I am questioning purchasing a pair of M80's. How well do you think a Denon 1602 that pumps 70wpc into 8 ohms will power them? The M80 is listed as a 4 ohm speaker, but according to the review linked on the website, its impedence curve only dips down to 5 ohms.

the 1602 currently power M22's, QS8's and a VP150 with no hassles.

Hi Patchwork,

No, look closely at the impedance curve measured at the NRC facility and published at audiovideoreviews.com. Between about 150 Hz and 400 Hz, the M80's curve rides the 4-ohm line exactly, which is why it has a nominal 4-ohm impedance rating

Your question may be unanswerable unless you spoke to an engineer at Denon. If Denon has implemented a current-limiting circuit to prevent excess current flow at 4 ohms, the 1602 may power the M80s with no trouble but at greatly reduced power. On the other hand, the M80s are more sensitive and produce much louder sound than other Axioms with less power, so you may be okay. Perhaps other M80 owners will provide some feedback.

Regards,

I was driving my M80's with a Yamaha receiver spec'ed at 85x5 if memory serves. I think Denon tends to underspec their receivers and I wouldn't be surprised if Yamaha over spec'ed. It had no trouble powering the speakers, though certainly my Denon AVR-4802 sounds significantly better to me.

Like all things, I recommend you audition them.

Semi on, did you notice a huge increase in sound quality with movies after moving up to the 4802 from your old yamaha?(i'm guessing it's the rx-v795 or 795a)

-Brian

Yes I did. There was actually some artifacting in the audio that had been driving me nuts for years along with a mild hum in one of the rear channels. Both are gone.

I'm very happy with the purchase.