4 ohm stable AV Receiver or 5 channel Integrated

Crashdot

Greetings,

I've recently determined that my vintage Polk Audio speakers that are 4 ohm do not work well with my current AV receiver and cause it to shut down at moderate volume. I am looking for any suggestions regarding AV receivers or multi channel integrated amplifiers that can drive 4 ohm speakers. I need two systems, only one of which requires HDMI switching capability. The other will be audio only.

Here are the ones that I have been looking at, but I would appreciate any recommendations or comments. I have read mixed things about NAD quality.

Rotel RSX-1560 $2700
NAD T 755 / T 765 / T 775 / T 785 $1099-3999
Denon AVR-4311CI $2000
- this is the only Denon AVR I know of with 4 ohm support, and I'm not sure if it is accomplished with a current limiter, resistance or if the amp is 4 ohm stable

I have also read that some of the Yamaha and Sony models have an impedance switch that will add resistance, which has not been recommended as it might alter the sound.

Thanks

Face

Which Polks do you have?

If they're not SDA's, check out the Wyred 4 Sound STI-500, it's 2ohm stable and will power just about anything.

jinjuku

Crashdot wrote: »

Greetings,

I've recently determined that my vintage Polk Audio speakers that are 4 ohm do not work well with my current AV receiver and cause it to shut down at moderate volume. I am looking for any suggestions regarding AV receivers or multi channel integrated amplifiers that can drive 4 ohm speakers. I need two systems, only one of which requires HDMI switching capability. The other will be audio only.

Here are the ones that I have been looking at, but I would appreciate any recommendations or comments. I have read mixed things about NAD quality.

Rotel RSX-1560 $2700
NAD T 755 / T 765 / T 775 / T 785 $1099-3999
Denon AVR-4311CI $2000
- this is the only Denon AVR I know of with 4 ohm support, and I'm not sure if it is accomplished with a current limiter, resistance or if the amp is 4 ohm stable

I have also read that some of the Yamaha and Sony models have an impedance switch that will add resistance, which has not been recommended as it might alter the sound.

Thanks

Onkyo and Yamaha have receivers that are 4 ohm stable. I don't know about the impedance switch altering the sound. You would have to try it and use your ears.

For the $$ you are looking at I would do a pre-pro and external amp. Is there a $$ # that you are wanting to stay under?

Is used equipment ok?

Joe08867

I think he is thinking 4ohm stable for the Monitor 5's. Smart move.

The Rotel or NAD would be a good choice. How about Parasound?

Crashdot

Face wrote: »

Which Polks do you have?.

RTA12C and 5jrs

Crashdot

I haven't looked into Parasound or Wyred 4 Sound yet, thanks... I couldn't find any Onkyo that is 4 ohm stable, so I'll download some manuals and double check. Obviously I would like to spend as little as possible, otherwise it becomes more cost effective to replace the speakers instead of spending $4000-6000 on receivers.

Used equipment would be okay, as long as it can be expected to be reliable, but the availability of equipment out here is fairly low, so shipping costs become a factor if the weight or number of items increases. Some people want $250 to ship something like an amp to my address.

I honestly don't know what I should look for with regard to preamp/amp combinations, and I'm not sure which of these include modern surround decoders, so the number of choices is overwhelming.

Thanks!

quadzilla

You can pick up used Sunfire Theater Grand 5 channel amps on fleabay for under 1000. Will do 2 Ohm, so should easily handle 4 Ohm. 400 wpc at 4 Ohm as well, so plenty of power to drive just about anything. That's likely to be my next HT upgrade, then probably the new Marantz HT pre/pro. Total cost will be around 2500 or so for both of them. And the Marantz is getting really good reviews.

tonyb

Look on your local craigslist for an Adcom or B&K, Carver, amp. All can be had for around 3-5 benjamins. Only thing you would need is a receiver with preouts and you'd be all set.

Crashdot

I'm still thinking about what to do in the main listening room, but for the secondary area I was considering one of these... The speakers in this room will be 5 Polk Audio 5jr's (ported)

Comments?

Onkyo TX-NR708

http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-NR708&class=Receiver&p=i

NAD T 747

http://nadelectronics.com/products/av-receivers/T-747-A/V-Surround-Sound-Receiver

hookem1969

How many jr's are you going to use? If you are going for home theatre then you would be better off getting a used sunfire like the previous poster mentioned.And I would find a used receiver that has pre-outs on the cheap.
You will get much better performance by going this route. And when the receiver becomes old and out dated, you keep the sunfire or whatever 5 channel amp you decide to buy and buy another receiver. That is what I would do.

Crashdot

For this room, I would use 5 x 5jrs for music only (not movies). Space is a big factor, as I'm not sure where I will put any amp or receiver yet, and there is a lot of equipment in there already and the racks are full. One reason I am leaning away from most of the preamp/amp combinations I have seen is that they use RCA cables.

One thing that I would be doing is connecting an SACD player, which requires six RCA cables to begin with; with and preamp/amp, another set of six RCA cables woubd be required. I this room that has a lot of electronic gear, I wonder if I will pick up noise on the 36 feet of RCA cable antenna.

I have noticed that some of the more expensive amp models do have TRS or XLR balanced connectors, which would be better in my opinion, but this makes it impossible to use any old receiver as a preamp, and drives the cost up.

Is NAD likely to sound better than Onkyo?

Thanks

Crashdot

Just a final note.. as far as I can tell, the Onkyo and Yamaha receivers will only support 4 ohm speakers in front. NAD does have several models that are 4 ohm stable, but not the T747. I believe the feature to look for in the NAD models is "PowerDrive™ amplifier technology" in the T755-T785. Otherwise, the only 4 ohm stable AV receivers I have found are the Denon AVR-4311CI (no other Denon models aside from separates), Rotel RSX-1560, and Sunfire Theater Grand Receiver TGR-401.

Of note is that many models list a 4 ohm power rating or claim low impedance capability, but are not actually 4 ohm stable, so it is necessary to read the manual and verify explicit support for 4 ohm speakers.