Question on Impedance-

[Dieselboy]

I'm looking a set of speakers that list the nominal impedance as 6 ohm and the minimum as 4 ohm. These are rear surround speakers. If I use them in conjuction with my other current 8 ohm speakers (R/L/C) will this cause issues? My reciever is an Elite -21, I'm sort of a noob when it comes to this subject matter, I know that the lower the number, the harder your reciever/amp has to work, but beyond that I don't know too much more. So what's the difference between the nominal and the minimum #'s? Somebody please educate me as to the in's and out's of this subject and whether or not these speakers are a good idea for my 5.1 system?

Thanks!

[kareface]

Well, no matter what you set the volume to, more current rushes into the 4-ohm load, doubling the power delivered (compared to 8-ohm) and the sensitivity or gain. You could end up with impedance dips in complex crossover designs from the effect of shunt capacitance from the woofers low-pass. In an ideal world you should make sure that your speakers impedance match, but this isn't an ideal world. A 4-ohm difference won't likely hurt your receiver, but the down side is your speakers won't sound as nice. However, 90% of the people who use home theaters they bought independently do so with mismatched impedance. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it unless you are trying to drive a much larger difference. Try and keep the difference between 2-4-ohms to insure you don't damage anything.

[zicmubleu]

It appears that your system's manual describes changing the speaker impedance option from 8 ohms to 6 ohms, page 40, but this seems to be for all the speakers. You would be better off getting 8 ohm speakers for your surrounds but if you decide to get the 6 ohm speakers you may want to switch the system to 6 ohm since higher impedance speakers generally won't cause a problem to the amp section of the AVR. Also be sure you run the auto MCACC setup option which should equalize the system for your room, I think. If you use 6 ohm speakers on an 8 ohm setting you might invalidate your warranty, but they, Pioneer, may not be so picky about it.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Dieselboy

I'm looking a set of speakers that list the nominal impedance as 6 ohm and the minimum as 4 ohm. These are rear surround speakers. If I use them in conjuction with my other current 8 ohm speakers (R/L/C) will this cause issues? My reciever is an Elite -21, I'm sort of a noob when it comes to this subject matter, I know that the lower the number, the harder your reciever/amp has to work, but beyond that I don't know too much more. So what's the difference between the nominal and the minimum #'s? Somebody please educate me as to the in's and out's of this subject and whether or not these speakers are a good idea for my 5.1 system?

Thanks!

As long as your receiver/amplifier can handle low impedance speakers, mixing speakers with different impedances will not cause a problem. If your receiver is not capable of handling low impedance speakers, it is a good idea not to turn the volume too high and check the temperature of the receiver to make sure it is not getting too hot.

Read the Impedandance & Sensitivity of a Speaker thread.

[Dieselboy]

So if I get them should I set the reciever to 8 or 6 ohm?