[Joru99]

Hello,

I am a relative N00b in matters of Hi Fi. When my micro stereo system CD/Amplifier/Tunner unit broke down, I needed a cheap replacement so I bought a Teac AG 260 2nd hand.

This cheapo receiver puts out

-25 watts per channel minimum RMS @ 8 ohms.

HOWEVER, I found out AFTER the purchase that I had misread the stats on my old speakers (from my JVC UDX 66 stereo). Instead of the 30 watts @ 8 ohms I THOUGHT they were, they were actually 30 watts @ 3 ohm speakers.

When I plugged these old speakers into the amp, hardly a _whisper_ came out of the speakers, even when I turned up the volume ALL the way with the loudness control on.

So my questions are -

1) Is this normal ? Did I get sold a 2nd hand broken receiver OR the lack of volume is caused by an ohm mismatch between speaker/amplifier?

2) If this is normal ? Is there ANY way to get my old speakers to work with this cheapo receiver?

3) If 2) cant be done, what wattage/ohm speaker specs should I buy ? 8 ohm speakers seem to be common but precisely 25 watt speakers dun seem to be common. What 8 ohm speakers (i.e. wattage range) are OK to use with this receiver ?

Thank you for any help.

A confused n00b.

P.S. - I am using soundcard output (MP3 mostly) into the VHS/Aux plug of this receiver. Is it work it to get 2 rear speakers to stick into the receiver as well as the normal 2 front speakers ? (i.e. will i get use out of 2 rear speakers from soundcard output?)

 

[Canman]

Hello, welcome to Head-fi. Due to the fact that most folks here are headphone fanatics, it might be more difficult to find answers to speaker related questions.

Make sure the volume of your computer is at a reasonable level and all your connections are as they should be. I wouldn't worry about mismatching speaker resistance, as amplifiers are designed to drive variable loads. If anything, a lower resistance speaker (lower ohm) will cause the amplifier to put out more power at the same gain.

Something could be broken, its hard to tell from your description. In general though, 25 watts of power is enough to make noise from just about any speaker. I wouldn't make too much of manufacturer statistics anyway such as power ratings as they often don't mean much. So your issue doesn't sound like a power problem.

As for your 2 rear speakers, save your money and buy a pair of headphones. Oh yes, and sorry about your wallet.

 

[Hirsch]

The wattage rating of the speakers is a limit of sorts. If you drive them too much beyond that point, you risk damaging them. That said, if you don't drive your speakers into clipping, you can usually ignore the ratings on the speaker. I've run speakers rated at 30 watts with a 200 wpc amp and no issues. If you hear clipping, though, it's too loud. I wouldn't try to run speakers rated at 200 watts with a 25 watt amp. However, speakers rated anywhere between 10 and 100 watts could work with it. The only way to find out is to try.

The absence of sound is another issue. If the amp can't generate current into low-impedance loads, then it may have trouble driving those speakers. This shouldn't be silence at those ratings, however. The amp should make some sound, but start clipping at too low a volume. If you've got no sound, or very little sound, coming from the speakers, there's a problem. Make sure you haven't pressed a mute button somewhere. Check the fuse(s) on the amp. Make sure the amp works with other speakers. If the speakers are known to work, and the amp can't make them play at all, I'd suspect problems in the amp.