I just bought a cool vintage JVC JR-S201 receiver, but on the back where the
speaker jacks are it says something cryptic:

"Caution: Speaker impedence 1+2 (8~16ohm)
Others(4-16ohm)"

The problem is there are only two sets of speaker terminals labelled 1 and 2,
so which others are they referring to that will accept 4ohm speakers? I am
particularly curious because the guy who sold it to me threw in a fairly nice
pair of 4ohm speakers and the amp seems to be in great condition so I guess he
wasn't abusing it with these speakers but I'm wondering which outputs he used??

I'd kind of like to use the 4ohm speakers with this receiver if possible myself
because I don't have any other equipment that will handle them (they'd make
nice surround speakers but my circa 1995 Pioneer A/V piece of crap receiver has
no capacity for 4ohm speakers). For that matter, neither does my Bell tube
receiver (has seperate terminals for 8 or 16 but no 4). And neither does my
little Sanyo DCR 250 receiver circa 1985ish with THE best tuner (digital) I've
ever used, and I'm not a fan of digital tuners (ie Pioneer A/V piece of crap).
Anyway, I digress. Does anyone know what the words in quotes are supposed to
mean that are printed under my two sets of speaker terminals?? Thanks for any
advice!!

In article exzQe.218816$HI.156414@edtnps84,
says...


I just bought a cool vintage JVC JR-S201 receiver, but on the back where the
speaker jacks are it says something cryptic:

"Caution: Speaker impedence 1+2 (8~16ohm)
Others(4-16ohm)"


Hmm I'm starting to think this means that if you use both 1 and 2 speaker
terminals you can't use 4ohm speakers on either of them, but if you only use
one set of speakers on either set of terminals, they can be 4ohm. Does that
sound about right??

"Chevdo" wrote in message
news:EcAQe.244977$on1.121676@clgrps13...
In article exzQe.218816$HI.156414@edtnps84,
says...


I just bought a cool vintage JVC JR-S201 receiver, but on the back where
the
speaker jacks are it says something cryptic:

"Caution: Speaker impedence 1+2 (8~16ohm)
Others(4-16ohm)"


Hmm I'm starting to think this means that if you use both 1 and 2 speaker
terminals you can't use 4ohm speakers on either of them, but if you only
use
one set of speakers on either set of terminals, they can be 4ohm. Does
that
sound about right??


Yes.

Predrag

This receiver can't drive a total load less than 4 ohms, and this note is
warning you about that.

If you are running two pairs of speakers at the same time, the impedance of
either or both should be no lower than 8 ohms. (Two 8-ohm speakers in
parallel is a 4-ohm load.)

If you're only playing one pair of speakers (even though two are connected),
the impedance of either or both can be as low a 4 ohms.

Chevdo wrote:
I just bought a cool vintage JVC JR-S201 receiver, but on the back where the
speaker jacks are it says something cryptic:

"Caution: Speaker impedence 1+2 (8~16ohm)
Others(4-16ohm)"

The problem is there are only two sets of speaker terminals labelled 1 and 2

Does it have terminals for two speakers, or two pairs of speakers? If
it has connections for two pairs of speakers (four terminals for Set 1
and four terminals for Set 2) it will have speaker switches on the
front panel for select Speakers 1, Speakers 2, or both sets of
speakers.

What the label is telling you is that if you have two pairs of speakers
connected, if they're 4 ohm speakers, you can't select both sets to
play at the same time. If you want to be able to run both sets of
speakers simultaneoudly, they need to be 8 ohms or higher. If you're
only connecting one set of speakers, or will be using only one set at a
time, they can be 4 ohm speakers.

You probably won't blow up the receiver instantly if you inadvertently
connect less than a 4 ohm load to it unless you turn it on at full
volume, but consider the label a warning that there's potential for
damage.

In article ,
says...

This receiver can't drive a total load less than 4 ohms, and this note is
warning you about that.

