Ohms question...

[JamoRoss]

Hello everyone,

First time poster here and with good reason! I have recently aquired a pair of Jamo Classic 6's and I'm looking at getting an amp for them.

So I've seen on here that the 'Marantz PM6004' would be an ideal amp for my first amp purchase. Mainly used AIWA stereos before, but now I'm in a position to do a little bit of upgrading.

So natually I was dissapointed to read that the PM6004 is 8 Ohms and my Jamo Classic 6's are only 4 Ohms. Now am I right in thinking they have to match, or does some calculation have to be done? E.g. 2 x 4 Ohms speakers amount to 8 Ohms anyway?

I could also do with some advice on cabling and the type of connectors there are on the back of the PM6004 (bannanas?) as the cables they came with are old and brittle now. Ideally they need to be flat (maybe clear?) cables to potentially go under carpet or round the skirting board, so they're unseen... Basically.

If you have any other suggestions as far as amps go, then please don't hesistate to suggest any. (Although I do have my heart set on the PM6004!)

Thanks in advance!

Ross

 

[altruistic.lemon]

No worries with the PM6004, mate, because it's rated at 65 watts into 4 ohms so can drive your speakers.

 

[JamoRoss]

No worries with the PM6004, mate, because it's rated at 65 watts into 4 ohms so can drive your speakers.

Excellent, thanks for the fast reply. Can you go into a bit more detail about that though? So I know for future reference?

Thanks again.

 

[shafesk]

Hello everyone,

First time poster here and with good reason! I have recently aquired a pair of Jamo Classic 6's and I'm looking at getting an amp for them.

So I've seen on here that the 'Marantz PM6004' would be an ideal amp for my first amp purchase. Mainly used AIWA stereos before, but now I'm in a position to do a little bit of upgrading.

So natually I was dissapointed to read that the PM6004 is 8 Ohms and my Jamo Classic 6's are only 4 Ohms. Now am I right in thinking they have to match, or does some calculation have to be done? E.g. 2 x 4 Ohms speakers amount to 8 Ohms anyway?

I could also do with some advice on cabling and the type of connectors there are on the back of the PM6004 (bannanas?) as the cables they came with are old and brittle now. Ideally they need to be flat (maybe clear?) cables to potentially go under carpet or round the skirting board, so they're unseen... Basically.

If you have any other suggestions as far as amps go, then please don't hesistate to suggest any. (Although I do have my heart set on the PM6004!)

Thanks in advance!

Ross

Welcome to the forums Ross, soon you'll feel right at home. For starters, the issue of Ohms are no longer as important as they were a few decades ago. Amps nowadays are quoted at 8 and 4 ohms almost all amps work at both and also go lower. Its all a lot of electrical boohaa so I wouldn't go into detail. Just pick the best modern amplifier you can afford without worrying about electrical compatibility. What you need to pay attention to is how it sounds with different amps.

As for speaker wires, go with the likes of Chord or QED or ask your dealer what he/she thinks is ideal. There are also plenty of flat wire cables available on the market ideal for running under carpets.

Best of luck,

Shafin

 

[altruistic.lemon]

shafesk, think you're wrong mate. Ohms are just as important now as they were decades ago. Don't forget ohms do not remain constant when a speaker is in use and can drop in some cases to 2 ohms. As a minimum I'd always check that an amp (and most of them do, I agree) can run happily at 4 ohms. If you have Dynaudios, it's a must, and my maggies are 4 ohm which is why I rang Naim to make sure the Nait 5i could cope.

Some things you can't dumb down

 

[JamoRoss]

Thanks for the information guys... Just looking at some QED and Creative 'APT-X' bluetooth wizardry.

I've seen a lot of talk about analog to digital converters, what's that about? I assume for turntable use?

 

[shafesk]

shafesk, think you're wrong mate. Ohms are just as important now as they were decades ago. Don't forget ohms do not remain constant when a speaker is in use and can drop in some cases to 2 ohms. As a minimum I'd always check that an amp (and most of them do, I agree) can run happily at 4 ohms. If you have Dynaudios, it's a must, and my maggies are 4 ohm which is why I rang Naim to make sure the Nait 5i could cope.

Some things you can't dumb down

Rolling up my nerd sleeves The case is different with Magnepans, they are electrosats which you will agree are different from dynamic drivers in terms of current requirement i.e they need far better current than dynamic drivers. If the speakers are relatively new and are dynamic (which Im pretty sure the Jamos are) then it should be ok with most modern amps today and all you have to do is match the minimum recommended power requirement stated by the manufacturer. There is also no specification you can look at which will show you that an amp performs well at 4 ohms. All you can do is look at how much power it delivers at different ohms. An ideal amp should deliver double the power as the ohms decrease, i.e 40 @ 8ohms and 80 @ 4ohms but not all manufacturers show these ratings and very few amps meet this benchmark. If there is any other way to know how happy an amp is at 4 ohms I'm not aware of it Just trying to help the op without having a 'cable argument'.

Read somewhere the Naims churn out 500 watts at 2 ohms, you should be golden then :dance:

 

[JamoRoss]

Thanks for your help! Looking at the QED uPlay Bluetooth reciever and Creative bluetooth dongle for my laptop right about now. Loving the sound of Apt-X. CD quality is what I crave!