Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater 8 ohms vs 6 ohms

DS, welcome. The purpose of having a switch or internal setting on a receiver for lower ohm speakers is to satisfy UL(Underwriters Laboratory)safety requirements relating to possible overheating. The lower setting reduces the maximum voltage available, and because of Ohm's Law(power equals volts times amperes; amperes equals voltage divided by impedance)the maximum current and power available are also reduced at the lower ohms setting. The higher setting should always be used, regardless of the impedance of the speakers(even if the manual suggests otherwise for liability reasons)to allow maximum power capacity to be available.

The M60s could handle far more than 120 watts(although in practice this would almost never occur in home use), so this is no cause for concern.