I know you need to make sure the impedance matches. I did not see it on the sticker but the speakers say 8 ohms . How many channels out 4 ? divide that by 290

 

Yes, definitely go slightly higher on the speaker impedance rather than lower. A two ohm speaker looks like a near short to the output transistor in the receiver that is expecting 8 ohms impedance. The transistor will flow too many amps of current, eventually overheat and fail.

Rick

 

Contact Crutchfield
Even if you don't buy from them, they will provide technical advice. BTW they are an excellent source for audio products, just sayin

 

No home or profesional speaker system (except dedicated subwoofers) is going to be less than 4 ohms & most will be 8. Apparently the SX-3700 was rated at 45 watts RMS (the most stringent rating method) per channel at 8 ohms or 290 watts (145 per channel) "music power" (in 1980!). The JVCs say they're rated for 120 watts music power each, so they're probably being overdriven at high volumes. Just about any quality speaker should handle 45 watts. I'd look for an old pair of Klipsch Heresys myself. I've got an old pair of Pioneer (I think) floor standing 12" speakers that would be perfect, have to look up the model number next time I'm by the lockup. There's also a neat Frazier speaker group on Facebook - Fraziers were a serious competitor to Klipsch in the 60s & 70s, very efficient, made in Dallas, but very nerdy looking. Biggest problem with old receivers is the switches and variable potentiometers (volume, faders, bass & treble) tend to be crusty & unreliable, but if you're electronically inclined they are often replaceable.

 

Thanks all! That helped! I like the look of the CS-77A's Pioneers and hope to get them at a good price. He has had them since new. The tweeters need to be re-done but still work...I can fix them. They are rated at 65 watts so should be a good match for the Pioneer SX-3700 receiver. I bought the JVC 44's just to have something to listen too in the meantime. They don't hold up well after 4 on the way up to 10. I'm hoping the guy is local because shipping is a beast on these! Great info! Much appreciated! Thank you all! O.G.

 

Careful with wattage, it has to match the type. And there's 3 different ratings. As mentioned there's RMS, which is a distortion free mean, there's Peak which is the full positive amplitude of the sine wave and Peak to Peak which is the full positive and negative sides of the sine.

The better equipment will be rated RMS, so that 45w RMS value is the undistorted value, which will be closer to 70w Peak or 140w P2P. You'll see that a lot in cheap-o car amps, they'll say 1000w, but that's a P2P value to make it sound big and powerful. It's really only 500w Peak or closer to 300w RMS, but even that's a lie, as it's really only the 300w in mono, usually closer to 70-100w per channel.

So when shopping for speakers, they should be rated at @ 50w-65w RMS at 8ohm, and not Peak or P2P.

 

Thanks again! It all worked out! Got the CS-78A's for $275.00 and they only live 12 miles away!

 

Lot's of good information here. I do not have any knowledge to add. But, there's a forum that I follow for the
antiquated audio equipment I own. There's as much audio knowledge there as there is EC knowledge here.

Audiokarma Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums

Home stereo and general audio discussion forums.

audiokarma.org

 

RMS is Root Mean Square
Sort of like your standard deviation in statistical analysis. RMS is .707 of the peak power.
Speakers are often rated RMS, peak power and impedance. I believe these are the characteristics Old Goat is looking for to select compatible speakers 🔊
Good luck!

 

Looked at the Pioneer speakers - CS-F9000 series.
Woofers need reconing, think I even bought a pair and have them "somewhere".

 

Many people use car components. A dual 4 ohm sub will wire to 8 ohm. Must be the smaller magnet, more efficient type though Not sure if infinity has their base speakers in dual 4 ohm, but I'd pick them over base pioneers..

There are also suppliers mostly to shops that have replacement components.

 

Have to match the subs to the cabinet, not just the impedence. Airspace is very important, put the wrong subs in there and they'll bottom out with power applied, burn out the coils and sound like mud, even top-line, expensive subs are limited in that fashion.