Receiver ohm rating vs. Speaker ohm ratings

[Yemm66]

Good morning all. I have been doing some searching and find myself even more confused by contradictory theory/advice. My question is this, I have a Sansui G5000 receiver which has a sticker on the back stating to use speakers with an 8 ohm load. Is it possible to use speakers with a 4 ohm load with this receiver without jeopardizing and subjecting the unit to undue stress? I understand that it may run hotter? with the 4 ohm, but will it shorten the life of the receiver? Thanks in advance for your knowledge. J.

 

[dcmfan]

I wouldn't do it.

At the same time, some one surely is running 4 ohm speakers with a receiver like that and will report "no problems".

But honestly, it's to Sansui's advantage to promote the ability to drive speakers at various ohm ratings, so why declare a limit unless the engineers were concerned about damage or poor performance?

I burned up a vintage receiver years ago with a 4 ohm load, and stick to manufacturers recommendations now.

 

[onemug]

a sticker on the back stating to use speakers with an 8 ohm load.

Doesn't it actually say something like "use 8 ohm speakers when connecting 2 pairs of speakers"? My G9000 says that. That alone would mean the receiver is okay with a single pair of 4 ohm ones.

What I believe...there are some 4 ohm speakers that are easier to drive than some 8 ohm ones. The nominal rating a manufacturer gives his speaker is "his" average of what the impedance is across the musical spectrum from the lowest amount to the highest. If that range varies a lot, the speaker will be a tougher load regardless if it's 4 ohms or 8 ohms.

There is a "sticky" here on how 4 ohm loads stress an amp or receiver if you want more info but yes, a good 4 ohm load will stress an amp more than a good 8 ohm one. If your don't play your music at window rattling levels I think your Sansui is built well enough to handle it (one pair that is).

 

[orsen]

service manual does not list a 4ohm rating

 

[Fun2Learn]

There is a sticky about this in Solid State

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/why-4-ohm-loads-stress-your-amplifier.60386/

 

[whoaru99]

The back panel says, "When you connect two pairs of speaker systems, each of them must have impedance of 8 ohms or more."


The service manual shows A + B speaker selection is parallel.

By this, the unit itself indicates 4 ohms is acceptable. However, if a pair is 4 ohms then NO other speakers can be used (turned on) simultaneously as that will result in less than 4 ohms.

 

[KingBubba]

My G-6000 never did like 4 ohm speakers; even with only 1 pair, it would go into protection even at medium volume.

 

[johnda]

King Bubba has the proof of the pudding. Use 8 ohm speakers as suggested. Your receiver may not blow up, but using 4 ohm speakers is a bad idea.

 

[Yemm66]

I wouldn't do it.

At the same time, some one surely is running 4 ohm speakers with a receiver like that and will report "no problems".

But honestly, it's to Sansui's advantage to promote the ability to drive speakers at various ohm ratings, so why declare a limit unless the engineers were concerned about damage or poor performance?

I burned up a vintage receiver years ago with a 4 ohm load, and stick to manufacturers recommendations now.

Thank you for the reply. I will stick with 8 ohm speakers.

 

[Yemm66]

King Bubba has the proof of the pudding. Use 8 ohm speakers as suggested. Your receiver may not blow up, but using 4 ohm speakers is a bad idea.

Thank you for the information. I am going to stick with 8 ohms speakers to be on the safe side.

 

[Yemm66]

I appreciate everyone's responses. I think just to be safe, I'm going to stick with 8 ohms speakers. I don't want to take a chance on ruining something that's been around so long because I made a silly mistake. Best regards and haveA great weekend