For an answer to all the questions about whether a Marantz receiver can drive 4 ohm speakers or not I wrote marantz. The answer from them is that my SR-8400 can drive 4 ohm speakers without any trouble. I guess I can look at the Epos more seriously now!
The SR8400 should be able to drive 4-ohm speakers without any problems.
Thanks
Jordan Schultz
Marantz Support
I did not ask about dips lower than that. For my purposes, the Epos does not dip below 4 throughout it's spectrum, I am told. You may try an e-mail to them, I got a response in less than an hour.
Patrick - Since I own neither a Marantz SR8400 nor a speaker which dips below 4 Ohms impedance, I'll leave it up to the next person curious about this matter to do the asking. I do, however, find Marantz's answer to be quite bold considering the variability of how a "four Ohm" speaker might load an amplifier. Good luck with your system.
Jan, I agree. I would have liked a bit more definitive answer as well. I do know Tawaun on this forum reported the EPOS not going below 4 ohm ever, I am unsure of other "4 ohm" speakers.
I would hope that the answer from Marantz has been tested by them, not just a guess. I guess I can use that e-mail as ammunition for my claim if my receiver gets hot and blows running a 4 ohm load
If the speakers are stable at 4-ohms, there should be no problem using them with the SR8400. The impedance of some manufacturer's speakers will very quite a bit across the frequency spectrum. If the impedance should drop to 2-ohms, the receiver will respond by going into PROTECT mode, especially at high volumes. This is a built in self-defense mechanism that prevents damage to the units power amps.
Best regards,
Kevin Edwardson Marantz Technical Support
The Epos are stable and do stay above 4 ohm's according to the stereophile measurements.
