Powering B&W 805 with Old Sony 777ES Reciever

[atchudy]

I splurged a little a while back on the speakers, and am not going to be upgrading the amplifier anytime soon since a Rotel RB-180 did not sound very different at normal volumes.

I am wondering is I should switch the Sony 777ES reciever to 4ohms vs 8ohms?

[Karma]

HI,
Exactly which version of the 805's?

Try it. It won't hurt anything. Since you have a choice of impedances and the receiver is solid state, the choices are there for multiple speaker systems. The amp is not capable of doubling its power at 4 ohms. The choice is there to keep multiple systems from overloading the amp. It's a safety feature and means you have rather underpowered receiver.

But really. You have first class speakers with a mid fi receiver. Why bother? Those speakers will show why good amplification is needed. They will reveal every wart in the entire signal path.

Unless you upgrade your amp I think you wasted your money on the speakers.

Sparly

[Phil Rose]

Are you using a sub with the 805s? If so, and you use the receiver crossover to do the bass management you should be OK leaving the switch at 8 ohms. If you are running full-range, your probably better off, from a safety standpoint, running the amp at 4 ohms. It will protect the outputs from excessive current draw.

Also, enjoy the speakers and don't worry, the 777 was a good receiver and should make for a very enjoyable system.