Paul, thank you for always choosing the relevant questions. Outstanding work.

@m3n4cE6

Жыл бұрын

british/israeli V Lad Put in russian government

As always a pleasure to hear your explanations... it seems you don't prepare the answer because you don't know in advance the questions... if this is simulated to give a good sense of spontaneity, you are a master. Anyway, I enjoy it so much!

Hey Paul, I just wanted to mention, I enjoy your videos very much! Almost always I learn something new (also this video), sometimes something about PS Audio or you (your personal experiences), but in any case its always short, understandable and honest. Very kind of you to take the time to listen to us and share your view. Thanks! (greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱 )

@xburgos1

6 жыл бұрын

So I’m I ok using some Zu Audio 16 ohm speakers with either a tube amp or a solid state amp or even a hybrid like your amazing BHK (awww just dreaming again) ?

@Justwantahover

6 жыл бұрын

+Angelo I copied&pasted your comment to Paul, and I changed the last bit to "greetings from Australia". lol

So you just spoke right over my head for the most part and I felt frustrated and ready to turn it off, then towards the end it started coming together and the very ending in all its simplicity really cleared up about 10 other questions for me. Thanks

Hey Paul, I just wanted to mention, I enjoy your videos very much! Almost always I learn something new (also this video), sometimes something about PS Audio or you (your personal experiences), but in any case its always short, understandable and honest. Very kind of you to take the time to listen to us and share your view. Thanks! (greetings from Australia, this time).

3/2023: Thanks Paul. Answered my questions very well.

6:53 here you go

@ramsin.

3 жыл бұрын

Lmao. I love you for this.

@dougthompson8226

3 жыл бұрын

what if it`s a tube amp ?

Very helpful, thanks Paul!

The fact that you can stop mid sentence and go "is there a transformer around here" and find one in 5 seconds proves you have the best job in the world

@s.d.g.global4582

Жыл бұрын

My wife stops mid sentence and grabs a Decepticon... To survive i float like a bumblebee and get the hell out of there.

@TheWannabe2007

4 ай бұрын

I think there's more here than meets the eye.

Best so far. This is tricky for a simpleton like me. Thank you so much!

Learned something again. Thanks Paul.

On tube amps, you must use the amp output terminal that is nearest value below (floor) to the speaker rated impedance. For example if the speaker impedance is said to be 6 ohm, you should use the 4 ohm terminal. You won't damage the speaker or the amp if you plug the speakers to the higher rating (6 ohm connected to 8 ohm), but current transmission won't be optimum and you will probably sacrifice the amp bandwidth flatness.

Thanks Paul for explaining, I was doing research on the Stellar 700 and now your explanation makes more sense to me. I ordered the Stellar 700 and can’t wait to get them.🤗😎

thank you! i really learned something today! up gradeing my lound system, needed to know that!

Good question and answered well.

Love these videos by Paul, one can learn so much from this gentleman For me most of it went over my head 😂 gonna have to watch couple of times. Keep up the good work Sir.

Good way to explain things paul ❤

These output transformers are still the way to go (and very important) in tube guitar amplifiers. Having multiple taps allows you to connect to different speaker cabinets, which can be up to 16ohms in many cases.

@m3n4cE6

Жыл бұрын

yes

Thanks for the video I often wondered about this.

Thank you very much. I want to use some old 4ohm car speakers in the garden for Halloween and will use an old Denon 8 ohm amp to drive them. Spooky music awaits!!

@TheBinaryWolf

3 ай бұрын

8 Ohms into 4 sounds risky. My understanding is that at even at moderate volume, the circuit will overheat. I believe adding a 4 ohm resistor will make your connection safe. The resistor ought to be about 25 watts to accommodate the heat dissipation. But I am not an expert.

@crazykittenvideos855

3 ай бұрын

@@TheBinaryWolf it’s ok, I found the old speakers were 8 ohm in the end so all good. Scared the life out of any visitors 👻

Hummm now I know why John Curl uses some 2ohm speakers to voice and test all his designs. Good video Paul. Thanks

Wow thanks that cleared up what I wanted to know

Thank you for the information.

Great Explanation

I run 8 ohm on 4 ohm amps. I have line amps to boost the signal. Class a/b amps that I use love this method. Class D doesn't appear to (turbo like ab) have this advantage, they just hit the wall and that's it.

