[Kimeran]

A friend of mine yesturday was talking to me about sound systems and was really interested in upgrading his receiver. However, he also want to upgrade to some speakers that are 4 ohm all the way around. I know that most higher end receivers can drive 4 ohm speakers as the two mains but what about for a 5.0 set up?


He told me that he was thinking of a NAD 775 or 785 and that it will drive them just fine but I have always been under the understanding that for 4 ohm speakers you want to make sure to have a seperate amp that will be able to handel the power load.

 

[Knucklehead90]

Not all 4ohm speakers are the same load. The impedance dips are what will determine whether an AVR can drive them without problems. I drove 4ohm speakers (5.0) with an Onkyo SR506 for several weeks with no adverse affects on the AVR. Not something I'd recommend on a daily basis but when my Onkyo SC885 prepro needed replacing I did what I had to do. I hate tv speakers!

The speakers were Emotiva ERT towers and ERD surrounds. The 506 never went into protect mode and didn't run too hot.

Had I tried to drive electrostatic speakers with the 506 I think it would have shut down quickly.


Which speakers is your friend thinking of buying?

 

[Kimeran]

He was talking about going with the JTR triple 8s or 12s. He was thinking that he should do the 12s across the front and then two 8s in the rear. I was telling him that he should get a seperate amp even if it is just for a couple of the channels to lighten the load on the receiver.

 

[Knucklehead90]

The triple eights are 98db efficient. Unless your friend is trying to fill a small stadium he should have no problems.

 

[mattldm]

the NAD recievers will drive 4ohm speakers no problem!

 

[Kimeran]

Wow, I did not expect this.


Even with everyday use for watching tv?


I may have to follow suite then because I may want to just use the 785 as a processor as I upgrade to a amp and so on....maybe

 

[Knucklehead90]

For that money I'd go with a true AVP. You can review such offerings as Emotiva's UMC-1 ($699) -- or Integra's DHC 40.1 (~$1K) - both of which will leave you with enough money to buy an amp and be at or under $2K.

 

[Kimeran]

Yea, thats what I had originally told him. However, he likes the fact that he can upgrade the NAD with their modular design so he can just change the modules in the future rather than have to buy an entirely new preamp.