is the Marantz 2330 safe driving 4 ohms ?

unclemss

Active Member
Hello all, I have a 2330 that I want to drive a pair of Speakerlab Sevens, I had asked the tech who went through it recently and he stated that the receiver would overheat and pop a channel if I tried to drive 4 ohm speakers with it, what I need is another opinion, I read a post somewhere that said if the component in question is capable of having two speaker selectors (system 1 and system 2 on the 2330) depressed at the same time then the component should be stable into 4 ohms as the amp section would see with two pairs of 8 ohm speakers being run.

And there is my quandry, do I or don't I ?, the tech who did the work is trusted by me and has worked on four other amps I own including my Nak PA-7 recently and it's just beautiful.

Any help is appreciated.
Mark S:wtf:
 
Look On The Back>

does'nt it say,system 1,4-8 ohms,when both systems
1 & 2 are being played Simultaniously both pairs should be 8 ohms.also I feel that when that unit
was being produced there were alot of companys
putting out 4 ohm speakers.
My farely recent PSB stratus golds are 4 ohm
but are played using a power amp that can handle almost any load.If your even hesitant to smoke the
Marantz,get something more powerful,plus to get
the REAL BENEFIT from the wonderful S.S.'s
they like power!!!!
I have made the mistake of hooking up 4 ohm speakers in system A,and had speakers B with 8 ohm
and forgot sometime later and played A & B and blew
a fuse in the left A channel(H/K 150+ quad receiver)
But Im no tech and dont want to sound like one,
you should receive many opinions in this thread,
wait awhile before you decide and read them!!!
Sluggo
 
Yes, the 2330 is safe driving 4 ohm speakers, but not on the A and B outputs simultaneously.

Just as a reminder, the A and B outputs are in parallel, so if you have 4 speakers with an impedance of 8 Ohms each, and use them on both the A and B outputs (L + R) simultaneously, your receiver will see 4 Ohm loads on its right and left channels.
 
You can safely drive one pair of four ohm speakers.

I just wouldn't suggest trying to drive a second pair of any impedance simultaneously, just in case.

If you intend to drive two pairs of speakers at the same time, try to make sure they are all eight ohm speakers.
 
The 2330 has a frail audio output section, and it easily overheats, and replacement semi's are almost non existent.
 
If you don't push it really really hard it probably will do fine. I run a 4 ohm load with mine never have the volume over 1/3 and it hardly gets warm even under long listening periods. As long as you don't try and bury the volume you should be fine.
 
Just an FYI, I'm running two sets of Imperial 7's on the front mains (in parallel) and a second set of JBL E50's on the rear mains....So far no problems or heat......with a 4300....




Love to all......:banana: :banana: :banana: Damn snow!!!!!
 
I will NOT run ANY speaker less than 8 ohms with ANY vintage receiver or amp.
There are HUNDREDS of good 8 ohm speakers out there.
Why even take the risk.....on a great piece of vintage gear...that you might NEVER find a suitable replacement for??

Steve
 
Sometimes, it is not the higher current that upsets the vintage amp. It is the design of the power stage ( bias ).
Many vintage gears will sound "incorrect" when a 4 ohm system is hooked on them, no matter how soft you play the music.
 
Actually most speakers dip below their rated impedance at various frequencies, so even a speaker rated at 8 Ohms will present a 4 Ohm or lower load to the receiver occasionally.

The solution is very simple: just don't turn up the volume knob as much as you would with higher impedance speakers.
 
I run ESS AMT6s which are 4 ohm, with my 2330 and it never gets more than lukewarm. I did go through and set the bias and dc offset and I pulled all of the outputs and applied new heatsink compound (not necesarily in that order), a good idea on any 30 year old unit. But when I really want to rock, I do switch it out for the slightly more robust Sansui G9000.:yes:
 
Thanks for all the advice, although I realize there are lots of 8 ohm speakers out there I already have the Speakerlabs and most of my other sets are 4-6 ohm, the reason I wondered about the Marantz/4 ohm is that I gave the reciever to my sister and brother in-law for Xmas, he loves the Marantz gear and has owned a 4400 and others over the years and will treat it well but my sister likes the loud button and I don't want her to fry something, the 2330 is running a pair of Technics SB-G910 8 ohm's in the meantime (ugh) but it's happy with them, my problem is that they sound like crap and I just don't like decent gear not sounding up to it's potential, might as well listen to a Bose wave radio, I will keep a lookout for better speakers I guess.
Mark S
 
Thank You Gigapod

Gigapod said:
Actually most speakers dip below their rated impedance at various frequencies, so even a speaker rated at 8 Ohms will present a 4 Ohm or lower load to the receiver occasionally.

The solution is very simple: just don't turn up the volume knob as much as you would with higher impedance speakers.
Marantz does not like anything under 4 Ohms I have had many here tell me before. Just be carefull that is a really nice rig, don't be shy about using a SAE, Carver, Mark Levinson, Phase Linear, amp from the late 70's they will handle just about any load you throw at them, through the pre out's, should give you the 4400's ++'s with the power you need
 
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