Help...Receiver/speaker matchup

[bluseminole]

Well, I am about ready to pull the trigger on a pair on Revel Concerta F12s after several months of saving & listening. My current receiver is similar to the old Onkyo HTR-540, but is the version they included with their HTS-790 HTiB. My question is: can this receiver drive these speakers?

I know that the receiver is rated at 8 ohms, and the speakers are 6 ohms nominal. This is bad. The receiver overheating is unlikely except under heavy loads; it is out in the open with many many feet of ventilation space.

I have a stereo anthem amp (MCA-20), but because my receiver lacks true pre-outs, I need to use the tape-outs, run to a separate pre-amp do-job (its a five-channel personal mixer ), then to the amp, volume-matched with an SPL meter to the other 5 speakers powered by the receiver. This is a temporary measure. But, this only works for analog sources. So for movies and music (I use analog MC), these speakers would be powered by the anthem...no problem. For TV and gaming (digital optical connection), however, they would be powered by the receiver. TV is not nearly as taxing, so my question is is it okay to run these 6ohm speakers with my cheapish 8ohm receiver, or will the receiver melt and blow up, even though I won't be pushing the speakers?

(The receiver does have a protection circuit that I have engaged before while experimenting with a homemade ESL)