I'm new to this forum but have been reading post for a while and the site to be very informative.
The other day I went to a shop that sells mostly high end stuff to buy in ceiling speakers for my surounds. I left the with Polk rc60i for the surrounds, totem dream catchers for the fronts and center and a $800 charg.
The fronts are 4 ohms. My receiver is (onkyo HT-R510) is rated at 100w/channel. The manual says do not use speakers rated below 8 ohms. But in the specs it says Dynamic Power Output: 170w X 2 at 4 ohms. Is it safe to run these speakers? I have had no problem with them so far at any volume and they sound great. Don't have much to compare it with but a lot better than the onkyo ones that came with the receiver. Also, if it's okay, is this receiver going to be sufficient to make these speakers sound close to their potential or will a better receiver sound a lot better?
If the manual says not to use speakers below 8 ohms, then don't use them. Dynamic power is different than the regualr power. Dynamic power is like a "peak" power. It is of very short duration (fractions of a second). The amp can handle dipping into 4 ohms for short periods of time, not for long periods. The amp will overheat and burn out if used at 4 ohms for any length of time.
The manual says it may damage receiver. So far no problems though. Sounds great, receiver not hotter than usual. However, I don't want to have to buy a new receiver. Maybe I should exchange the speakers. Thanks.