Since I ordered my M80's I've been doing some reading on receivers and am a little concerned my Yamaha 6080B may not be enough for the M80's and VP150. How do I know? It's definitely not rated to 4ohms. The manual only refers to 6 or 8ohms.

Just curious as to what receiver is recommended that won't break the bank? I could get an amp I guess but not sure what plus there's the room issue for an amp.

How big is your room? What kind of volume do you usually listen to?
If your receiver can't handle them, you should start hearing some clipping at high volume due to the lack of power . It might also shut down when listening at loud level after a certain period of time.
I suspect you'll be fine, at least when listening at not crazy loud volume, just give it a try first before investing money on something you might not need.
If your room is big and you listen at loud level, you might need an external amp. For the average receivers, Denons handle the M80s very well, mine never shut down and it only starts clipping at levels that are ridiculously loud.

Try the Yamaha first with the M80's and if you notice clipping or that the receiver shuts down than go with another form of amplification. If not, stick with the receiver. If your current Yamaha receiver has pre-outs and the features you like than I would suggest going with a 2 channel amplifier for the M80's.

If you do set up the M80's with the Yamaha, keep the impedance switch at its highest setting possible (if it has one) which will be either 6ohms or 8ohms.

Another point would be whether you're driving two, five or seven channels...

I definitely don't crank them up that loud. The volumen level is usually at about 30 when watching a movie.

my receiver does have an impedance switch. it says to keep it at 8 for a mix of 6 and 8.

Just wondering if something like the Denon 3803, 3808 or 3810 would be good? I've seen some used/refurbished ones at a decent price that I could pick up. Wouldn't mind something that decodes DTS Master HD and Dolby TrueHD rather than having TMT do the decoding.

Regardless of what the nominal rating of all the speakers that are hooked up to the AVR, keep the switch at 8 ohms. DTS Master HD and Dolby TrueHD decoding along with improved bass management I would consider an important upgrade. Denon makes excellent receivers.

Just curious if a Denon 2311CI would be an ok receiver? I see some on eBay for $550. Not bad if I sell my Yamaha. The one thing I noticed though it has a bit less power than my Yamaha.

Unless your Yamaha is shutting down, there is no sonic advantage to changing receivers. Does the 3311 have any new features you really want?

The 3311 will certainly drive the M80s without trouble. My 2808 performs superbly with the M80s.

There are some features I've been lookimg at HDMI 1.3, DTS Master, Dolby True HD, Audessy EQ etc.

The only reason I'm thinking of doing it now is the longer I wait the less I can get for my current receiver. Right now I think I could get maybe $350.

Dan, at this point being even "a little concerned" would be premature. None of the receivers which you might consider carry an "official" 4 ohm rating. To do so they have to comply with FTC regulations which require, among other things, that they would supply the full rated power into 4 ohms for at least five continuous minutes. None could pass this laboratory test, which would have no significance for real-world listening.

Your 6080 or similar receivers(if you get a different one because of better features, not an imagined 4 ohm problem)should power M80s with no difficulty to all safe listening levels.

As was said, the 4 ohm impedance setting should never be used. It limits output voltage(and consequently current and power)for the purpose of reducing the risk of overheating. Tests show that this cuts the maximum power available roughly in half, so this cure is worse than the disease.

Thanks John,

Right now I have an opportunity to buy a used Denon 3808CI for $700. I have someone interested in my Yammi for $300. I'm thinking for the increased power, better bass management and HD Audio decoders it's worth the $400 outlay.

It's not so much about the 4ohm rating. You guys have put my mind at ease with that.

I saw that Denon too. Very tempting.

Hi DanielB,

Go with the Denon 3808CI. It won't let you down driving the M80s. (JohnK and I agree to disagree on the subjuct of "nanny"-type protection circuitry on some AV receivers (Onkyo) that prematurely balk at 4-ohm loads.)

Regards,
Alan

He's only a 15min drive away from me which is great! I'm going tomorrow morning to take a listen to it to make sure it's working.

Thanks for the input Alan!

I run my M80s with a Denon 3808 and they sound pretty great to me. I have also run them with my older midline Denon 1804 with no problems as well. I bet the Yamaha would work but the Denon works guaranteed unless you go for 100db for long periods

Dan, the "used" 3808 might be a very good deal if it's a factory refurbished unit or is being offered by a reliable source. One point to check on the 3808 is to see if it either came with or was upgraded with the package of improvements that came out about three years ago, which included most notably Audyssey Dynamic EQ, which older 3808s didn't have.

As you say, you'll get better bass management and other features, particularly Audyssey MultEQ XT, which should justify the switch. As far as the "increased power" though, that will almost certainly be insignificant. The difference between 105 and 130 watts is only about 0.9dB in maximum speaker sound level. For example, in typical home rooms the M80 could deliver about 105dB with 105 watts for a brief peak at the listening position, which would increase insignificantly to 105.9dB with 130 watts. So, the power rating is really of little concern for modern HT receivers rated anywhere in the 100-150 watt area.

