Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions enough power

the yamaha can handle the 4 ohm load. you can change the settings on it for the 4,6 or 8ohms speakers. the orbs are set up in the mod 2 configuration which means there are 2 speakers wired together for each side which make them a 4ohms load also.i have been fooling around with all the adjustments for awhile and the orb guys have been great but i just feel im missing something and it could be because i had cerwin vegas for the last 16 years or so. and even though they arent close to to the quality sound im getting from the orbs i guess im used to getting that big sound punch.i have fooled around with the crossover settings, the bass on the sub along with the bass and treble on the receiver. maybe its just me but im looking for what i had but just a lot cleaner sound thus the search for towers

How do you have the impedance switch set? No matter the rating of the speaker it should be set to 8 ohm. I do recall Mikey (MDrew) had a 661 I believe and he was able to shut it down at higher dbs. That's why I said the Yammy might shut down on some headbanging.

jg, as Rick mentioned, you don't want to screw with the 4-8ohm switch on the receiver, LEAVE IT ON 8ohms, all your doing is limiting the voltage and power of your receiver.

i havent touched the setting as that what i was told my yamaha when i called to double check but its available to use under certain circumstances which im sure ill never get into but it is a capable of handling the 4 ohm load with no problem

yep, and if your using 4ohm speakers, you still leave the switch to 8ohm.

JG,

In case the comments about going against the grain with the switch setting are confusing, here is a good explanation of why everyone is recommending that you not change the switch from the 8-ohm setting.



While it seems counterintuitive, it is in fact good advice.

Jason

Yeah, John; since the Mod 2 Orbs are formed by using two Mod 1s in parallel, the resulting impedance is about 4 ohms and is similar to the M80s in that respect. As was pointed out, the 8 ohm receiver setting is still the appropriate one, not the lower setting which reduces voltage and in turn reduces current and power to help prevent overheating.

The Orbs are very small and do distort at higher sound levels(even if a 150Hz crossover is used)which the M80s can handle cleanly.

So I have a separate power amp that has a 4 / 8 ohm switch. Should I keep the switch set to 8 ohm here too for my M80's, or is this just for receivers? I believe the manual says to select 4 ohm for a 4 ohm speaker.

Thoughts?

paul

Paul, exactly the same facts apply: this lower setting in no way "optimizes" the amplifier for handling the speakers with a lower impedance rating, as some imagine. This is purely a safety-related measure intended to limit the possibility of overheating, pursuant to UL requirements. It does this by limiting the voltage which is available on the power supply "rails", and following Ohm's Law, when the voltage is reduced so is the current and power. This of course reduces the possibility of overheating, but does so at the expense of maximum performance. Some lab tests(e.g., Sound&Vision)usually include the result of using the lower impedance setting and have found that it cuts the maximum power capability roughly in half.

Wow, thanks John, that is good to know. I will make the changes right away.

paul