Nominal Impedence

[x97lyons]

Ok I am going to expose myself as completely lacking knowledge. So here is my question, my kg2's say they have 4 ohm impedence and my center and rears are 2.2v and 2.2's and they say they have 8 ohm impedence. I have a switch on the back that I had to select based on the impedence of my speakers. I seem to be OK since it says to put the switch to the left if the impedence of my fronts are 4ohms or higher and my center and surrounds are 6 ohms and higher. How important is this and what if I had another set of KG2's that I used for rear speakers would they work? I appreciate any responses to clear this up for me.

[Islander]

There has been much discussion about the impedance switch on Yamaha receivers. If you Google "Yamaha impedance switch" or just do a search on this forum, you'll find lots of stuff. In a nutshell, the best advice is to use the 8 ohm setting, no matter what speakers you're using.

That switch reduces the amp's rail voltage, making for thin bass and a tinny sound. That was my experience when I first got my Yamaha RX-V750, and I was very disappointed with its sound for a few months, until I reset the impedance switch and no longer had to turn up the bass control. Even turning up the bass didn't give good sound, but in the 8 ohm position, I was able to set the tone controls to Bypass and still get good sound. It's intended for situations where the receiver is running at very high volume with inadequate ventilation, a worst-case scenario, and is not needed at all in normal use.

VERY IMPORTANT: only move the switch when the unit is powered off, or you will cause damage to it. Power off, switch to 8 ohms, power on, better sound. Never worry about it again.