Your right. Great video

Glad I found your site. It's so hard to find a practitioner of the dark arts.😁

In the manual for my Technical Pro receiver, it says the RX55URIBT works most efficiently when using 8 Ohm speakers. I use 6 Ohm Dayton Floorstanders and everything is fine at volume 57Db or 54Db out of 60Db on it's volume scale. But I am using 2 speakers not 5.

Some older solid state amps had the switches to match impedance by changing the NFB resistor value so as to keep 1) gain equal and 2) frequency response the same. As another commenter stated speaker loads are dynamic. The load impedance changes per frequency (note the specs usually say 8 ohms at 1khz). The NFB in a solid state amp can detect the change in current draw through the speaker based on the frequency and adjust the gain accordingly, making it relatively flat. It's almost like the servo controlled woofer you talk about in another video of yours. Also for a tube amp, the output transformer also converts the 300+ volts to 10-15 for the speaker. Good explanation otherwise.

Ouf!!! this one was not that easy to explain in simple words. Good job.

It is important to say that the amplifiers has a minimum of impedance, and it's not good idea going down from this levels beacouse it is very possible to generate an over current or overloaded it and burning out the output of the amp.

@fareedaramdial7000

2 жыл бұрын

i blew many 8 ohm amps by using 4 ohm speakers in the 70s....so older amps did have this problems...modern amps idont know.

@bagazheful

2 жыл бұрын

I also thought it was the main question of this video

@mg82341m

Жыл бұрын

I have harman kardon hk795i which produces a brum noise on left channel if connected with 4 Ohm speakers and works just fine with 8 Ohm speakers. But at the back it is declared as 8 Ohm MIN for one pair of speakers and 16 Ohm MIN for two pairs of speakers. So for some older amps I would say impedance does matter.

@MrBallynally2

3 ай бұрын

You must have cranked the amp f quite a long time ( as one did back then)

Can you use mono block amplifiers on bookshelf speakers or would you say they are better for big floorstanding?

Very good video, thank you

I fried the output transistors on a Marantz 2265b using it with a pair of OHM Model I speakers on which the 12" woofers can dip to 2-3 ohms. I pushed the volume up to compensate and poof. I should have known given that those OHM's were rated to handle 1000 watts with a 100 watt minimum.

Solid state guitar amplifiers there is often a Zobel network in the output that will add a bit to the output impedance and this is what usually gives the output impedance- without the zobel the output would essentially be 0 ohms for solid state amps

Yamaha uses impedance switch, but you leave it at 8ohm if it is well ventilated or 4 ohms if the speakers is very hard to drive.

Another thing to consider is that a speakers impedance is variable and highly frequency dependant. What it is rated for is often just an average across the audio spectrum or sometimes simply the impedance when played with a 1kHz test tone.

@flemingcourt

Жыл бұрын

It's always an average.

I went to the Phase Linear factory in about 1980. The had a model 400 (200 w/channel) running about 8 speakers per channel in their production space, filling the large room to a moderate volume level. The VU meters were really "dancing." As the VU meters are not a fast response indicator (as opposed to the LED VU meters on the HK Citation 15 amplifier), I am guessing that they were probably putting out a peak power output somewhere between 100 to 200 watts. Ultimately, you are constrained by several factors: how much power that the power supply can cleanly deliver into the amplifier is the first thing, and how much power the output transistors can deliver is the second. Some can handle more current, which makes driving a lower impedance load possible, and others cannot. If your amplifier is running hot, whisper fans blowing across your heat sinks will help, but they will raise the background noise in the room.

another good video... 👍

Nice video ... Thanks

thanks for right advice..

Just bought a Yamaha RX-V673 to replace the Pioneer receiver that came part of the MCS-737 set I got years ago, speakers are 4ohm, amp can do 6 and 8, have set it to 6 and am told it should be ok as long as I don't go crazy with the volume. Fingers crossed.

Unless you have an AMAZINGLY weak amplifier, the answer is a resounding YES. You CAN run 4ohm speakers on an amp rated for 8ohms. Two things to be aware of: 1) The rated wattage assumes an 8ohm load, but the dissipation will be higher at 4 ohms. 2) However, the higher current at 4 ohms will cause the amp to run hotter. You may need to back the volume down a bit to keep the current at the rated limits.

