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Ohms?

C

captincork

New Member
So I am about to buy speakers and a receiver after many years of window shopping and deciding to buy a 6 pack instead. I think that I have put together a pretty decent low budget system but I want to make sure that it will work properly even though the ohms ratings are different.

The speakers: Pioneer SP-FS52 ohms-6
The receiver: Sherwood RX-4109 ohms-8

Will this be an issue?

Has anyone heard these two together? How did they sound?

Thanks for all your help!
 
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That looks like a decent set up for the money.

Despite the fact that the back of the receiver suggests using 8 - 16 ohm speakers, Which I think is pretty ignorant considering at least 50% of the speakers out there have a nominal impedance of less than 8 ohms, and 90% are less than 16 ohms, (Often in the 4 - 6 ohm range), I think you will be fine with the combo your looking at.

6 ohm speakers are pretty much average and based on many favourable reviews of that receiver, I would tend to believe it is stable with a 6 ohm speaker if you don't run it at the full 100 wpc for extended periods. The A + B speaker option is pretty much useless since it's unlikely you will ever find 2 pair of 16 ohm speakers you like in your lifetime. While I don't like the way they do business, making people think they can run 2 pair of speakers at once, still for the money the Sherwood receiver appears to be worth the money.
 
bookshelf

Thanks for the reply! I had a feeling that it would be ok but I just wanted to double check.

But now I have another questions: If I were to buy a pair of bookshelf speakers to run with this system you don't think it would be capable? I think that is what you were saying.

Thanks again!
 
captincork said:
Thanks for the reply! I had a feeling that it would be ok but I just wanted to double check.

But now I have another questions: If I were to buy a pair of bookshelf speakers to run with this system you don't think it would be capable? I think that is what you were saying.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

If you mean a 2'nd pair of bookshelf speakers, You could run them separately from the Pioneers on B Speakers, but use only one pair of speakers at a time.

I was wrong about the A + B speaker switch being useless, It is in fact quite useful, as long as you use one pair of speakers at a time, Preferably 6 ohm or higher. I wouldn't run speakers in series to keep the impedance up, that's fine for light bulbs, but one speaker will effect the other one in a negative way, especially if the speakers are not identical.

One safe way to operate both A + B Speakers would be to install a 20 watt/8 ohm in line resistor, or 2 x 10 watt 16 ohm resistors in parallel (available from parts express) with each speaker. There are also speaker switch boxes that do the same thing. Neither option is expensive.
 
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No, I mean a first pair of bookshelfs, the SP-FS52 is a floor standing speaker.

Ok, so it would work fine if I wanted speakers in different rooms as long as only one pair is running at a time. I guess if I want music throughout the whole house I would need to upgrade at some point.

edit: Does the receiver just not have enough power for four speakers running at the same time? It says that I could run both A and B together.
 
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It depends - some receivers connect A+B speakers in series, which would be OK, 6+6 = 12 Ohms(though volume may not match...). If you hook up one pair of speakers and select "A+B" and the speakers go off... you know they're in series. If they're in parallel as with classic receivers, then two pair of 6 Ohm speakers will present a 3 Ohm load, which will not be good.
 
captincork said:
No, I mean a first pair of bookshelfs, the SP-FS52 is a floor standing speaker.

Ok, so it would work fine if I wanted speakers in different rooms as long as only one pair is running at a time. I guess if I want music throughout the whole house I would need to upgrade at some point.

edit: Does the receiver just not have enough power for four speakers running at the same time? It says that I could run both A and B together.
Click to expand...
It's not a matter of power. Some amps become unstable and will oscillate causing the amp to self destruct in short order once the impedance drops too low. If you look at the back of the receiver, I believe you will see a label that states something like "When using one pair of speakers, they must be 8 ohms, With A + B Speakers use only 16 ohm speakers. This is why I suggest using just one pair at a time.

There are speaker switch boxes that will allow you to drive 4 - 6 pair's of speakers safely from your stereo receiver, which typically use resistors in series with the speakers to protect the amp. While not the ideal set up, I believe for many applications this method will work fine.

http://www.monsterproducts.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=1423#

There are less expensive units than this, I just can't find them now.
 
Thanks everyone, this was pretty informative and I think, maybe, that I have a little more understanding of ohm ratings than I did when I came in.

I am just going to go with the single pair of speakers and receiver and if I decided that I need a second pair, or a sub, I will also upgrade my receiver.

I think it will benefit me just to get something going instead of asking so many questions until I back out, which is usually what happens.
 
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