Rotel Receivers w/4 Ohm Speakers

[jrd]

Title kind of says it all. I've got a friend almost talked into a new Rotel receiver, but he's a bit worried about hooking them to his 4 ohm speakers. Anyone have any insight?

[Scherr]

There is conflicting information. The manual for the 1056 says that the receiver should be hooked up to 8 ohm speakers. However, the FAQ for the 1055 on the Rotel website, the predecessor to the 1056, says that the 1055 will work fine for 4 ohm speakers.

Scott

[Andrew Pratt]

The Rotel's will have no problems with 4 ohm speakers...I've personally ran several 4 ohm loads into them with out issue.

[GosonFletchy]

This is an odd issue indeed. I think that the reason the manuals and the units back panel say 8 ohms is because the unit is not designed ventilate the heat that 4 ohm loads would cause the amp to generate. The amp will not just blow up or anything though. The receivers will power 4 ohms just fine but you want to make sure that you ventilate them very well and check them to make sure that they are not getting too hot.

G.

:grab:

[jrd]

Thanks.

Thanks for the replies guys!

[rick c]

for what its worth i called rotel to see if my rotel rsx1056 could be used for 4ohm speakers(dynaudio)and they said "NO".I should not use any 4ohm speakers w/o an amp.I dont remember now exactly what specifics he mentioned but it definatly was not recomended to run 4ohms.

[cmr15]

for what its worth i called rotel to see if my rotel rsx1056 could be used for 4ohm speakers(dynaudio)and they said "NO".I should not use any 4ohm speakers w/o an amp.I dont remember now exactly what specifics he mentioned but it definatly was not recomended to run 4ohms.

My HT store sold me a 1067 receiver and dynaudio speakers. They said no problem with 4 ohms. If you look at the back of the ROTEL 1067 it clearly states "4 ohm minimum" by the speaker binding posts. Check your 1056 in that area for any warning.

Craig

[cmr15]

My HT store sold me a 1067 receiver and dynaudio speakers. They said no problem with 4 ohms. If you look at the back of the ROTEL 1067 it clearly states "4 ohm minimum" by the speaker binding posts. Check your 1056 in that area for any warning.

Craig

... just checked the back panel drawing on the ROTEL website for the 1056. It does clearly state 8 ohm speaker minimum.... interesting.

Craig

[gianni]

for what its worth i called rotel to see if my rotel rsx1056 could be used for 4ohm speakers(dynaudio)and they said "NO".I should not use any 4ohm speakers w/o an amp.I dont remember now exactly what specifics he mentioned but it definatly was not recomended to run 4ohms.

Interesting. Before I bought my 1055 I called Rotel w/ the same question. I was told 4 ohms was no problem. The 8 ohm placard was on there for legal reasons -- part of the UL thing. I have used the 1055 to drive 4 ohm M&Ks all day long and this is just not an issue.

[Can1]

I had e-mail Rotel Canada about the same "4 Ohm speaker" question and I got the following answer from Shane Kea of Rotel Technical Support : "It will run the 4 Ohm speakers, the 8 Ohm rating was placed for the heat dissipation. If you are going to be using 4 Ohm speakers make sure you have the unit well ventilated so that it can dissipate the heat properly." Hope this help.

[DanR]

Shouldn't be a problem as long as he allows for proper ventilation and room temp.

[GregoriusM]

Another question that relates:

Is there a problem running 4 ohm mains with a 6 ohm center and 8 ohm surrounds?

Or do all of the impedances have to match?

RSX-1056 looking to power Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand mains (4 ohm) and Vienna Acoustics Theatro center (6 ohms) and my Paradigm surrounds (8 ohm).

I'm not planning to add any additional amps for a fair while.

Thanks!

[GregoriusM]

I found out my own information by going to my dealer and auditioning the Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand main speakers at 4 ohms each, with a 6 ohm center and 8 ohm surrounds.

The Rotel 1056 at 75 solid watts per channel with ALL CHANNELS driven did a pretty decent job overall, but the 4 ohm mains were crying out for about a 200 w/ch 2-channel amp.

So, in answer, even the lowliest Rotel receiver can easily handle 4 ohm loads.

[alienone]

If you look at http://europe.rotel.com/support/faqs/faqs-rsx1065.htm
it say that it is not a problem running with 4 :T ohm