Sherwood Receiver Question - Ohms/Speaker Issues

[jackfo10]

I have an outdated Sherwood RX 4109 receiver. I have two speakers wired in right now. They are each Definitive 800 Bookshelve speakers. The Sherwood receiver has been passed down to me so I don't have much info on it, but I keep reading that if you use the A and B speaker function at the same time you must use 16 ohm speakers. At the moment my two speakers are plugged into A only. But, I was looking to use both A and B soon, because I was interested in hooking up a sub or maybe some more speakers. So, at the risk of sounding stupid, is this a cumulative ohm or should each speaker have to be 16 ohm? I can't find the manual for the definitives or find the ohms of them online, but I have a multimeter I was gonna test on them (perhaps someone knows off hand). They say this could really make your receiver shit the bed and it was a hand me down that I was really lucky with, don't want to have to wake up one day to find out I gotta go get a new one just cus the speakers ohms were over working it. Thanks to anyone who can help.

 

[jsmithepa]

16 ohm each, and good luck finding any. Because home speakers are standard 8 ohms and these days, not uncommon 4-6.

Instead of using A+B, you can just use A and wire 2 speakers in series like this:

(+)--------SPEAKER#1------SPEAKER#2--------(-).

The Sherwood won't mind this configuration (won't damage it) but you will get lower output. But you knew there was a price to pay, can't keep throwing stuff at it expecting it can handle anything.

 

[jackfo10]

16 ohm each, and good luck finding any. Because home speakers are standard 8 ohms and these days, not uncommon 4-6.

Instead of using A+B, you can just use A and wire 2 speakers in series like this:

(+)--------SPEAKER#1------SPEAKER#2--------(-).

The Sherwood won't mind this configuration (won't damage it) but you will get lower output. But you knew there was a price to pay, can't keep throwing stuff at it expecting it can handle anything.

Alright thanks. that's how I set them up in A right now. and I know that's why I'm worried going forward, any suggestions for the sub? it would be the coinciding (for the speakers) 800 definitive sub.

 

[jsmithepa]

NOW you throw in a sub. That's more complicated. You now got a crossover issue to content with, unless the Sherwood got a sub out jack.

 

[americanaudiophile]

That receiver is not old enough to assume 16ohm speakers so it was designed to either handle a four ohm load so you can use two pair of 8 ohm speakers in parallet or when you select A+B they are not in parallel but in series. That would add the impedance of the two pairs so the receiver would see 16ohms and not go boom.