Ken.C. is right.

I use an Onkyo Integra M-504 to drive a pair of Thiel CS 3.6 towers. They are 4 ohm rated speakers and reportedly a difficult load to drive. The Big ONK has no problem whatsoever driving the Thiels to high volumes with no discernable distortion and no problems, all day long.

There were many 4 ohm speakers available in the 80's, including Dahlquists, and KEFs - I'm sure there were more, but those are 2 that come right to mind.

Something is wrong with your speakers, cabling, or your M504.

Good luck.

PS

I just pulled out the manual for the M-504. They are rated at 165 wpc at 8 ohms at 1KHz, 0.003% distortion. They do not give an output rating at 4 ohms.

Worse, the manual indicates that the fault protection circuit may initiate when excessive current appears at the terminals as when speakers of lower impedence are being used.

Looks like I am lucky with mine and the Thiels.

I also have a bunch of old Yamaha M80 amps. They are rated stable to 2 ohms.



Last edited by 2x6spds; 04/29/11 11:23 PM.
Enjoy the Music. Trust your ears. Laugh at Folks Who Claim to Know it All.