about driving 4 ohm speakers. According to a Denon thread, the main issue is that the Denon could run hot so best to keep it well vented. I have it in an enclosed cabinet and that I installed fans in; so far no issues.

Enjoy your system.

What type of sub do you have? I went with the REL B3. Seems to compliment the mozarts very well.

Thanks for the response. Look's like we have similar setups. I was also trying to decide between the Denon 3808 and the Pioneer SC-05. Both are great. I went with two Martin Logan 10" Dynamo subs. I read some online reviews, said they are pretty good.

If it is not spec'd to drive 4ohm speakers, whether the receiver will have issues driving 6 - 4ohm speakers (and a 6ohm speaker) depends upon how hardy the receiver is. What does the instruction manual say regarding driving 4ohm speakers? Many amps CAN drive a lower impedance than what they are rated to drive, however, it really depends upon how low the impedance really drops with the particular speakers. If they are conservatively (or is it liberally?) rated, the Vienna's may not really drop much below 4ohms and the receiver may do fine with their load. You may just have to see how your receiver behaves with the speakers. If the speakers' impedance does drop really low, and the amps are not spec'd to drive 4ohms, there may be an excessive amount of heat produced. If there is an issue, it will most likely present itself at higher volumes and will most likely cause the receiver to go into some sort of 'protect mode' and shut down.

I just did a search of the Pioneer SC-05 manual in PDF form and it mentions nothing about driving lower Ohm speakers. :confused:

No, but there are reviews of the unit indicating its capabilities into 4 ohms with multiple channels driven. Don't expect any problems.

If it is not spec'd to drive 4ohm speakers, whether the receiver will have issues driving 6 - 4ohm speakers (and a 6ohm speaker) depends upon how hardy the receiver is.


the receiver is highly likely to be plenty hardy.

Part of the answer can be seen in the topic "Nominal Speaker Impedance" on the Roger Russell web site. Note that the 4-ohm rated speaker has a higher impedance than 4 ohms over almost the entire 20-20 Khz range. The 4 ohms is a worst case number, and the typical impedance is signfiicantly higher than that, at least 5 ohms.

Translate that to a 6 ohm speaker, and it is safe to assume that 6 ohms is a worst case number and the typical impedance is significantly higher than that, just under 8 ohms.

Secondly, the receiver is rated in accordance with FTC specifications, which are based on continuous sine waves, not music which is constantly varying, even if heavily compressed.

I'm also thinking about buying some vienna acoustic speakers (mozarts or beethoven grand, and waltzes for the rest)...thinking about hooking that up to a Yamaha 3900...does anyone think the yamaha will be able to handle this