@cat-lw6kq

4 жыл бұрын

Yes but I have an amp and it says on the back side 8 ohm speakers only. So I agree I can use 4 ohm speakers but it will run hotter.

@CrustyBiker

2 жыл бұрын

If the hifi amp is meant to drive 2x 75watt 4 ohms speakers then it should be able to drive x2 50watt 6 ohms speakers easy? Just be careful on volume for speakers sake, is this correct??

@stevenjack23331

2 жыл бұрын

@@CrustyBiker yes it will be fine and volume shouldnt be an issue either because running 6ohm on a 4ohm output will actually drop your wattage. More resistance means less power and less heat. Run 2ohm on the 4ohm output and you decrease the resistance therefore producing more power and more heat.

There are older solid state amps that has the switch for higher inpedance load. Gives you a slight voltage bump - good for the "high Z" power. But not recommended for low impedance loads as the amp might overheat or PSU run out of juice. Some Pro amps (ex LAB gruppen) have low Z (mls) swithes, which make the amplifier stable down to 2ohm or even less (reduces output voltage). BTW. No amplifer deliver Watts. They deliver Voltage. What is connected as resistance to that votlage gives you energy.. Delivering the voltage is not the toughest part. It is to deliver the Amps that the connected "resistance" wants to eat. That result's in watt dissipation. Some amplifiers can handle about equal powerdelivery in 8 and 4 ohms. So (little too) high Voltage - but not so current durable. Some amplifiers can handle close to twice the power @ half impedance. So low (enough) voltage, but better durability regarding higher amps. Car amplifiers generally deliver pretty low voltage, and build to run 1-4ohm impedances.

Can you use a 6ohm and 8ohm speakers together, using one connection from amp?

My Yamaha amp does have a switch for 4 or 6 ohm speakers. Running 8 ohm speakers. I never tried the switch but it could influence the volume knob apparent sensitivity

I have 4ohm speakers being powered by an avr rated 6-16ohms and it works wonderfully, so you really don't have to match ohms as long as the avr can't have twice the ohms. For example, an 8-ohm receiver shouldn't run a four-ohm speaker but it can run a 6ohm speaker.

thank you for your help

My Yamaha A-S801 integrated amp, which is a current model, has an impedence switch. I left it at 8, after watching the Audiolics revue. Have no problems driving my Kef LS50's.

@fwabble

3 жыл бұрын

Well the LS50 are 8 ohm lol

@larryhoffman7471

3 жыл бұрын

@@fwabble they're all over the map and quite inefficient. I believe 85db.

@larryhoffman7471

3 жыл бұрын

@@fwabble They are listed at 8 but do dip quite a bit, but you're right they are nominal 8 ohm.

In my life I have seen many amp stages die because a lot of people don't know what and how important impedance matching is. I know many people think a speaker is a speaker and is universal in characteristics. So a 2 or 4 ohm is put where an 8 ohm should be then the volume cranked up and then the smoked releasing begins if the protection circuits if any don't catch it. Speaker impedance mismatch with current in the ma range is almost harmless, but when it is in the amps it can get destructive. I once had a test speaker turn into a heating coil because the output had a +80vdc volt offset on it. Since then I learned to meter an output and use a cap in series just in case when troubleshooting. I think people would understand impedance matching more if they saw it on a scope, or had to get the maximum volume from a discrete amp with limited voltage and current to drive it.

@jeffm2787

3 жыл бұрын

Agreed, however many amps can handle lower impedances even when not spec'd for it. I own many scopes and other test gear, so yes I get it. It also all depends on the listening levels and types of music and/or content. I'll also say many amps can't even handle what they are rated for. I tend to abuse quality more then crap.

Fascinating.. I'd like to build something to build on, absolutely beginner at this game. But I've got two Yamaha bookshelf decent speakers Yamaha receiver and I'm looking maybe to get a Klipsch center and base do you think I should trash at my system and try something else? I was considering putting the bookshelves on some monitor stands. And I really don't want to go overboard on my first attempt, so best advice would be appreciated.

