Question Impedance setting on Marantz NR1608

cptflr

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My amp manual is a bit limited on this topic, and the information I’ve found on the net is a bit confusing - should I set it to 6 ohms or 8+ ohms. If I understand correctly, it should be 6 ohms, but I don’t want to go blowing things up. I rarely need to operate the amp at even close to 50% power, so the question isn’t about maximizing power output or anything like that. Running the amp cooler would obviously be nice.

My setup - 5x 8 ohm speakers (Monitor Audio) + 2x 6 ohm speakers (Onkyo)

Thanks!
 
Set impedance as being the default 8 ohm irrespective of the rated nominal impedance of the speakers.

There's nothing to benefit from using the impedance switching onboard an AV receiver and it is simply there to remove manufacturer liability in the USA. The receiver already has inbuilt protection circuitry that would put the unit into standby if it exceeds its operational temprature. Setting the impedance switch to a lower setting reduces the units rail voltage and starves your speakers of power. This can be detrimental to your speakers.

You may find this article of interest:

Setting the A/V Receiver Impedance Selector Switch


You'll not blow anything up and should leave the impedance switch set to 8 ohm.
 
Thanks!

I read the linked article before posting but it was a bit too much information to process at the time. I’ll read it again on the weekend to make more sense of the technicalities behind it.

I’ll stick to 8 ohms then.

This has been an interesting learning process - It’s amazing how much knowledge is needed to do a somewhat basic installation. I just installed some of the cable and found out my banana plugs (Nakamichi) are too big for both speakers and amp, that after I ordered in a whole pack of them. 😩 I’ve hardwired for now anyway, just trying to get some good sound without breaking stuff.

Next challenge is going to be the tile floor. Might be time to get some rugs.
 
Banana plugs need to be 4mm in diameter for use with most AV receivers, stereo integrated amps or for the terminals on the speakers themselves. This is basically the standard used in most instances.

I don't think Nakamichi make anything but 4mm plugs? Maybe they are difficult to insert as oposed to being too big?

Are these the ones in question:

if so then they are 4mm in diameter.


Have you removed the plastic bungs from the centre of the binding posts? Post new receivers ship with such bungs and they need removing before you'd be able to insert a banana plug. The bungs ordinarilly have a small hole at their centre. Are you confusing this hole with where you'd insert the plug?

 
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Thank you for the additional advice. I did remove the bungs prior to starting.

I had tried it with small cheap unbranded banana plugs, which worked, but maybe simply because they are flimsy - I realized they are also 4mm. On my second attempt, the plugs went in with a tiny bit of force, for both speaker and amp.

On the speaker side, the plugs appear a bit long, unless I’m doing something wrong.
 

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Yeah, that is normal and the pplugs are sometimes longer than the hole they are inserted into.
 

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