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4 Ohm Load

I've got a Pioneer SX-636 receiver at my office that I listen to every day. I've been curious how it would sound if I brought it home for a night to hook up to my Vienna Acoustic Beethoven Concert Grands. The VA's are 4 ohm and my only concern is that the receiver may not enjoy trying to push that load. Anyone have an idea if this is no big deal or smoke waiting to happen? There's a good reason why I'm curious to try this but I won't bore you with that.
Thanks,
Mike
ndfan
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
Using the amp into the 4 ohm load: I would do it.I would start out easy, play music for awhile at moderate/low volumes and see how HOT the amp gets. The heat is the key. You know how hot it gets at the office. If it gets a LOT hotter just playing at moderate levels, then stop, bad.
If it is still just as warm, or even a little warmer, OK crank it up a bit, repeat.
The heat is a big indicator of being overloaded by low impedance.
usblues
1,216 posts
 
Well said E.,B
jea48
2,944 posts
 
http://www.classicaudio.com/value/pio/SX636.html
rrog
1,958 posts
 
You can try it, but don't get your hopes up. Receivers like your Pioneer were designed to work with very efficient 8 ohm speakers and with the right speaker they can sound quite good. I personally have not had good results trying to drive 4 ohm speakers with vintage receivers. 8 ohm speakers with Alnico magnets are no problem.
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
When you look at the Classic Audio site for your amp, it has a listing for 4 ohms. That is good news. The bad news is that the watts rating is almost exactly the same as for 8 ohms. which is BAD news for sound quality. The 4 ohm watts rating should double the 8 ohm watts, and if it does not, it means the amp has a power supply that is insufficient and will strangle it at 4 ohms. And yours is like max'xed out with just TWO extra watts. Whew!
So you can do it, just don't expect miracles......
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