Zappa Freak Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 My Onkyo 805 has two speaker settings only 4 & 6 ohm? my LaScalas are 8 ohm correct? should my receiver be set to 6 ohm speakers? Confused and not to bright................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Sure. Or 4ohms, either way you're good. What you don't want is a 4ohm load (or less) with the receiver set to 6ohm or higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paducah Home Theater Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 (edited) What does it even do when you set the receiver to a different setting? I've never had one where this is necessary. Edited May 20, 2015 by MetropolisLakeOutfitters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Use default setting of 6ohms and leave it at that. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 The ohm rating is nominal and will change with frequencies. Think of a water hose. At lower impedance or a larger diameter water hose the flow of current is easier. Current drives the speaker and voltage is the pump or force behind it. Most speakers have a point where impedance is low like the RF 7's and 83's for example. This usually near resonance of the speaker and the resistance to flow is high. A 4 ohm load will deliver more current than an 8 ohm load. Most of the time this is off little consequence in a well designed 8 ohm speaker for example. Minimal difference in SQ. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockOn4Klipsch Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 If I recall correctly the 805 has the ability to change the ohm settings as it will go into safety mode as it approaches a specific heat depending on the chosen resistance setting. The 805 runs very hot at the 6ohm setting and will get even hotter on the 4 ohm setting with those difficult loads. It served me well for home theatre use but IMO lacked severely in the 2ch department. Choose the 6 ohm setting as others have suggested. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 The 805 runs very hot at the 6ohm setting and will get even hotter on the 4 ohm setting with those difficult loads. You could fry an egg on it. RO4K, How do you like your Aragon Stage One? I have considered getting one myself many times. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvs1670 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 If 4 ohm is less resistance then why is it a more difficult load? Seems like it would be easier for the amp to drive and create less heat. I'm confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moray james Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 If 4 ohm is less resistance then why is it a more difficult load? Seems like it would be easier for the amp to drive and create less heat. I'm confused. lower impedance loads start to look like a short to the amp and it will try to dump all the current it has onto the low impedance load and that is your heat, high resistance load give the amp something to push on and they are a much easier loads to drive. Hope that helps. . 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 "What does it even do when you set the receiver to a different setting?" It lowers the voltage the amplifier runs on. "and will get even hotter on the 4 ohm setting" Nonsense, the amp will put out less power, and produce less heat (that's why there is a 4Ω setting). "If 4 ohm is less resistance then why is it a more difficult load?" Because a 4Ω load takes twice the current to drive than an 8Ω load does. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvs1670 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Thanks for the info, makes more sense to me now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthews Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 (edited) to throw a wrench into the mix - my Digital Designs amplifier puts out 600 watts per channel at 4 ohms. At 1 ohm, available power approximately doubles to 1200 wpc. And yes, it is 1 ohm stable. It was making my ears pop and feel a little sick to my stomach running it at 1 ohm. There was not enough "juice" for my tastes at 4 ohm. I found a perfect and happy state. currently run it at 2 ohms... Edited May 22, 2015 by Matthews 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyOwn Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Here's a darn good explanation http://www.prestonelectronics.com/audio/Impedance.htm 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 My Onk 717 manual says if ANY of the speakers are 4 Ohm, then set the AVR to 4 Ohm. Otherwise set to 6 Ohm, which covers from 6-16 Ohm. I have 8 Ohm speakers all around except the center which is 4, so I set the Onk to 4 Ohm. I've never had any problems, and for the record, my 717 runs warm, not hot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coli Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 The 4ohm setting throttles the amp so it's less likely to overload. Don't use it if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 (edited) djk and Coli have it right. The impedance switches on AVRs typically limit the power supply to protect itself from overheating. This results in lower available power and earlier onset of clipping (boo! hiss!). In the higher impedance setting the amps are able to provide full rated power and, consequently, can and will generate more heat if called on to do so. Audioholics published an article a few years ago in which they bench tested a bevy of AVRs under both of their impedance settings, and in some cases the differences were significant. Only a few top shelf AVRs didn't exhibit this hamstringing of the power in the "low" impedance setting. For those with AVRs who wish to use the high impedance (and thus higher risk of thermal damage) setting, consider some $5 insurance: Edited May 23, 2015 by Ski Bum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank1938 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 How do you like your Aragon Stage One? I have considered getting one myself many times. Bill, the Aragon Stage One is an excellent pre/pro. I have had mine for many years and I haven't been tempted to replace it or its companion 2007. Stereo Direct produces outstanding imaging and it mates well with my Mcintosh 225 amps. I see no need for a tube preamp in my setup. Aragon components were expensive but their durability is beyond reproach. No HDMI but I question whether HDMI would improve the sound quality of the Stage One. IOW, I highly recommend you try one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 How do you like your Aragon Stage One? I have considered getting one myself many times. Bill, the Aragon Stage One is an excellent pre/pro. I have had mine for many years and I haven't been tempted to replace it or its companion 2007. Stereo Direct produces outstanding imaging and it mates well with my Mcintosh 225 amps. I see no need for a tube preamp in my setup. Aragon components were expensive but their durability is beyond reproach. No HDMI but I question whether HDMI would improve the sound quality of the Stage One. IOW, I highly recommend you try one. Thanks for that feedback. I am loving my NAD T175HD at the moment but have often been curious about the Stage One. I will check the PM you sent me. Thanks, Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenTacey Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 What type of power does an Onkyo supply to the speakers? Does it when overdriven just burn the amp? My amp will drive 15 amps into a nail. When facing any impediance the MOSFET's will shut off if there is a danger from heat. I have had my Stax Earspeakers shut down at 3/4ths of its power but never had trouble with any speaker. Are my earspeakers defective? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockOn4Klipsch Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 The 805 runs very hot at the 6ohm setting and will get even hotter on the 4 ohm setting with those difficult loads. You could fry an egg on it. RO4K, How do you like your Aragon Stage One? I have considered getting one myself many times. Bill Sorry for the delay. I have notifications turned off.I love my stage one , it sounds excellent in stereo direct. They can be had for a good price. I don't see myself replacing it until I have to. A pre/pro with hdmi would be nice for convience but I'm unsure if I would gain much improvement in sound. The 8channel inputs allows for the lossless multi channel play back and sounds excellent as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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