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4 Ohm Speaker with an "8 Ohm Minimum" Reciever

I recently put together a small system consisting of a NAD L54 receiver and a pair of Totem Dreamcatchers. The Dreamcatchers are a 4 Ohm Speaker. The NAD Manual states that the speakers should be 8 ohm minimum. Of course, I did not now this until I purchased everything and had all the components delivered. I would hate to sell the speakers, but I am worried I will damage the receiver.
If I use the system, am I risking damage ? The room that the system is in is very small, and the system will be played at low levels. Thank you.
red68
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Sfar...What are you thinking!! The smaller wire would slightly INCREASE the impedance seen by the amp and make the load easier to drive. Something else caused the change.
bdgregory
1,580 posts
 
Sfar, my bet is the lamp cord had a short
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
The smaller guage wire has a higher resistance and uses more of the current to heat itself. I have seen systems where less than half the output makes it to the speakers. I well remember a "Professional" sound man using at least 75' of 20 gauge wire.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Stanwal...AWG 20 wire is 0.0119 ohms per foot.
150 ft of such wire (75ft round trip) would be 1.78 ohms.
Not really a problem, especially if the speaker is 8 ohms.
almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
8,673 posts
 
I well remember a "Professional" sound man using at least 75' of 20 gauge wire.

LOL!

Of course, Stan and El are BOTH right. The added resistance of speaker cables which are too small a gauge and/or very long would make life easier for the amplifier, by virtue of increasing the load resistance it sees, but would waste power and degrade sonics, particularly by reducing damping factor.

Regards,
-- Al
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