I have recently saved up my pennies and bought myself a Denon 1803 AV receiver. I am currently saving for some speakers, (I am leaning toward JBL Studio series II, please someone tell me if they think this is not wise) and because I would like to actually hear what surround sound actually sounds like in my own home, I am thinking about using some old speakers that I have acquired.
I would be using four speakers that are from older mini hifi systems (2 x L&R). The impedence on all four speakers is only 4 Ohms each. Is my receiver going to like being connected to these speakers, or is there a chance that the speakers won't be happy with the output of the Denon? I think the manual asks for 8 Ohm speakers.
This would only be a temporary solution until I can save up enough money to afford some decent speakers.
Please help me if you can as I am pretty new to this and would appreciate all the help that I can get.
Hawk
Posted on
Dave:
I appreciate your dilemma, but you risk serious damage to your new Denon receiver running 4 ohm speakers, especially if you run four of them. It may well have a safety fuse that will blow before damage to the circuitry, but I still wouldn't risk it. Run two of them only, and only at a low volume.
If you want five channel surround sound with your Denon, you will need to get a good system that has five 8 ohm speakers. Find a speaker that you like to listen to for music, and that can be purchased in pieces (i.e., buy a pair of mains first, later buy a center channel when you can afford it, finally buy your surrounds).
There are a lot of very good speaker lines where you can build your 5 channel sound in pieces as you get the money together. NHT, KEF, PSB, etc. all offer good speakers that would present a stable load for your receiver.
Good luck
Ken Emrith
Posted on
I need some help. I just bought the Denon 1803 to get 6.1 and replaced my Sony STR 545, but I find that I have to drive the amp up to -15dB in order to hear the center clearly, but then the surround is too loud. I am using the Energy take 5 with a Velodyne powered sub (fantastic bass) and have added an energy surround back speaker. I remember barely cranking the Sony to get good sound. I thought the Denon was a "high power" amp.Should I go back to a Sony or am I doing something wrong?
Hawk
Posted on
Ken:
I don't know about your Sony, but the Denon is a very fine receiver and should have plenty of power for the Energy Take 5s. It actually sounds to me like you need to recalibrate your speakers, increasing the center speaker's volume and decreasing the surrounds.
BTW, can you be more specific about the "energy surround back speaker?" Is it another Take 5 satellite or is it another Energy speaker? This may have something to do with the problem. Nonetheless, you should recalibrate your speaker levels.
Good luck
Derek
Posted on
Hawk's right. I have an 1801 and an 1803 using Energy Take 5s and Athena Point 5s (and I used to have an HSU VTF-2) and I have had no problem with sensitivity. It would be best if you used a microphone to set the sensitivity using the test tones provided by the receivers. Even after that you may find Dolby Pro-Logic needing a couple of dbs on the center channel to increase inteligability. Dolby Digital should be fine. Also, set your speaker distances in the receiver's setup. Early or late relative arrival of the various speakers will make them sound louder.
Hope this helps.
Ken
Posted on
Hawk,Derek, Thanks for the advice.I will re calibrate the speakers and see if it helps. Hawk, I bought an upgraded energy center speaker (encore 1) and am using the take 5 centre speaker as the surround back. When I checked my levels all channels were factory preset at 0dB. Thanks again
Derek
Posted on
Hey I just noticed that Denon has a new receiver - the 1804. It has slightly more power and component video bandwidth, a seperate set of speaker B connectors and a speaker button on the remote. Otherwise they seem exactly the same.
Yawhhhhn!...
Smithers
Posted on
I'm getting the 1804 in a few days, now I need some decent speakers. I heard Monitor 7 or 9 from Paradigm are good for the money.
Hawk
Posted on
Smithers:
What is your budget and what is the size of your room? Do you want it primarily for music or HT (or both equally)?
I have a denon 1803 and a sony dvd/sacd player. While the dvd two against nature in dts-mode suddenly the denon cuts off power. This happens only playing in dts-mode. There are no problems playing the receiver on tuner, tv or cd. What is happening?
Hawk
Posted on
Rob:
I assume when you are playing the DVD player, you are using a surround mode which means you are driving all channels simultaneaously. However, when using the tuner, tv and cd player you may only be in two channel, so the amp is not being taxed as much. In this case, your receiver is shutting down because powering all channels is causing the receiver to over-heat. Thus the protection circuitry is likely causing the shut-down.