Compatabilty concern

[mnisia]

I've just purchased a Denon AVRE400 amp and I have 4 bose 501 4 ohm speakers I would like to connect to it. The Denon is rated for 8 ohm speakers so naturally I am concerned about connecting 4 bose 4 ohm speakers. If I do will I damage the amp? Thank you in advance for your input.

 

[whoaru99]

Unlikely. Just give the amp room to breathe, meaning don't stack it with other stuff and don't put it in a tight rack/entertainment center.

 

[Yamaki]

What are the specs?

AVR = x watts @ 8 ohms

Speakers = x watts RMS @ 4 ohms

 

[robgmn]

If you want to play it safe, you could always wire the speakers in series to present an eight ohm load...

 

[mnisia]

AVRE400

7.1 channel amplifier
90 watts per channel into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.08% THD, with 2 channels driven
Dolby® and DTS® surround sound decoding
Audyssey "Bronze" speaker calibration and system optimization includes:
MultEQ® auto setup and room calibration delivers balanced, dynamic sound for as many as six seating positions
Dynamic Volume anticipates loud sounds to keep volume levels equal
Dynamic EQ improves dialogue, bass response, and surround channel levels at lower volumes

The only info I have on the Bose is impedance 4 ohm

 

[whoaru99]

There is no problem. Connect away...

 

[mnisia]

ty whoaru99

 

[blackburb]

If you want to play it safe, you could always wire the speakers in series to present an eight ohm load...

There's a good chance the avr already series the A & B speaker outs. Lots of mainstream receivers do to avoid issues when 4 4ohms speakers are hooked up.

It's easy to tell. Hook up one pair to speaker A and nothing to speaker B. Then switch both A & B on. If the A speakers play, it's wired in parallel internally. If nothing from the A speakers, it's wired in series internally.

 

[charles 1973]

On the back of the reciever in speaker area you will notice a "6 - 16 Ohm Speakers" Tag. So yes, you are right to be concerened with 4 ohm speakers. So basically it's a judgement call. I have used 4 ohm speakers with my 6 ohm Onkyo AVR with no problems. I think you could too. You could install a 4 ohm/20 w Resistor (for $1 -$2/Speaker) in line with the speakers to bring the impedance to 8 ohms as rob suggested in post #4. And Then...

If you have A + B Speaker option, when you select it, it may automatically route one pair of surround amps to drive B speakers. Check the owners manual if you have one. Or when you select A+ B speakers see if it swithes from 7.1 to 5.1 operation. My Onkyo 5.1 AVR does this, It switches to Stereo Mode when I select A + B speakers. It uses the Rear speaker Amps to drive B speakers.

Another option is to select the Front and Rear Speakers only on the recievers Speaker menu options, and set the amp to 5 or 7 channel stereo. Now each pair of speakers has its own amp for 4 channel stereo. You could drive a 3'rd pair of stereo speakers with this method too.