Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Impedence Question

I just bought an onkyo 595 which can drive 4 ohm speakers. I haven't hooked it up yet, it just arrived. Currently I have a mismatched system (got a good deal from a friend who was upgrading). They are all 8 ohm compatible. Definitive BP 8B's for mains, cerwin vega center, yamaha bookshelf rears. I don't currently have a sub because I live in an apt.

The weakest link in my system is my center and I would like to upgrade it to a vp150, but I wouldn't be upgrading the rest of the speakers until later.

Now I have a question. Is it a problem for the onkyo to drive a 4ohm center when all the other speakers are 8ohm? There is a switch on the back of the onkyo for 4 ohm speakers and the second position is for 6 ohm + speakers, so I assume I'd have to upgrade all my speakers to 4 ohm (epic 80 sysem) at once or switch to a vp100. Thanks.

You should be fine running the combination you have. If the Onkyo can select the impedance for each output, you should tune it accordingly. I suspect it is a setting for all speaker outputs, and would recommend setting the system up, with speakers connected and testing with both. You probably will/should set it for the majority of the speakers impedances - 6+.

You may be suprised at this, but the weakest link are the Yamaha speakers. The Definitives are decent, and the Vega is ok. I make this statement without knowing the model numbers of the pieces. The only piece of musical gear from Yamaha that I would recommend is a Baby Grand Piano.

Your choice of the Onkyo is made, so we will bypass that. You may notice a change in vocal quality as the voice progresses through the speakers ( centre=>fronts=>rears) The main benefit to geting a matched set by one manufacturer is they should be matched for tonal quality and balance. The voice should not"smear" or change tone when moving around the spectrum.

Regards,

BBIBH

Thanks for the response. Upon rereading my post I realize i didn't say what I wanted it to say. I listed my current speakers simply to give some background. I want to replace my Vega center right away. Secondarily I will be swapping out the yamahas. All my current speakers are 8 ohm. The Axiom 150 center channel is what I'd like to upgrade to. The question is: Can the onkyo drive a 4ohm speaker at the same time it is driving my remaining 8 ohm speakers? I cannot afford to get all the speakers at once, and if I can't drive a single 4 ohm + 4 other 8ohm speakers, I'll get the Axiom 100 center instead.

You should have no difficulty with this. As I mentioned, you may need to test the configuration, and adjust as mecessary to the other setting.

Regards,

BBIBH

The VP150 will work just fine on the 6-ohm + setting on your Onkyo. Only once you have the M80s in the front will you need to change it to the 4-ohm setting.

Ian Colquhoun
President & Chief Engineer