How to match speakers and amplifier

[Chris_399]

Hi. I've bought some nice speakers and I'm struggling to find the correct amp. My main concern is that the speakers are 6ohma nd the amp is 8 ohm Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Details:

The speakers are:
http/www.audioreview.com/cat/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/wharfedale/cr-40/prd_339923_1594crx.aspx
Wharfedale CR-40. Wondering if this would be the right match? Product Description Bass: 6.5" 165mm Bass Tweeter: 25mm tex Power: 150W Nominal Impedance: 6ohm Sensitivity: 86dB Frequency: 30-20k Crossover: 200,2.2k

The amp I'm interested in is Model Pioneer VSX-516-S
Specs:
• 100 watts x 6 speaker output
• 9 x Surround Modes
• Digital Analog Conversion (DAC): 192kHz/24-Bit
Amplifier Output Details

Output Power / Channel
100 Watt
Output Impedance / Channel
8 Ohm
Frequency Response
at 1 kHz
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)
1.0 %
Channel Qty
6

https/www.cnet.com/products/pioneer-vsx-516-s-av-receiver-6-1-channel/specs/

 

[Kenton82]

Any good solid amp should be able to drive speakers from 4-8 ohms without a problem, the 8 ohm rating on the amp is where the power output is derived from, and is a measurement of resistance. Just keep an eye on the amp temp if you are gonna turn them up. But if i were you, i would go for something with a bit more poke, as this will be under-powering your speakers. But if you are just using these at an easy listening volume, it should be fine!
K

 

[Chris_399]

Thanks K. I've gone ahead and bought the amp as I don't want really loud output (especially as people rent my house!). The amp actually has an impedance (?) switch so I can change it to 6 ohms. Do you think that's the best choice?

Forgive my ignorance but does a 100W amp mean 50W for each speaker? And do 150W speakers mean 75W for each the best match? Thanks again.

Any good solid amp should be able to drive speakers from 4-8 ohms without a problem, the 8 ohm rating on the amp is where the power output is derived from, and is a measurement of resistance. Just keep an eye on the amp temp if you are gonna turn them up. But if i were you, i would go for something with a bit more poke, as this will be under-powering your speakers. But if you are just using these at an easy listening volume, it should be fine!
K

 

[Kenton82]

Hi, no problem. Thats great that it has a switchable impedance! Not many amps these days have that option. It sounds good to me as you dont want to push the system to its limit. As far as the power goes, Yes, i see that the amp IS 100w RMS (Root mean square) You always want to be going on the RMS output, and input of equipment) (RMS is basically the equivalent of AC heating power roughly speaking) So you WILL be getting 100(ish) watts of power to each of your speakers. But, as i said before, it is under-powering them slightly, but at an easy listening volumes will be fine, and even a bit more. The rule i go by is always using an amp that has slightly more power than my speakers, that way you have much more 'headroom' on your system, and to allow for resistance and efficiency. For instance, 150W RMS Speakers I personally would use an amp that had 170-200W RMS per channel to drive the speakers to their correct maximum (being careful not to over-do it!) But this is only for the likes of people that need, or want to listen to music at high levels for a prolonged amount of time.
Hope this helps!
Kenton.