QRX-5500A in the house!

[spaceman]

Hi folks, I'm still a newbie yet to quad, & still haven't actually got things hooked up too well yet, lol, but today I made a HUGE step in the right direction. A good friend aquired a beautiful QRX-5500A for me, & dropped it off today. Here's a link to some nice pics, in case you're not familiar. www.hifi-museum.com/temp/SansuiQRX-5500A_p.htm I have an important question, regarding speakers. I've read the specs sheet, & see that it's rated to handle 4 ohm speakers, but that's only listed for 2-channel, as far as I can see. All the 4-channel ratings look like 8 ohm, so I'm trying to verify if it'll be safe to use 4x 4 ohm speakers. Now the speakers that I'm hoping to use, are a pair of Genesis IIs, rated at 4 ohms, and a pair of EPI 100s. The EPIs say "nominal" 8 ohms, (at their site) but also have a 4 ohm rating. I've read before that you don't want to use 4x 4 ohm speakers on a normal 2-channel amp, so I'm trying to figure out if the same is true for quads, or were they built a little differently, to make using 4x 4ohm speakers safe to use? Thanx very much for any help.

 

[mtgc]

There should be no problems using either 8 or 4 ohm speakers with the QRX-5500A. I have a 5500A and use 4 ohm speakers all the way around.
As a rule, you can use either 8 or 4 ohm speakers with amplifiers as long as you do not mix them.

MTGC (Michael)

 

[spaceman]

Thanx very much, not only for answering my question, but for giving the answer I was hoping for. I just finished giving it a good cleaning, which it REALLY needed on the inside. I haven't hooked up speakers yet, but listened a little through headphones, and have some troubleshooting to do tomorrow. No right channel, but the meters work, so I think it's gotta be something amiss in the preamp section. I have some De-Oxit, but it must be an old can, because there's no aerosol left in it. :ugham:

 

[spaceman]

A little update, I found another pair of EPI 100s, M100s actually, that are the same as the 100Ws except they have a level control for the tweeter, and a different tweeter flange, but otherwise the same, right down to the real walnut veneer. All my lights work now, & I've cleaned all the pots & switches, and found a bad fuse that I replaced. The only problem I have, is a pitting on the contact surface of the "Direction" switch (had it out of the faceplate & cleaned it good, so I'm sure), but I'm able to just turn it to the 1/4 turn setting, in either direction, and adjust things pretty well with the balance pots. So, mtgc, when you said you use 4-ohm speakers "all the way around", do you mean you use 8 speakers altogether, as in A front & rear & B front & rear, all at once? I'm pretty happy with the sound of just A front & rear, but I'm still gonna have to do something with the Genesis IIs, so maybe I should just find another pair, & do it right (?).

 

[mtgc]

No, I have four speakers, front left and right and rear left and right.

Sorry about the confusion.

MTGC (Michael)

 

[spaceman]

Yeah, it occurs to me, that it might be wise to recap the 'Sui before trying to put that big of a load on it. But if it has all those speaker outputs, you'd think it "should" be able to drive them all, with no problems. This won't be an obsession with me, since my listening area would be pretty cramped with 8 speakers, lol, but it's definitely something to think about.