4ohm vs. 8ohm?

[Unregistered]

Speaker impedance and sensitivity are two different things. Both 4 and 8 ohms speakers can have similar range of sensitivities from 84db to a loud 96db.

For sure, the lower the speaker impedance, the more difficult the load is as presented to the amp. That is why many commericial amps and receivers out there are not rated into 4 ohm loads. Much less into 2. The lower the load, the more current is extracted from the amp, and the hotter it usually gets. The lower the load, the closer it is to a short condition, more current flows. If the amp does not have sufficient power and is not up to par to handle such a condition, it will die a horrible death. A 1 ohm load over most of the frequencies as presented by most high end speakers presents a difficult load that only powerful amps can handle.

Spot on.

In essence the more current you draw from your amplifer the better you can run your speakers. The more current the more driver movement.

 

[markw]

Pure, total, unadulterated hogwash.

The impedence of a speaker shows just how efficient it is at taking cirtain loads of power. ...I my oppinion 8ohm speakers are in fact more efficient than 4ohm speakers.

Heck, I'd post as unregistered too if I was going to make stupid statements like that. That's like saying that the prettier a girl is, the more efficient she is at draining money from her man.

Don't confuse design intent and power handling capacity with an impedance issue. Impedance has nothing to do with efficiency.

Aside from the misspellings, please explain how many highly eficient speakers are rated for 16 ohms? Likewise, how about others like Kipsch, CV and others which are rated at 8 ohms and still have an efficiecy ratings of near 100. ...and they can suck up tremendous amounts of power. But, then again, so can my 4 ohm Maggies but they requre even more power to output the same volume. Care to explain that?

All a 4 ohm speaker can guarantee is that it will put more stress on an amplifier than an 8 ohm speaker will. This, of course, assumes it's nominal impedance rating. Period and end of discussion.

The reason.

Well lets think about it!
it only takes say 250 watts to power an 8ohm speaker, but it would take 500watts to power a comparitive speaker which is 4ohms.

Yes, let's analyze this, shall we? How, to make an assumption (note the first three letters) like this one must take into the account if the speaker's efficiency* and assure that they are equal otherwise the statement loses all meaning, as if it hasn't already. Then, what you said is exactly the opposite of what you stated.


*you may want to get familiar with this word. You obviously have no clue.

However I believe the lower the impedence the better. it may put more pressure on the amplifier but the sound quality and power, control is worth it!

Yeah, nothing like the sound of a clipping amp, eh? Actually, the less stress you put on an amp the better off it is. The more stress on an amp, the less "power control and sound quality" you have.

 

[petermwilson]

Greetings,
I use 4ohm Totem Model 1's X 5 for music. I have Denon 5800/03 with 170w perch all channels driven which helps get the best from these speakers and is one if THE most powerful A/v reciever presently.

If I were to get the Totem Mani 2 model also 4ohm, I would need more power due to their dual woofer config.

It's horses for courses, if you fall in love with some speakers just make sure you've got the juice in the amp section of whatever you buy to get the most out of them.

The less work your amp has to do to drive your speakers at comfortable listening levels is the best for the amp the speakers and your ultimate enjoyment.

Peter m.