Hi Mtbound10,
Oh, that's OK. I see all the emails and the audio experts' answers, including your email to Brent and his response. Given the text quoted in the Yamaha manual, I'd agree with Brent. It seems the 863 will be fine with the M80s provided you keep the impedance switch at its highest setting. It seems Yamaha has upgraded the robustness of the amplifier output stages in recent models, if the 863 is any indication and that's a good thing.
Some of my warnings about certain brands go back five years or more and may well be out of date. In recommending certain brands, I err on the side of caution. I know that Denons, Sherwood Newcastles, H/Ks, Outlaws, Rotels have no problems with 4-ohm loads, so that's what I recommend.
We did test quite a few brands when Axiom was deciding to take on an electronics brand that we'd sell on-line, and we wanted one that we knew would be stable driving the M80s, which is one of Axiom's most popular and biggest selling speakers. That's why we picked Sherwood Newcastle, among other reasons.
Regards,
Alan