At least four of our members have used the 3808 with great satisfaction, and you'll likely be very pleased as well. Incidentally, enjoyed your "Why blue?" story, but it's even better if Stalin comments that he knew it would be the only question that Putin had.

I love my 3808. It's the most reliable piece of A/V electronic gear with HDMI I've ever had. I have not had one single thing go wrong with it. I usually swap my stuff out every year or so, but I just haven't seen anything come out that makes me want to say goodbye to the 3808.

If you're into all the 3-D BS, or you want height / width channels, then you need to find something else.

Whoaa...... hold your horses... used?????

I saw it for $700 on Amazon!!!!!!

Chris??

Hmmm. Very strange. I can't find it now. I went to look through my history but I cleared it recently. I looked long and hard at thse amp because of the savings and I almost posted a link on the boards.

There is one at Dakmart for $799. I wonder if that was what I saw. Although, the one I remember did not say refurbished. This one is. I wonder if I saw a mistake that got pulled. Anyway, I took a screenshot this time because I feel a little foolish.

http://www.dakmart.com/p6516/SELD-DENON-...oduct_info.html

Yeah, I couldn't figure out what you were talking about. I'd checked prices(including eCost and Dakmart)before replying to Dan. $700 would be a very good price, assuming it was in good condition and with the upgrades.

Sure, there's a few used ones for about $700 on Amazon.

Well I did end up getting it. Keep in mind I'm in Canada and anything I would have bought from the US I would have had to pay shipping and duties. Actually most places I checked on Amazon for used wouldn't ship to Canada.

The receiver is in excellent condition. I'm not sure how to tell if it has the newer Audessy EQ. What do I need to look for?

I setup my system and ran the Auto EQ. Definitely an improvement in sound compared to my Yammi.

I seem to have run into a problem. I can't seem to get a network connection with the receiver. According to the manual I should be able to check for an update using the GUI under Manual Setup, Option Setup there's a Firmware Update. When I click it I get "connection failed". I've got it plugged into my router. All my other pc's can connect fine.

I can see it has an IP address. Not sure what's wrong? Anyone have any experience with this?

Also tried accessing the receiver via my pc's browser inputting the ip address. I get prompted for an id and password. I don't see anything anywhere about what it could be. Is there a default id and password?

Ok, figured how to get the Firmware Upate to see my network and check for updates. Oh crap, it's actually updating the firmware! I thought it would just tell me if there's an update. Well no movie for me tonight Boy it's slow!

Still haven't figured out the id and password for accessing the receiver via my pc browser.

You really should have gotten the info on this from the seller; e.g., how old is the unit, did it come with the Audyssey improvements, if not, was it upgraded, etc. I googled 3808 firmware update and got these instructions . I'm not sure what sort of update that you're getting now, but it may be a minor one. The Audyssey upgrade used to cost $100, with a rebate available for some time, so if your unit doesn't have them I doubt that you're getting them for free.

As the instructions show, apparently units made after Sept. 2008 had them. Possibly the remote also had the Dynamic Volume or EQ button on it after that date. Does your remote have such a button? If so, operating it switches the display between Dynamic EQ or Volume on or off. If not, the instructions say to check the firmware version by holding Status and Return down while pushing Power on, then press Status twice. This is supposed to display the version, and apparently 01.95 or later has the improvements. After it's finished with whatever it's doing now(don't stop it)you might try that.

I can't figure out why there's two remotes and which to use for what. THis has got to be the worst remote ever!

On the remote with the LCD I do see something labled Dyn EQ and DYN VOL. These are not hard buttons but on the LCD. When I press it nothing happens though.

Hi Dan,

I'm just speculating since I don't own a Denon, but I think the second remote might be to use in a "second zone" like the bedroom or patio or something. I'm pretty sure you'd need an infra-red repeater in the 2nd zone wired back to the Denon to pick up the signals from the 2nd remote.

I think my H/K AV receiver came with two remotes as well. I've never used the 2nd remote because I don't have a second zone. .

Regards,
Alan

Alan has it right. You get a supplied second zone remote for the second zone, but to use it from the second zone you need to run an IR repeater from the second zone to the 3808. It seemed to me to be a sales gimic.

Gotcha! Still don't like these remotes though! The Yamaha remote was clean and simple. It feels like I have to jump through hoops to get what I want with the Denon.

Probably easier to get a universal remote and program it to do what you want.

Dan, if Dynamic EQ is on the remote, that indicates that it's installed. Press the parameter(Para)button and see what parameters are displayed.

Last night I noticed another point re updates: are the last five digits of the serial number below 09001, above 17330, or in between?

I don't see any Parameter button anywhere. If I hit menu onscreen and go to Parameters I see Picture Adjust and Audio. Under Audio I have a few options Surr Parameters, Tone, Room EQ, Night Mode and Audio Delay. I have the Surr Parameter set to off. I ave Cinema EQ set to Off and Room EQ set to Off.

Too lazy to check my serial number lol

I pulled out my Harmony 680 remote from the closet and spent the weekend programming it. Things seem a bit better now.