I need an interpreter, maybe a new receiver?

[MrSuaveh]

I'm considering purchasing a pair of Infinity Primus 360 speakers. The reviews I've read on these speakers are very good (considering the $400/pair price) but this snippet from Stereophile has me concerned that my receiver won't work well with these speakers.

That said, I don't really what the heck this is telling me and wanted to know if someone could tell me in layman's terms what this means. The reviewer is recommending a 4 ohm amp and my Yamaha RX-496 is 75w x2 into 8 ohm.

The snippet:
"However, with an impedance magnitude that drops below 4 ohms in the lower midrange and high treble and an electrical phase angle that is extreme in the upper bass (fig.1), the speaker needs to be partnered with an amplifier or receiver that can drive low impedances with aplomb. (The combination of 5.2 ohms and –45º phase angle at 93Hz will tax amplifiers rated at 8 ohms.)"

Here's the page it cam from:
http://stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/605infinity/index3.html

So in practical terms will my RX-486 drive these? Or is this review saying I will miss out on lower midrange and high treble? Could someone please interpret this techno stuff?

Thanks,
Rick

 

[Eva]

Those fully qualify as 4 ohm speakers. The result of driving them with an amplifier rated for 8 ohm will depend on how oversized it is. Overcurrent protection may be triggered, also output device SOA may be exceeded with potential failure risk, or it may just work fine, though.

 

[Jorge]

What they are sayng is these speakers are difficult loads and will tax any amp that do not works well with 4 ohms load.

This said, it really means the amp may/will distort in the mids, depending on output level.

 

[jaycee]

You'd be better with a dedicated power amplifier for such a difficult to drive load. Most recievers have only a very simple amplifier section that only works well with easy to drive speakers at 8 ohms.