Can my receiver handle a 4 ohm speaker load?

[tryrrthg]

I am thinking of selling my beloved Polks and buying a used pair of Dynaudio 1.3mkII, but will not be able to afford an amp upgrade for a while... I was just wondering if my cheap Yamaha HTR 5240 receiver (75 watts per channel) could/would power them for a few months while I save for an amp upgrade. I obviously don't want to ruin the speakers or my amp. The receiver's manual says it can power 4ohm loads but I am a bit skeptical since it is a pretty cheap receiver... See link below for more info on my receiver

http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/DsplyModel/?gAVR00010HTR-5240

I know the receiver won't do the dyn's justice but I just need to know if it will get me through a few months...

any help or comments would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[RuSsMaN]

Yes, it will work fine for now. Just don't over-drive it, use common sense with the volume.

Cheers,
Russ

[tryrrthg]

Cool! thanks Russ!

That's kind of what I was thinking but just needed some more opinions.

[tryrrthg]

more questions... Which is more likely to be damaged if the receiver did run out of juice? will the receiver see damage before the speaker or the speaker before the amp?

[RuSsMaN]

More than likely if the draw was *too much* for the receiver, it probably has a built-in protection mode, and would shut itself off.

The danger I would worry about is the receiver's amp clipping, and causing damage to the speakers.

Cheers,
Russ

[gidrah]

.... and Bingo was his name-oh.

Welcome to the Forum and nice system! I may have missed previous posts as I drink alot.

[tryrrthg]

How do you know when an amp is clipping?

thanks for the help guys!

[scottvamp]

That is when the amp would "shut down". Going into a "protection mode" and possibly blowing an internal fuse. If it has good protection - wait awhile and then turn the amp back on and it should be fine. Know your limits!!!!;)

[jcaut]

I may be wrong, but I would think that the amp could do some pretty serious clipping and not necessarily trip the protection circuits. You should be able to hear it, though, before it'd be serious enough to cause damage. If you hear distortion on peaks, turn it down.

Unless you frequently listen at high volumes I think your receiver would be fine--- especially if the manual states that a 4 Ohm load is OK. Just keep it well-ventilated, as it'll probably run hotter.

Jason

[tryrrthg]

Thanks again everyone!