ive got an 8 ohm radio but its powerin 4 ohm speakers, my question is, where is the issue with this set up?

 

What kind of radio do you have that's 8 ohms for a car? As long as heat isn't an issue and the power supply can take it, you should be fine.

If you're talking home audio, most receivers can run at 4 ohms but will generate a good deal more heat.

 

In your car? Well, in it's simplest terms, it means twice the current for a given output voltage. This will not only put extra stress on the power supply but also the output stage. You can get away with it if you keep the temps down, but that's just getting away with it.

 

the radio i have is a bose gold series cd player that came from a rivera or sumthin... but since its a bose i figure it to be 8 ohms, and it doesnt list the ohms output on it anywhere but the speakers are stock as of now but will be upgraded to entry lvl stuff.

 

if my radio is indeed 8 ohms, then will i eventually hurt the radio and or speakers?

 

If your radio rated at 8 ohms then you might risk dammage to it. It shouldn't take the speakers with it if it does decide to die.

It all depends on how well built (or not) the radio is. Also, I was under the impression that most bose stuff used an external amp?

 

One, it may not be looking for an 8 ohm load. If I remember right (don't bet on my memory), some of the Bose speaker where 8 ohm, some where 2 ohm, some where 1 ohm.

With the radio, it depends. If your listening to it really loud, for 10 hours, through Nevada, with no AC, and temp over 100*, and it built poorly, you could defiantly run into problems. Heat is your nemesis here. The longer the output device's junction are operating at or near there thermal limits, the shorter the life of the device. If you never listen to it loud, you can usually get away with it. But if the radio stops putting out sound, you know why if broke. The easy answer is that doing this is not recommended. And whether or not it will damage the speakers depends on just how it fails.

 

ah.. well i live in michigan and it rarely ever hits 100 let alone 90, and its only loud when the song is good, like some ac/dc or full of guitar like thin lizzy... the radio does have its own amp, as it powers all the speakers.. i jus wanted see if i was gonna eventually pop the speakers or sumthing bc i am planning on replacing them, and the bose wont be permanant, as im tryin to find the correct delco stereo/cd player for my car....