I think the asker was talking about amps/receivers from the late '80s, '90s, and to the early 2000 that had the impedance switch on DC and OTL amps, I believe it had something to do with the power supply because it said by the impedance switch do not move unless powered off

@MicahS70T5M

6 жыл бұрын

Steven Slusher some Yamaha receivers have the 8 ohm/4 ohm switch these days, and what the switch does is strangle the power supply in order to keep the amplifier from overheating and cooking itself.

@curtchase3730

6 жыл бұрын

I got a bunch of receivers from that same upper 90's to low 2k's that have that 4/8 ohm switch on the backs. Not too uncommon. I have not consulted any schematics to see just what it does. My guess is that it simply connects a lower voltage tap on the B+/- windings of power transformer when switched to 4 ohm setting. But don't take my word for it.

This is a complicated topic - speaker impedance is constantly fluctuating by frequency. Speakers are not static loads, and music is not test tones, which gets around to why it's important to have a high quality amplifier - they can deal with these kinds of changing demands without clipping or melting down. 100 watts/channel in one product is not the same as 100 watts/channel in another product when you actually listen to music.

@Justwantahover

6 жыл бұрын

+Karl At about 100 hz some speakers have a peak in impedance. Is this something to do with the crossover minimising the loudest bass sounds made by the driver and enclosure resonance? Chokes must make impedance higher at frequencies significantly lower than the crossover frequency (like 100 hz)..

@LewisHamiltonMSPR

5 жыл бұрын

I agree. Used to have a AudioLabs 8000A from the 80's, which was rated at 50w per channel. I've listened to amplifiers in the 100-150w p/ch range that couldn't match its oomph.

@Audiogeek-kf2ez

5 жыл бұрын

Finally ,a person explains what most of us people who understand audio know. You cannot use spec's to audition a product. One sentence in you posting says it all. "100 watt from one product is not the same as 100 watts from another product" thank you.

@chrisristau8803

4 жыл бұрын

​@@LewisHamiltonMSPR thats because they didn't lie about their ratings like the new stuff. lol. im using a NAD 7220pe amp and i think it's rated at 20 or 40 watts per channel. But can do double that in bursts. I'm convinced it out does amps with 120 per channel ratings.

At 6:17 you talk about how a 4 Ohm speaker takes twice as much current as an 8 Ohm speaker. In actuality, assuming you mean for the same audio volume or power output, the current dependency is not linear. Rather, power is impedance times square current. For example, to get the same power with half the impedance you need only around 1.414 (square root of 2) times more current.

Just a question Im hoping to upgrade my amp but i dont have the money. I am thinking about getting a few 12v power supplies and running them in parallel to run a car amplifier. is this save? Im thinking about 3 80A 12v psu's to run a 3000wrms car amp

My solid state Kenwood has the switch. All it does is half your power so it can pass UL and other certification. You should NOT flip that switch unless you can't keep the amp cool. Audioholics has a good video and web article on the subject.

Thank you🙏👌

Is it safe to say that all audio output stages are constant voltage amplifiers?

The switch is on the lightweight software on now amps AV receiver is an amp with extra

Since the 1980's many lower cost consumer brand solid state amplifiers/receivers were designed for 8 ohm loads minimum. The reason was to keep the costs down. If the amp was rated 100w/ch at 8 ohms, it would require a heavier power supply, heatsink and perhaps even a beefier output stage to handle the higher current demanded from a lower impedance load. Many amps and receivers that have A/B speaker switches would put the speakers in series when set to both A & B to keep the impedance from becoming too low. This is why the A speakers go off when you try to turn on the B speakers when no B speakers are connected.

@christophschuermann6512

6 жыл бұрын

JohnAudioTech you are right. I remember the sanyo stk-series amplifiers, were you had some 4R and 8R-devices to select for the application. Paul looks more from the high-end side of poweramplifiers, were current-capability is no problem in most cases.

@cekpi7

6 жыл бұрын

Kenny Howard read Johns comment again

@cekpi7

6 жыл бұрын

Some can actually be really good for 8 ohm use (superior components, sound quality etc.) but they were just simply not designed for 4 ohms, that doesn't mean they are all garbage but some of them are.

@kjrchannel1480

5 жыл бұрын

I recall some would not let you use less than 8 ohm with A and B on at the same time because they would be in parallel per channel. Some other solid states would also have a impedance switch with explicit speaker guidelines to keep the amp from blowing parts. I have encountered others that have firmware 6 ohm switching. So it is a mixed bag of how amps were built.