If you are running two pairs of speakers at the same time, the impedance of
either or both should be no lower than 8 ohms. (Two 8-ohm speakers in
parallel is a 4-ohm load.)

If you're only playing one pair of speakers (even though two are connected),
the impedance of either or both can be as low a 4 ohms.



Ahhh ok that makes sense, but is unfortunate. So if I use the 4ohm speakers I
can never have both pairs on at the same time. Hmmm I'm going to have to think
about how to maximize my configuration. Maybe I won't dump the Pioneer A/V
receiver afterall, and use it's pre-amp out to drive the JVC with the 4ohm
bookshelf speakers attatched to it, and leave my big 8ohm tower speakers still
attatched to the Pioneer. But that would suck because I want the JVC's power
pumping my 12" woofers.

In article .com,
says...


Chevdo wrote:
I just bought a cool vintage JVC JR-S201 receiver, but on the back where the
speaker jacks are it says something cryptic:

"Caution: Speaker impedence 1+2 (8~16ohm)
Others(4-16ohm)"

The problem is there are only two sets of speaker terminals labelled 1 and 2


What the label is telling you is that if you have two pairs of speakers
connected, if they're 4 ohm speakers, you can't select both sets to
play at the same time. If you want to be able to run both sets of
speakers simultaneoudly, they need to be 8 ohms or higher. If you're
only connecting one set of speakers, or will be using only one set at a
time, they can be 4 ohm speakers.


yeah that's really disappointing because I often like to have both pairs of
speakers on at the same time. I like turning off the big speakers when it's
late at night or I don't feel like listening to music very loud. I suppose I
could just alternate between the pairs depending on the situation.

You probably won't blow up the receiver instantly if you inadvertently
connect less than a 4 ohm load to it unless you turn it on at full
volume, but consider the label a warning that there's potential for
damage.

Yeah I understand the warning essentially means "we, the manufacturer, are not
entirely confident about the robustness of this amplifier". Surely it must
make a difference that the 4ohm speakers are just tiny bookshelf speakers while
the 8ohm ones are big towers? I mean I'd be much more likely to blow the amp
if I were running two pairs of speakers with the 4ohm ones being big towers and
the 8ohm ones being bookshelf, right? I wish I knew just how likely it is I'd
blow the amp running the two pairs I have at the same time at a comfortable
listening level (ie loud enough to hear the soft passages in a jazz or
classical recording but not so loud that the loud passages are overwhelming).
Then again maybe I am just asking for trouble since a lot of the signals I'll
be pumping out of the speakers will be the ridiculously-compressed and limited
stuff that is the norm for popular recordings these days.

Chevdo wrote:

Yeah I understand the warning essentially means "we, the manufacturer, are
not entirely confident about the robustness of this amplifier".

Actually, it means "we know its limits because we designed it that way.
We're telling you what those limits are. If you choose to exceed those
limits and it breaks, we'll be able to figure that out and we won't
promise to fix it for free. If you wanted a more powerful amplifier,
you should have bought one.

Surely it must
make a difference that the 4ohm speakers are just tiny bookshelf speakers

Well, it means that you probably won't be playing them as loud, but you
don't have individual volume controls for the two speaker outputs. So
if you crank the big towers up to chest-thumping volume and then switch
on the bookshelf speakers, (assuming their efficiency is about the
same, though their power handling capacity is different) you might just
blow them before you damage the amplifier.

No, in your instance, you'd better just use one set of speakers or the
other. The usual rationale for having connections for two sets of
speakers is that you might have one set in the living room and the
other in the den, and either you're listening in one place or the
other. If there are people listening in both places, then you'd best be
sure that your speakers properly match the power rating of the
amplifier when they're connected in parallel. That means that they
should be 8 ohm speakers for this amplifier.

Now understand that the real limit is the current that the output stage
can supply, so if you connect two 4 ohm speakers in parallel (2 ohm
load on the amplifier) if you don't play them very loud, you won't
exceed the current limit. But since you said you like to play the large
speakers loud, you're risking damage.

