Hi,

I'm interested in purchasing a pair of M80 speakers that I can keep around for a long time, but my receiver, a Denon 2310ci, is not rated to drive 4 ohm speakers (as far as I can tell). I'm new to this whole 4-ohm-vs-8-vs-6-ohm thing. I tried looking up the stats on even the Denon flagship receiver ($5.5k model) and it didn't seem rated to work with 4 ohm Front speakers either.

Will my receiver work or should I get another or an external amp or what?

Thanks for any help.

Historically, Denons have proven to work just fine with M80s, even down to their cheap receivers. Most receiver aren't rated for 4 ohms for regulatory reasons. When you do get the speakers, whatever you get, leave the receiver set to the highest impedence (ie 8 ohms) you can; anything less will result in current limiting which can damage speakers.

My Denon 2805 I purchased 6 yrs ago drove my 80's just fine for many years, I am now using a 3808 with no problems. All Denon's, even the lower priced models should have no issues. The 80's are very efficient and play verrrry loud with little power.

Thanks for your rapid responses -- I'll go ahead with the purchase.

Are you ordering from the Factory Outlet? You will save 10%, if you don't mind a slight delay...

No problem with the Denon powering the M80s, just keep it on the 8 ohm setting as Ken mentioned. Many of us here have asked the same question in the past and it's not an issue for the Denons to run these speakers.

I'm having trouble understanding the Denon manual. How do I ensure it's set to 8 ohm?

Thanks for the help.

I don't think the Denon's have this setting, I don't believe my 2805 or current 3808 have one. Some other brands like Onkyo have this setting.

Denon uses the phrase "Low Impedence Drive Capability". I believe all their AVR's have this in their specs so ie. it probably negates needing a switch, my 2809 doesn't have one but my older receiver(JVC) did.

Funny you mention JVC, I was just going through some old boxes in my storage room. Came across my old Infinity Bookshelf speakers, Advent center, and JVC Pro Logic receiver, still works great..maybe I should hook it up out in the garage for when I'm working on projects.

Why not? it's better than collecting dust and providing homes for crawly things like my old audio stuff is in the basement .

DB, welcome. Any competently designed modern receiver(certainly including your 2310)can "work with" the M80s, which are relatively easy to drive. The question with it or any other amplifier would be how loud and how long it can power the speakers, since just about any unit can be forced to shut down if stressed too hard for too long.

The reason that the Denons and other comparable receivers aren't officially rated for 4 ohm loads is that the UL(Underwriters Laboratory)tests for overheating and the power rating tests required by FTC(Federal Trade Commission)regulations are quite lengthy. For example, the FTC regs would require being driven at the full rated power into 4 ohms for at least five continuous minutes. These receivers can't do that without overheating and shutting down, but they're fine in the less severe situations which they nearly always face in real world use for home audio.

This line just screams "welcome to the club", so I'll add "Welcome to the forum"!

You should be fine with the Denon, they have a reputation for doing well with 4 ohm speakers, and not doing so well with articulately-written manuals!

On a side note, how do you like the 2310?

I am trying to buy a 1910 locally but they are backordered it seems, so I may be "forced" to go with the 2310

I ran my M80s with a Denon 1804 and had no problems, I would be very surprised if the 2310 couldn't handle them as well. Just remember if you are trying to play LOUD for long periods and/or in a large to very large space, the M80s will strain the Denon(any avr for that matter) and a seperate amp might be needed to run the M80s efficiently.