8 Ohm amp & 6 Ohm Speakers - Hard Distortion (Video to demonstrate)

[geddy]

Hello all,

I have recently purcahsed the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 speaker system along with Yamaha RXV379 amp (configured for 8 Oshm speakers). The Wharfedale speakers nominal impedance is 6 Ohms with 100W power handling.

The Users manual for the amp states that the impedance should be changed if using a 6 or 4 Ohm speakers, but the setting is only available to US and Canada devices. When I connected my 6 Ohm speakers, they produce a strage distored sound. The bass is intermitent, with it often not playing, leaving just the tweeter, and the sound overall is very bad. I have added a link to a short video below to demonstrate.

I have connected a set of 8 Ohm speakers which appear to be working perfectly.

Is this a problem of the speakers (are they broken) or is impedance mis-match causing this loud distortion and bass drop-out. Do I need to send these back to the seller?

Video: https://goo.gl/photos/RCcCC2ZK8Dq7LKLw6

I will be very grateful for your feedback.

 

[expat_mike]

Hello Geddy,

Welcome to the forum.

Do you have this problem with distortion at all volumes, or just at high volumes?

 

[geddy]

Hllo mike,

Thank you for your response!

The speakers are very quiet and they have to have a high 'volume' to make it audible. When turnning the volume up, the distortion gets very audible and a lot worse.

 

[abacus]

1. Make sure the links are fitted on the speakers (Red to Red, Black to Black) and are secured tightly.

2. Connect a twin cable from the amplifier to the speakers (Red to Red, Black to Black) and make sure all connections are secured tightly at both ends. (If using bare wire terminations make sure there are no stray strands touching)

If the problem still occurs, then it looks like there may be a problem with the speakers.

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

6 ohm speaker should be fine. In theory you have to match the source and speaker impedances for maximum power delivery. Note - this is about all I remember from an electrical engineering lecture over 30 years ago. But if your speakers are 6 ohms rather than 8 you shouldn't have a major problem.
Only other thing I can suggest is to check the menus on your receiver for a4/6/8 ohm setting. If may be set using the menu rather than a switch on the back.
Oh and try using the speakers with a different amp. That'll tell you for sure whether it's the amp or speakers that are bad