I wish I knew just how likely it is I'd
blow the amp running the two pairs I have at the same time at a comfortable
listening level

I'd go with the manufacturer's recommendations. But it won't just go
poof if you ease the volume up slowly. You'll hear it start to distort
before the smoke rolls out. If that's loud enough for you, fine. If it
isn't, then you need back off or drop half the load.

In article . com,
says...


Well, it means that you probably won't be playing them as loud, but you
don't have individual volume controls for the two speaker outputs. So
if you crank the big towers up to chest-thumping volume and then switch
on the bookshelf speakers, (assuming their efficiency is about the
same, though their power handling capacity is different) you might just
blow them before you damage the amplifier.

I already have 8ohm bookshelf speakers hooked up to my Pioneer receiver with
the towers so I already know what happens under that type of circumstance - the
bookshelf speakers start to distort way before the towers so I turn them off if
I near that threshold. I think the first thing I'd better do is see if the new
speakers sound anywhere close to as good as the 8ohm ones I'm using. They
probably don't, the brand is Syntech while the brand I'm currently using is
Infinity.


No, in your instance, you'd better just use one set of speakers or the
other. The usual rationale for having connections for two sets of
speakers is that you might have one set in the living room and the
other in the den, and either you're listening in one place or the
other.

I like having sound in front of me and behind me, that was the original
intention of adding two pairs of speaker terminals, not for the situation you
describe. But 3-dimensional stereo listening never got popular, inspite of the
manufacturerers trying their best to make it happen by always providing those
extra terminals even after the quad push failed, because good-sounding speakers
were at a premium in those days and the cost of buying one set was all most
guys could convince their wives to let them buy. During this time (the entire
1970s, and into the 1980s) most people considered having more than one
television set to be extravegant. Times have changed, but clearly some people
still want to listen to stereo music like it's up against a wall. Movie
theaters figured it out a long time ago, and 'home theater' drive of the 1990s
finally drove the concept of more than two speakers as viable into most
people's heads.


If there are people listening in both places, then you'd best be
sure that your speakers properly match the power rating of the
amplifier when they're connected in parallel. That means that they
should be 8 ohm speakers for this amplifier.


See this is the only way people used to be able to get their heads around
multiple speakers, as being just the thing for a fantasy cocktail party with
music piped into different parts of the house. And of course to sell the home
theater receivers they usually included some kind of remote room feature for
people who needed to entertain this fantasy in order to justify the purchase.
But remote room stuff has to be the most under-used feature added to the
arsenal of bells & whistles that innundated the receiver market in the 90s and
continues today. In fact today you're supposed to have three pairs of speakers
in one room for the latest 'surround sound' configuration, plus your center
channel and various woofers to make that steady and almost constant low hz
rumble or white noise they seem to add to all video games, and most vhs/dvd
movies and tv surround channels because people expect something different to
come out of those channels besides the ping-ponging surround is meant for.
These bells & whistles were required to get people to start spending more than
$100 on stereos which is what they were doing by the end of the 80s when the
walkman and boombox convinced manufacturers that they could sell big-looking
component All-in-One systems that sounded completely crappy and weighed next to
nothing with their tiny amplifiers and hollow cheap speakers, and a really
pathetic turntable stuck on top. And people bought these by the truckload even
though they only lasted a year before one or all of the components failed. Now
they buy crappy multimedia speaker sets for their computers and where again you
find the pointless surround-sound rumble channel for video games. I'm not
going to fall for it, Mike. You might as well pack those speakers back up in
your van and drive away.


Now understand that the real limit is the current that the output stage
can supply, so if you connect two 4 ohm speakers in parallel (2 ohm
load on the amplifier) if you don't play them very loud, you won't
exceed the current limit. But since you said you like to play the large
speakers loud, you're risking damage.


