What ohm setting for my surround sound receiver?

by Frank
(Ireland)

I have 6 ohm speakers, but my receiver can only be set for 4 ohms or 8 ohms. So my question is, which should I set it for? Anybody know the answer to this?

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Hi

The simple answer? It would be safer to set it to 4 ohms on your receiver.

With impedance, you want to try and avoid connecting speakers that have a lower impedance than the AV receiver is designed to handle.

This is because a lower impedance will require more current from the receivers power supply than it is designed to output.

Therefore if you set the AV receiver to 4 ohms, then your 6 ohm speakers will have a higher impedance - which is safer than having speakers with a lower impedance connected to it.

However, this is all theory. In the real world you would probably be fine have the receiver set a 8 ohms - as long as you didn't turn up the receiver to maximum volume for long periods.

But as you have the choice of 4 or 8 ohms, it would be better to have it at 4 ohms to be on the safe side.

You can go here for more information about speaker impedance matching.

All the best.

Paul (Site Editor)

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