Video Asylum

4 ohm loads for HT Receivers

69.50.41.44

Are there any home theater receivers in the 500 to 1000 dollar range that is reasonably happy hooked up to 4 ohm loads?

I have a pair of magnepan smg a's for the front main speakers, and they are 4 ohm. I would like to buy 3 additional speakers for the center and two rear surrounds and was thinking of maybe some Mirage speakers since they are different than regular box speakers.

Follow Ups:

RE: 4 ohm loads for HT Receivers - mbr12 14:20:53 10/14/08 (0)
I hooked up my Totem Mani-2 to my Denon 4306 (130 wpc) receiver to see what it would do. The Totems are rated at 4 0hms, but drop to 3 0hms. The Denon drove the Totems and they sounded fine, but the receiver got very hot so I shut it down before it shut itself down. This was in 2-channel.
If your speakers are rated at 4 ohm, it's a sure bet they drop lower than that at times. The wattage of the receiver is not the issue, the current is.
Multi-channel a/v receivers may have high wattage ratings, but they can't be trusted and their power supplies and the puny capacitors are not capable of delivering the current necessary to supply 5 or 7 channels long term. Even Denon says their receivers are high current and able to drive low impedance loads. Then their manual says to use 6-16 ohm speakers. That's hardly low impedance.
What I have been doing is using a Denon receiver with the front pre-outs driving a high-current power amp for the front speakers and the receiver powering the other surround channels. It works very well.
Good luck and happy hunting.
I've use NAD receivers with Martin Logan speakers - Daryl Zero 22:31:05 10/07/08 (0)
with no problems. NAD receivers can handle the load with plenty of power though they might not have features you want. Martin Logan's ATF speakers go down to about 5 ohms. I believe Denon receivers were also able to handle such loads. Someone in the AVS forum mentioned that Marantz receivers were able to handle those speakers as well.
RE: 4 ohm loads for HT Receivers - TK421 07:37:43 10/06/08 (0)
My Yamaha RX-V2400 handles my 4-ohm KEF C95 mains without any issues and the receiver's 4/8 ohm selector switch is always left in the 8 ohm position.
RE: 4 ohm loads for HT Receivers - budget fi 09:28:49 10/04/08 (0)
I have been told that Harman Kardon's top receivers will handle lower ohms better than most receivers. I know my avr 7200 ran my martin logan cinema cener channel witout a hitch but it was used for center and rears only. I emailed hk about this and they told me lower ohms would be fine but make sure there is plenty of ventilation because it will run hotter.

In the long run I susspect a dedicated power amp with a larger power supply would be more ideal. Running 5 to 7 channels all at once will put added strain on the shared power supply.

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