@rimmersbryggeri

5 жыл бұрын

I see alot of active pc speakers especially low end ones and also Iphone speakers/bookshelf stereos use 6 ohm drivers. Is this a quirk of the amp IC:S they use to drive them directly? Also how does the difference in impedence between driver and tweeter affect the total impedence of the group when the elements are parallelled without a crossover? These chips are often rated at 1W 8ohms but the speakers are advertised as 10-15 watts.

Is it? So there is no need for series and parallel wiring of the speakers to get the required ohms?

@kalijasin

4 жыл бұрын

“When running a higher resistance a slightly different feel and response may be noticed. A slight mismatch can provide a darker smoother tone with a little less output and attack. This response is a result of the amplifier running a bit cooler.” mesaboogie.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/218267437-What-is-the-best-way-to-connect-speakers-or-cabinets-?mobile_site=true

​@fareedaramdial7000 I'm glad someone else thought the video did not quite fully answer the question at hand where the amp is rated at 8ohms with speakers rated at 4ohm so in theory the 4ohm speakers would try to draw more power than the amp can handle with which the amp could end up going into protection mode or blow depending on the amp .. is this correct?

can you fix the inpedance problem by just putting a resistance in serie in between the wire to the speaker? (8ohm amp 6ohm speaker so 2ohm R) thanks for the interesting videos

does An ideal amplifier rated at 100 watts 8omh and 200 Watts 4 ohm operate differently than an amplifier rated 100 watts 4 ohm / 100 watts 8 ohm at very low volumes?

Hello Paul (or anyone else wo can anwser my question) I would like to increase the impedence of my woofer from 4 -8 ohms to match it with the amplifier. I would like to use a high watt wire resistor for that, how does the wire resistor affect the audio quality?

How such a senior man like him working with electronics confuse about transform winding turns and voltage out put … can’t expect that 😮😮

You struggle with transformers ..lol! They are just impedance convertors.... You are spot on with valve amps, but not all solid state amps like 4 ohms. Often because of poor power supplies and regulation and in the case of some earlier amps that use output capacitors, they lose some LF energy if they drive lower impedance speakers. The Quad 303 is a good example .

A relatively simple explanation for a complicated subject. One quibble: At 4:56, switching the impedance of the transformer will have no effect on the gain of the tube.

Really excellent lecture on output impedences, on so called hifi amplifiers. Famous old trick that manufactures forget to tell you, even the best companies do this; they beef up power amplifier, and tell you that the amplifier will work down to 2 ohms, they give you a power transformer based on the mean peak mean average power,based on 10 milli seconds of full power. And the better companies will give you beefier electrolytic reservoir capacitors hopping that will take up the slack.The manufactures are hoping that you are going use the amplifier in short burst at full power. One way to test your hifi amplifier if it is any good, use it in a P.A system at full power for long bursts; say for an hour or two, at local pub gig. Then hear the high frequency distortion, it just reminds you of a overdrive pedal on a guitar amplifier.

What if your stereo says it must have at least 8 ohms per speaker but you only have a 4 ohm speaker. Can I use a resistor ? If so what kind. I have a Yamaha 225 watt stereo. thanks.

Many AV receivers have 4 , 8 and sometimes 6 ohm settings these days. Those in the industry in the know will tell you to leave it at 8 ohms. The 4 ohm setting just limits the amps current to protect itself at satisfy regulator requirements. Very few have physical switches, it's almost always a hidden setting from the front panel.

@MrAlexH9121

3 жыл бұрын

Or back at the amp, they use every methods to pass the tests i guess.

@2112res

2 жыл бұрын

all those audiophile av receivers

Marantz nr1711 can switch it self between 4,6 and 8ohms,its really good i think✌️

