# Just got my Sherwood Newcastle R972 and have 2 questions



## mike in ca (May 15, 2013)

I just received my Sherwood Newcastle R972 today. I was looking at the manual and it has a warning not to hook up to speakers with less than 6 Ohms. My mains are KEF Reference Series 104.2's and are rated at 4 ohms. I put my digital Ohm Meter on the ends of the wire and it read 4.7 Ohms. Since these are very expensive speakers and I just had to buy this new receiver, i really can not afford to replace them. Any suggestions on how to proceed? Can I just put a large 2 Ohm resister on the speaker line or will the R972 be ok just hooking it up to my Kef speakers without it?

Second question is: Will the R972 pass HDMI signals to my TV in standby mode? I don't usually use the surrond sound when i watch regular TV, so if i connect my Satellite box through the HDMI on the receiver, does it have to be turned on to pass the signal. If it needs to be turned on, i will have to go HDMI directly to the TV and use Optical for the surround sound.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Mike


----------



## koyaan (Mar 2, 2010)

I'm sorry to say, the best solution to driving your speakers is a seperate amp. The Sherwood has 7.1 analog outputs that would make this possible. Something like the Outlaw 7075 should handle the problem, but it isn't real cheap. Outlaw often has these on sale or available at a reduced price as an open box item.


----------



## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

Are you able to BI AMP the KEF's with the SHERWOOD ? My ELITE SC35 has a feature to drive a stereo pair of speakers in BI AMP mode...I tried to download the manual to the 972 but it the link is not active on their webpage.... :huh:
Looking at the KEF webpage it seems from 1990 and up the KEF 104.2 was made for bi wiring - do you have 1 or 2 sets of binding posts ??


----------



## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

Just connect the speakers normally and don't turn the volume to 11 and you will be fine.
Got to ask though, how did you manage to pick an AVR that specifically says no less than 6 ohm speakers when you already own 4 ohm speakers ??


----------



## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

RTS100x5 said:


> Are you able to BI AMP the KEF's with the SHERWOOD ? My ELITE SC35 has a feature to drive a stereo pair of speakers in BI AMP mode...I tried to download the manual to the 972 but it the link is not active on their webpage.... :huh:
> Looking at the KEF webpage it seems from 1990 and up the KEF 104.2 was made for bi wiring - do you have 1 or 2 sets of binding posts ??


Can I ask you why you think that biamping will solve his impedance issues?


----------



## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

Im assuming that the individual drivers will be a safer load to drive than together...if the KEF's are bi amp capable, try measuring the impedance of the binding posts separated.... add the fact that bi-amping will produce a superior sound quality... :yes:


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

RTS100x5 said:


> add the fact that bi-amping will produce a superior sound quality... :yes:


It make absolutely no audible difference.


----------



## koyaan (Mar 2, 2010)

chashint said:


> Just connect the speakers normally and don't turn the volume to 11 and you will be fine.
> Got to ask though, how did you manage to pick an AVR that specifically says no less than 6 ohm speakers when you already own 4 ohm speakers ??


This is very probably the case. however, you will occasionally hit transient loads the will put you in the grey area, If your like me and generally listen to signials of 21 with 14 or 16 only when the record level is low on the disc, its probably not a problem,but be careful. I'd still be looking for a beefier power amp as soon as you can afford it.


----------



## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

http://www.kef.com/html/us/explore/about_kef/museum/1980s/reference_series_104_2/index.html 
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/sherwood-newcastle-r-972-av-receiver?page=0,2 

Obviously from my first post I typically put little stock in the AVR manufacturer disclaimers regarding 4 ohm speakers, figuring that if you do not push it to extreme levels it will be fine.
Since this thread bubbled up again I scouted around for real measurements.
After looking at the Sound & Vision measurements on this AVR and KEF rating the speakers using 2.83V instead of 1 watt there may very well be an issue this time.
Very rarely does a magazine review push anything to shutdown, and this AVR shutdown prematurely (IMO).
Perhaps the calibration firmware makes this AVR worth it, but considering we all got by for years without auto calibration I personally don't see how it could.

I would really like for the OP to revisit the thread with some feedback on the AVR.


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Ive been running large 4 ohm tower speakers on my 972 for over 6 months and I listen to it at good levels many times. Never had it shut down or get concernedly hot. If you keep in out in the open I highly doubt it will be an issue.


----------



## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

That's good feedback :T


----------



## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

RTS100x5 said:


> Im assuming that the individual drivers will be a safer load to drive than together...if the KEF's are bi amp capable, try measuring the impedance of the binding posts separated.... add the fact that bi-amping will produce a superior sound quality... :yes:


There's no reason for either of your assumptions.


----------



## ericzim (Jun 24, 2012)

Would a High quality speaker switch that maintains an 8 ohm load regardless of speaker impedance be an option?


----------



## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

ericzim said:


> Would a High quality speaker switch that maintains an 8 ohm load regardless of speaker impedance be an option?


What kind of speaker switch are you talking about that can do this ?
If you have a link handy for one of these devices please post it.


----------



## ericzim (Jun 24, 2012)

The basic 4 speaker set http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=1423
Russound http://www.russound.com/product_detail.php?i=1753


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

ericzim said:


> Would a High quality speaker switch that maintains an 8 ohm load regardless of speaker impedance be an option?


The problem with these speaker switches is that you will loose some power output due to the design. Just use the receiver as is and dont worry about it.


----------



## ericzim (Jun 24, 2012)

tonyvdb said:


> The problem with these speaker switches is that you will loose some power output due to the design. Just use the receiver as is and dont worry about it.


The Monster switch has a bit of a power output soak, the Russound is of better technology with the autoformer for impedance matching as opposed to resistance with the Monster switch. If the OP is worried about the 4ohm load, peace of mind is priceless.


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Like I said before Ive been running large 4ohm speakers (Mission 765s) on my 792 for over 6 months and had not one issue. I play it loud quite often and it never gets even close to hot.


----------



## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

Those switches allow multiple speakers to be connected to a single output but they do not support multi-channel input which is really what an AVR is all about.
I can see usefulness for them though if the purpose is to distribute 2 channel music to multiple locations.


----------