I didn't really say that, I said something else. But I already knew what my
options would be upon decyphering the cryptic message.

. You'll hear it start to distort
before the smoke rolls out.

ahh unless I'm in the other room getting the weenies on toothpicks ready and
can't hear what's going on with that pair.

In article ,
ess says...


Chevdo wrote:

Yeah I understand the warning essentially means "we, the manufacturer, are
not entirely confident about the robustness of this amplifier".

It's also
expensive to make an amplifier that can cope with full drive into 2 ohms

Stereo amplifiers actually consist of two amplifiers, so hooking up 4ohm
speakers to both speaker terminal pairs would still only be a 4ohm load on
each amplifier.


In article . com,
adds...


Actually, it means "we know its limits because we designed it that way.
We're telling you what those limits are. If you choose to exceed those
limits and it breaks, we'll be able to figure that out and we won't
promise to fix it for free. If you wanted a more powerful amplifier,
you should have bought one.

Actually that's a load of high impedence.. all car audio is 4ohms simply
because the low voltage from the car's electrical system makes 4ohms a better
design choice. Even the cheapest, wimpiest low-power, lowest-end car audio is
4ohm. So when they put the 4ohm rating in home amps it's just for bragging
rights and to inform the rare weirdo that would want to, that he could wire two
8ohm speakers in series. (which makes no sense at all with the amp I'm dealing
with)

Chevdo wrote:
ess says...
It's also
expensive to make an amplifier that can cope with full drive into 2 ohms

Stereo amplifiers actually consist of two amplifiers, so hooking up 4ohm
speakers to both speaker terminal pairs would still only be a 4ohm load on
each amplifier.

This has nothing to do with stereo. I thought your were talking about
connecting 2 *pairs* of speakers to your stereo amplifier, i.e. 4
speakers, and that if you switch both pairs on, the amplifier connects
them in parallel on each channel.

If you do that and all 4 speakers are 4 ohms, you will be connecting 2
speakers (hence a 2 ohm load) to each amplifier. Your amplifier can't
drive a two ohm load, hence the restriction on speaker impedances
specified in the label on the back of the box.

Anahata

In article ,
says...

Chevdo wrote:
ess says...
It's also
expensive to make an amplifier that can cope with full drive into 2 ohms

Stereo amplifiers actually consist of two amplifiers, so hooking up 4ohm
speakers to both speaker terminal pairs would still only be a 4ohm load on
each amplifier.

This has nothing to do with stereo. I thought your were talking about
connecting 2 *pairs* of speakers to your stereo amplifier, i.e. 4
speakers, and that if you switch both pairs on, the amplifier connects
them in parallel on each channel.

If you do that and all 4 speakers are 4 ohms, you will be connecting 2
speakers (hence a 2 ohm load) to each amplifier. Your amplifier can't
drive a two ohm load, hence the restriction on speaker impedances
specified in the label on the back of the box.


ok you're right about that, I was a little confused.

Anyway the speakers that came with the receiver are definitely car audio
speakers, which explains why they are 4ohm. They sound alright, I can't really
tell any difference between them and the Infinity ones I was using which are
only slightly larger but weigh about the same, both being pretty heavy little
pairs of speakers. The 4ohm ones barely make the amp warm at regular listening
levels so I think I'd probably be alright running the 8ohm pair at the same
time, I tried it for a few seconds and it worked ok, haven't really decided if
I want to do it often though. I assume the amp would heat up quite a bit if it
were working hard and being anywhere near failing. Seems like a pretty decent
receiver but I sure wish my Pioneer SX-3800 hadn't gotten all scratchy in both
channels, that was by far my favorite receiver I've ever owned. I might even
pay to get it fixed some day, although I stupidly drilled some holes in the
front to get inside to try to fix it myself, to no avail. At $20 this JVC
JR-S201 was a steal, though, most people don't really like the design or
recognize it as a decent vintage piece, yet.