Agreed, Thank You Professor Paul.... Pertaining to this Ohm / impedance issue, perhaps Paul or someone could help me to solve / address my problem. I have a Denon DRA-800H Receiver which is rated at 100 Watts per channel - 2 channels driven - 8 ohms. 120 Watts with 6 ohms. 2 Speakers connections (A & B). I had 1 pair of Elac Debut 6.2s connected to the A speaker and a pair of Elac Debut Reference 6.2s on the B. Then I decided to "add" by paralleling a pair of Flunance Signature Series Hifi Bookshelf speakers to the B connection. The Elacs are rated at 8ohms , nominal of 6 ohms. The Fluances at 8 ohms. After playing for a while - over 30 minutes at medium high volume of 60 out of 98 , the Receiver flashed a red light at the on button and shut down. It overheated. Fortunately no damage to either the Receiver or the speakers. Did it again the next day and I discontinued using the A Speakers , playing only the Parrelled B speakers , and it played fine. I also plugged the Receiver into a separate electrical outlet since there are a number of pieces of equipment plugged into a double outlet (20 amp circuit). So now I have re-engaged the A speakers , and playing CDs today, and no issues. But I am hesitant to push the volume past 55 or so. I saw a Monoprice Speaker Switcher that has impedance protection tom the Amp. Is that worth a try ..... THX for the advice and feedback

Some 4 ohm speakers can dip to 2-3 ohms under heavy load which can cause problems (clipping, overheating, etc.) for some cheaper amplifiers with limited headroom.

@OctavMandru

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly

We used to have "Smokefest" parties... everyone would pitch in and buy a cheap AV Amp and hook it up to some decent 4 Ohm speakers run at high volume until the Amp clipped or smoked. Some of those cheap plastic ones would melt.

Hold you horses everyone! I beg to differ. I own a meticulously restored pair of 4 OHM Acoustic Research AR 3A speakers...the KING of vintage sound along with my mint condition 8OHM Large Advents. I have several newer 100+ WPC Yamaha receivers all 8 OHM impedance (my Panasonic SA-BX500 can be set to 4, 6 or 8 OHMS...but I did not try the ARs with it yet) that I connected to the ARs (along with my Polk 10" Subwoofer). With rather high volume levels ALL of my receivers I connected would SHUT DOWN. Lots of heat from each receiver I connected. SO....I got tired of this nonsense and swapped out the ARs with my Advents...again 8 OHMS. Voila, I could push the volume to almost painful levels (I never listen to them that loud of course) and NO RECEIVER SHUT OFF! Very little heat....warm actually. Needless to say the quality of sound was SUPERB! I moved the ARs to the Panasonic receiver and set the speaker impedance to the 4 OHM setting. Cranked up some good volume music and all seemed fine....so far. I did not try to push it to those ear splitting levels but will see what happens when I do. So, if anyone can convince me that pairing an 8 OHM receiver with 4 OHM speakers is just peachy, I am all ears, but I would challenge that idea. OH, you can get sound from that set up and at somewhat decent sound levels, but when you push volume levels a bit higher (still listenable) or if there is a very powerful, sudden moment in the music being listened to, I can just about guarantee the receiver will shut down. Just my two cents worth. Dr. Z (Lou)

I want to power 2 12" car sub 300w max 4 ohm to modern 100w×2 karaoke amplifier at home but I don't know the amplifier Impedance.. is it okay ?

i have a question can i connect my bass head 500 watts at 4ohms to an 500 watts at 8ohms bass cab ? have a gig soon and can t find a lightweigh speaker

Hey Paul ..I have a Kenwood km106 amp...and the speaker are jamo 6ohm ...is it matching..

I got confused by some of this so this is how I worked it out: How hot the amp gets depends on the current it is having to put out. Too much current and it fries. The speaker impedance is 'fixed' (for the sake of this argument!) The current the speaker draws is dependant on the voltage at the speaker bindings, and it's resistance. So you control the output voltage by turning the volume dial. The current follows at a rate that is determined by the voltage output and the speaker resistance. Ohms law says Current = Volts / Resistance Take an example; Volts 20; Resistance 4; Current = 5 Volts 20; Resistance 8; Current = 2.5 So for a given position on the volume dial the 8 Ohm speaker only needs half the current to use the same energy (Volts x Current = Watts) as when driving a 4 Ohm speaker. Which is why higher impedance speakers are 'easier' to drive; they draw less current for a given output voltage so the amp does less work so it doesn't burn out so easily. This is slightly counter-intuitive as you might think a speaker with a lower resistance would let current through more easily (which it does) but actually the more current the Amp has to deliver the more work it has to do to provide it so the more it struggles and the hotter it gets. One (highly undesirable) way to demonstrate this is to short circuit the speaker output so the resistance is zero......

