Question Amp vs Speaker ohms question.

[ant_j]

Morning all, a quick Internet search suggests a question asked many times, but with conflicting answers.
Can someone offer reassurance or guidance.
I'm new to home cinema (av amp and speakers, leaving behind home cinema in a box jobby)
I have purchased a set of wharfedale dx1 (nominal rated 4ohm) speakers.
My amp is a pioneer vsx lx53.
The factory setting on the pioneer is 8ohm setting, with optional 6ohm setting.
Any thoughts if/how these should be connected?
Many thanks

 

[PSM1]

The general advice would be to leave it at 8ohms as the 6 ohm setting does nothing that careful use of the volume control can not. However, the 6 ohm setting can affect sound quality which is why it is advised to not use it.
That said, your receiver deserves much better speakers to get the best from it. If funds are tight you would have been better using the money for the front L/R speakers for now and then buy the other speakers as funds allow.

 

[ant_j]

Super, thank you for your explanation and advice. I purchased both the amp and speakers used (separately) so haven't spent too much. This was to "dip my toe" before splashing out too much. Will be setting up in place of the cinema in a box this weekend, however the girlfriend has plans to redecorate the living room and relocate the TV etc next year, at that point I'll look at upgrading the speakers.

 

[BlueWizard]

Though the Wharfedale are rated a 4 ohm, they seem to be a pretty gentle 4 ohms because I see the speakers pair with a lot of low end AV Receivers.

Here is a review that make no mention of the speakers being difficult to drive -

Sound & Vision Review - Wharfedale DX-1 HCP -

Wharfedale DX-1 HCP Speaker System

While the above review shows the Frequency response, they don't show or mention the Impedance -

http://www.soundandvision.com/conte...r-system-ht-labs-measures#V43hgZizZcPKZ590.97

Though they did test the speakers on a US$1200 Pioneer Elite VSX-53.

But Exceptional AV bundles the DX1 with some pretty standard AV Receivers -

http://exceptional-av.co.uk/home-ci...430-w-wharfedale-dx1-5-1-speaker-package.html

http://exceptional-av.co.uk/home-ci...s/onkyo-tx-sr343-with-wharfedale-dx1-5-1.html

http://exceptional-av.co.uk/home-cinema/home-cinema-bundles/yamaha-rx-v379-w-wharfedale-dx1-5-1.html

These must be functional packages or they wouldn't be selling them.

As to the Impedance Setting on the amp, some amps may work differently, but for many all that does is drop the voltage on the power section to help reduce heat, while also reducing power.

As long as the amp is well ventilated, there shouldn't really be any problems using the High Impedance setting. Though if you want, feel free to use the Low Impedance setting.

I used my Yamaha Stereo amp on the high setting while using a 3.2 ohm speaker combination. It work reasonably well, though it did shut down during Lord of the Rings, but I was a bit over 50% volume at the time.

Steve/bluewizard