Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Yamaha rx-671

Hello fellow Axiomites!

My theater will finally be finished within two weeks! However, as i'm still waiting for the mythical 978 from outlaw, I was thinking of picking up a cheaper receiver till then. I have 3 m80's as the fron three and not sure if this receiver is capable of driving them. I think the left and right can be set to 6 ohm on the receiver, but not the center. Anyway, is the 671 capable of driving them? would the lack of power damage my brand new m80's? one thought i had was to set the crossover high to divert power away from them until I get in the outlaw combo. Please help.

Considering the length of time it has taken for the 978 to even appear, unfortunately, it may remain mythical forever. I don't know about the 671 but as a result of giving up on the appearance of the Outlaw Pre-Pro, a few months ago I bought a Yamaha RXA 2000 on sale and have 2 M80s and a VP160 across the front, a dynamite combination and it sounds great with plenty of volume.

Hi bwallen,

I'd be reluctant to try and drive the three 4-ohm M80s with an inexpensive Yamaha. I'd hedge my bets and get a Denon, because I know the entry-level Denons have no problems--and have never had trouble--driving 4-ohm loads.

Whichever brand you decide to get, if there is an impedance setting, always leave the impedance switch at the highest setting for the 4-ohm M80s. Using a lower impedance switch setting on the receiver will reduce the receiver's power output significantly into 4 ohms; it inserts a voltage limiter into the circuit, thus reducing power output.

With reduced power output, you could drive the three M80s into clipping, resulting in potential damage to the drivers.

Regards,
Alan

How about an rx-A3000 Alan? I saw a sale for this for 1000.

Thanks for the input.

I think you'd be fine with a big Yamaha. I haven't heard any reports from Axiom M80 owners of the large Yamahas shutting down with 4-ohm loads.

Alan

I'm wondering if the newer Denon entry level receivers are still as good. I was reading reviews on the Denon receivers lately and one of them said that the newer amp designs were not as powerful as the earlier designs. He was disappointed with his Denon and returned it for a different brand.

From what I have read in the past few months it doesn't matter if it is entry level or mid to high level. There are numerous pages over on the 'other forum' with pros and cons for each manufacturer. I was looking at Denon or Marantz AVR's (both manufactured by the same company) and they all have issues. As I have done in the past I will probably go for a refurbished unit when I finally decide what to purchase.

I drove my 80s with a Yamaha AS-700, easily.

BW, the 671 would probably do the job if, as always is pointed out, they're not played so loud and so long that overheating shuts down the receiver's protective circuits. Having said that, for reasons mentioned here before, in the price range you're apparently considering(about $500), I'd suggest you look instead at the Onkyo 709 or Denon 2312 from Accessories4less. Maybe even a better suggestion would be to forget the 978 and get a receiver at this time such as the Onkyo 3009 or Denon 4311 would should meet your needs in total.

As Alan pointed out, the lower impedance setting should never be used, regardless of what the rated impedance of the speakers is. This is a legally required provision to help prevent overheating and burning down the city, but does this by limiting the voltage available from the receiver's power supply section. The result is to limit power(the maximum is cut roughly in half)and maximum performance.

bwallen77 what about an Integra DHC-80.3, instead of the outlaw? John, the Integra seems to get pretty good reviews, do you know anything about that unit?

Sure, Alex; I'm well aware of it, especially from the recent S&V tests and review . No question, it's a superb performer, but rather pricey. As you may have gathered, I view the entire concept of a pre-pro and separate amplifier as being flawed, since the present-day receivers do the job in the vast majority of applications and far more economically. Here, for example, as I already suggested above, the Onkyo 3009(especially at the A4L price)blows away the separates competition economically.

I was asking about the integra, due to bwallen77's desire to buy the 978.. I think the integra would be much more feature packed than the proposed outlaw product... Also, comparatively speaking the Integra is pretty cheap... the Anthem D2v is 7,400$$ and the Denon processor is also about 7,400$......


I was also asking for my own benefit :), i will possibly be upgrading my processor in the next few years, as the one i have now does not have HDMI, and i know that you know a lot more about this stuff than myself...

Yes, I'd agree. Even assuming that the 978 appears and is pretty much as advertised(and advertised, and...), the Integra would appear to have an edge.

So Alan,

Maybe a stupid quesiton, but if given the choice, I should leave the ohm selector to 8 vs switching to 6 or 4?

Always 8...

Agreed, 8 is the answer.

bwallen77,

Yes, always at the 8-ohm setting no matter what lower impedances your speakers are. Ignore the owner's manual advice on the impedance switch or settings. In an earlier post, JohnK explained why.

Regards,
Alan

I always thought the answer was 42