I have a Pioneer amp Fromm 1999 the speakers says 4 and the amplifier says 6 would that do any damage or should it work it has no switches

i have a 40m amp servo and pre amp servo can i use the amp on a preamp with no servo..thanks

''Can you run 4Ω speakers on an 8Ω amp?'' Read the amp manual - specification! That's the best way... These days, the answer is usually ''yes'', like Paul said. For example, an amp to whom the basic information is 60W and (on) 8Ω, almost doubles the power and reaches around 110W on 4Ω... little is lost in the transition.

@MicahS70T5M

6 жыл бұрын

Dragan Antonijević but if the amplifier doesn’t have the current to supply that 110 Watts, then it will cook itself. That’s why manufacturers added the 4 ohm switch.

@draganantonijevic2441

6 жыл бұрын

It is not necessary... if you read once again and carefully: ''specification'', ''These days'', ''usually'', ''basic information''... and I am talking about solid state... my monoblock are 125W for 8Ω and 220W for 4Ω. I apologize if there was a misunderstanding, I didn't think about tube amplifier. Peace

@RWL2012

6 жыл бұрын

even if an amplifier is 4 ohm stable, it's not necessarily going to have a power supply cable of supplying double the 8 ohm rated power into a 4 ohm load. like my BK subwoofer plate amplifiers - my Extreme 1000s are 630w RMS into 8 ohms and 1000w RMS (not 1260) into 4 ohms, and my BSBP 275 is 200w RMS into 8 ohms and 275w RMS (not 400) into 4 ohms. also, impedance is not a constant, and only in a small part of their frequency range do speakers drop to their rated or "nominal" impedance. also, ported or "bass reflex" enclosures are popular nowadays and those create impedance rise, so a 4 ohm rated driver load in a ported enclosure can not even dip below 10 ohms in some cases.

@MicahS70T5M

6 жыл бұрын

RWL2012 beat me to it. Makes no difference if it’s solid state or tube, it still has limits to its current.

@fareedaramdial7000

2 жыл бұрын

on 70s and 80s amps the 4 ohm speaker will lead to the amp blowing up..i had to many blown amps to know that if it says 8 ohms run only 8 ohms...dont even put speakers on one output as this will reduce the ohms and will still blow your amp.follow the amp instructions.

Yes you can if you do not use a tube amp! Never use that switch, you will only restrain the power of your amp! Most AVRs have those options.

Ouch, that poor transformer! You held it by its wires when you lowered it to the floor! (2:54)

@janinapalmer8368

6 жыл бұрын

Hahaha .... I noticed that too... maybe it's being used as a door stop ... he had to reach right down to pick it up .. !

@QoraxAudio

5 жыл бұрын

Like a child pulling a cats tail.

I have 4 ohm bass head ..and 8 ohm cabinet bass...can i use it together

if you use a lower rated load impedance, purely theoretically you could overheat the output transformer. For example a guitar amp that has 16 ohm output connected to a 4 ohm cabinet, possibly the amp head could overheat... but realistically, for that to happen you are listening to crazy loud music. Before you can overheat the output transformed and blow up your amp the police is knocking at your door called by your neighbours. The theoritcal risk is there, your amp can deliever say 100 watt at 16 ohms, so insteda you offer ohm load you would be asking your amp to give 200 watts to to speaker... but by the time your master volume has you using 10 watts to drive a speaker you are way above bedroom level. For home usage, it really does not matter, you adjust the master volume to acceptable volume and the wattage you are driving through the speaker is typically always very low. You are spending 100 watts in byasing the tubes and heating the valves and whatever, but only a trickle of wattage flows to the speaker.

can anyone help, i have an 800w amp with minimum impedance of 4 ohms and a speaker that has an impedance of 3 ohm. will it run fine? or should i be worried of anything burning out?

Why don't we add an external resistor and capacitor to create additional 4 ohm and satisfy the amp??

I blew up the fuse of my 8-16ohm modern amplifier by putting 6ohm speakers on it. It’s definitely a problem hahaha

My 15 year old Onkyo Receiver has a manual 4/8 ohm switch. Didn't think of it as being ancient.

Does this go for home theater also?

