Kenwood KA 9100 and a 4 ohm load
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doucanoe
Registered Audio Abuser
I think your right fotno but I thought that I would ask. I spoke with the seller and told him what my plans were. He questioned whether or not any of the vintage integrateds from pioneer,kenwood etc. would be stable into 4 ohm's.
I dont think that's correct but better safe than sorry.
RC
I dont think that's correct but better safe than sorry.
RC
fotno
Lunatic Member
To be honest, the 5400 is rated 35 watts into 8Ω and 47 watts into 4Ω, and it gets just a touch warmer running my 3's than my 4x's or A25's. I doubt there's any modern consumer level product that would handle 4Ω without either clipping or becoming a paperweight, but the mid-fi, hi-fi stuff of yore was built for this kind of thing.
Inspiribomb
Enjoy the journey
I don't think 4 ohms would be a problem, Ron. Now, the question is, where did you find this KA-9100??? They're sweet amps, I had two of them in beautiful condition but had to sell them to buy other gear.
It may depend on the actual load!
(I'm certainly no expert on this topic... but here is my 2 cents...)
I understand that it is normal for the impedance of a speaker to fluctuate somewhat at different frequencies. I would be nervous about the possibility that a speaker rated at 4 Ohms might actually present a load of less than 4 Ohms .. and this could become risky for some amps.
If the amp is being played at low to moderate levels and has sufficient overhead perhaps this is not a major concern, but if the amp is driven harder to achieve higher output levels I would be nervous.
This probably could be the subject of a new thread, but I'd love to hear from the techs in the crowd regarding which amps are particularly well suited for driving low impedance loads, and which ones are known to be problematic. Anecdotal experience from amp owners might tend to be subjective and/or biased... I'd rather hear this from the guys who service the units.
Similarly, it would be interesting to identify speakers that are known to be a challenging or difficult load for amps to drive. Not with the intention of creating a blacklist... just to use an aid for matching speakers with a suitable amp, and avoid damaging perfectly serviceable gear.
(I'm certainly no expert on this topic... but here is my 2 cents...)
I understand that it is normal for the impedance of a speaker to fluctuate somewhat at different frequencies. I would be nervous about the possibility that a speaker rated at 4 Ohms might actually present a load of less than 4 Ohms .. and this could become risky for some amps.
If the amp is being played at low to moderate levels and has sufficient overhead perhaps this is not a major concern, but if the amp is driven harder to achieve higher output levels I would be nervous.
This probably could be the subject of a new thread, but I'd love to hear from the techs in the crowd regarding which amps are particularly well suited for driving low impedance loads, and which ones are known to be problematic. Anecdotal experience from amp owners might tend to be subjective and/or biased... I'd rather hear this from the guys who service the units.
Similarly, it would be interesting to identify speakers that are known to be a challenging or difficult load for amps to drive. Not with the intention of creating a blacklist... just to use an aid for matching speakers with a suitable amp, and avoid damaging perfectly serviceable gear.
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Inspiribomb
Enjoy the journey
My KA-9100's never had a problem with 4-ohm loads and only got slightly warm. That was my experience.
fotno
Lunatic Member
Interesting idea though, as there are times when some speaks can present difficult loads, and that could be a real problem. I don't drive my 5400 all that hard normally, because it's really not powerful enough to drive my AR-3's at high volume. The V-Knob rarely exceeds 10 O'clock.
doucanoe
Registered Audio Abuser
Hey Guys, I just got caught up on my thread. I guess i should check it once in a while 
I found a seller in California that had what appears to be a nice KA 9100 and I have been speaking with him. Actually just negotiated a price and it will be shipped Friday or Saturday. I was thinking of making a move on one of yours Aaron but by the time I got serious they were already gone. No real need for one but now that the Kef's are singing I figured that I should get a nice integrated to drive them with when I get in the mood.
I would imagine that the Kef 105/3's wouldnt pose to difficult a load for the Kenwood even though they are 4 ohm. They are like 92-93 db sensitivity and may dip below 4 ohm but we shall see. After posing the question and discussing it with fotno I figured that I would be reasonably safe. I used to drive my old Kef's with 50w/ch tube and that Denon DRA 825 receiver once in a while and never had any problems.
I would be interesting for someone with more Technical experience to weigh in. Inquiring minds want to know..
RC
I found a seller in California that had what appears to be a nice KA 9100 and I have been speaking with him. Actually just negotiated a price and it will be shipped Friday or Saturday. I was thinking of making a move on one of yours Aaron but by the time I got serious they were already gone. No real need for one but now that the Kef's are singing I figured that I should get a nice integrated to drive them with when I get in the mood.
I would imagine that the Kef 105/3's wouldnt pose to difficult a load for the Kenwood even though they are 4 ohm. They are like 92-93 db sensitivity and may dip below 4 ohm but we shall see. After posing the question and discussing it with fotno I figured that I would be reasonably safe. I used to drive my old Kef's with 50w/ch tube and that Denon DRA 825 receiver once in a while and never had any problems.
I would be interesting for someone with more Technical experience to weigh in. Inquiring minds want to know..
RC
The specs for most amps state that they support speaker loads from 4 to 16 Ohms.... but that doesn't address the question of whether the speaker itself is a "safe" 4 Ohm load, or a "difficult" 4 Ohm load.
(I'd be more than a bit cautious about using 4 Ohm Dogg Digital speakers! LOL)
The KA-9100 in particular is a fairly robust piece of gear, and I wouldn't expect there would be an issue unless the speakers were well below the 4 Ohm spec.
I'm still hoping that some of the more technically qualified AKer's out there will chime in and help seperate the folklore from the reality on this issue.
(I'd be more than a bit cautious about using 4 Ohm Dogg Digital speakers! LOL)
The KA-9100 in particular is a fairly robust piece of gear, and I wouldn't expect there would be an issue unless the speakers were well below the 4 Ohm spec.
I'm still hoping that some of the more technically qualified AKer's out there will chime in and help seperate the folklore from the reality on this issue.
Inspiribomb
Enjoy the journey
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