A weird thing that left me pondering is that my spanking new surround receiver only seems rated for 4 or 6 ohm speakers... I wonder if this is a problem when I run a 5.1 setup with all 8 ohm speakers and when the fronts are bi-amped? The receiver is an Onkyo TC-RZ720. Still weird the menu doesn't let me choose 8 ohm neither regular or in bi-amp setup.

@RennieAsh

2 жыл бұрын

The rating is generally the nominal minimum impedance. You can use higher impedance speakers, you'll just get less power to the speakers related to higher impedance. This is for solid state amps and not tube You May have more problems if you are trying to run very low impedance speakers at high volume on an amp with a higher minimum impedance rating

Hi, i got an vintage kinap lomo tube cinema amp YU-15 mono blocks, with 75w each they are 16ohms and i have 8ohm high sensitivity speakers I usually listen at lower volumes and never push them. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Would much appreciate it

That switch on the amplifier might be a switch to limit the current of the receiver when connecting 4ohm speakers to the amp. I once owned a Pioneer AV Receiver that had the same thing and in the 4ohm position, it would limit output power so that the receiver won't get too hot. I left it in the 8ohm position and never had a problem with it.

@jikenj

6 жыл бұрын

mein ErstesAutoFireandIce I saw a yt video on the audiohalics channel & they were right IMO.

@cekpi7

6 жыл бұрын

Some receivers/amplifiers switch transformer windings to lower voltage ones since 4 ohm requires more current but less voltage for same power, on my technics its +-32,6V to +-28,2V before rectifier (actuall rating in service manual)

My Yamaha RX V6A has 6 or 8 ohms selection. Not sure if that's good.

Thank you very much

What is enough power? What is the minimum power requirements for a 4ohm speaker ? And how does efficiency play a part? I know Paul is a fan of Infinity's...and in some circles Vintage Infinity's are know to be hard to drive with vintage gear, Amp Killers they say. Usually they are 6-4ohm 85-90 db efficiency. So what would be a min power requirement for this type of speaker? Would a vintage solid state receiver in the 20-40 watt range be able to power this type of speaker correctly? I have a vintage Pioneer SX737 sitting here I believe it's 35 watts per channel just curious, what should I look for I regards to speakers for optimal performance of these vintage receivers. Thanks

@ertreri

2 жыл бұрын

"What is enough power? What is the minimum power requirements for a 4ohm speaker ? " You power amplifier has a power raiting. E.g. 100 Am Head Vox AC30. Then that amp head has speaker output right? Many times multile speaker outpus in expensive heads. Many times you have 16 ohm output, the 8ohm 4ohm etc... If you decide to connect the speaker cable to to 16 ohm output, you would expect that at most, with the mast volume at maximum the amp head would burning 100 watts though the speaker if the speaker has an 16 ohm rating. Get it? Now if you trick the amplifier and do not connect a 16 ohm cabinet but instead connect 8 ohm cabinet, your load is not as powerful as expected. It lets electricity flow through much more easily. So instead of 100 watts you would be asking your amp to deliver 200 watts to the speaker. It will bur out the amp head. More than that, the speaker itself might also burn. You 8ohm speaker might only take a maxium of 70 watt for example. But the important factor is how loud does sound get at low wattage? I am not sure if you are aware but there are guitar amp heads like the DSL 1 from marshall that can limit itself to 1 watt output or even less. To double the noise you need to exponentially increase the wattage. So 100 watts sounds big but it is not even twice as loud as a 50 watt amp... So what does it tell you? It tells you that when you hear a speaker and that speaker sounds loud and and you know you cannot go any higher, you are using very low power to drive that speaker ... at least at home. If you are in a concert hall i can well believe you might consider puting maximum power. But at home you will never ever drive your amp hard. As simple as that. So you do not need to care impedance matching that much.

I made the assumption that a 4 ohm speaker was louder because it was getting more power, because the impedance was lower. I also assumed impedance was AC resistance. Maybe I assumed incorrectly?

@tuhaggis

6 жыл бұрын

How loud a speaker can go is related to the sensitivity of the speaker and its power handling ability. Every extra 3db of output requires a doubling of power so you can imagine things spiral out of control pretty quickly when you want to crank it loud. If you take a speaker and wire it so the amp sees it as an 8ohm load, and then wire it so the amp sees it as an 4ohm load, yeah it'll be louder at 4ohm for the reason you said, it's getting more power thanks to P=VI

*Let the sunshine In.*