8 ohm vs 6 ohm which one should I get?

[Louis]

Hi guys,
I had a question on the difference between these 2 types of speakers. Basically my situation is, I just got a new Yamama HTR-5960 that is running for now with my old HTIB satellite speakers and sub. These Sony satellite speakers, being HTIB I am aware are not the best thing around so I am looking to upgrade to some decent speakers in the next couple of months.
The satellite speakers I have on are 6 ohm speakers and most of the mid priced Bookshelf speakers I see are 8 ohm (i was looking at Polk since I hear they sound good with yamaha receivers, so I looked into the RTi Line).
My question, being a newb at this, is...doesn't a 6 ohm speaker play "louder" than a 8 Ohm speaker? I checked other models of Polk speakers and whether they are satellite or Bookshelf they're all 8 ohms except for the Lsi line which is way over my budget....
I'll be honest the little cheap speakers i have on now don't sound all that bad, but they do look kind of puny...but I certainly wouldn't want to upgrade to a bigger speaker that i have to crank louder to hear the same level volume i do now.
Should I instead look into another brand of bookshelf speaker that may offer 6 Ohms? or is impedance not really that important (as I learned is the case with Watts in receivers) or should I be looking at the speaker DB instead of Ohm to gauge how powerful they are?
Thanks!

 

[highfihoney]

My question, being a newb at this, is...doesn't a 6 ohm speaker play "louder" than a 8 Ohm speaker?

No a 4 or 6 ohm speaker will not play louder than an 8 ohm speaker, 4 ohm speakers are not graded the same as 8 ohm speakers,8 ohm speakers use 1 watt at 1 meter while 4 ohm speakers use 2.8 volts at 1 meter which translates to 2 watts at 1 meter,to compare both a 4 ohm speaker with an 8 ohm speaker you minus 3db from the 4 ohm speakers rating,example,if the 4 ohm speaker is rated at 93 db at 4 ohms for an equal comparison you subtract 3db making it 89 db.

It is a misconception that many people have thinking that 4 ohm speakers play louder & that 4 ohm amplifiers produce more useable wattage.

 

[j_garcia]

You should be looking at the sensitivity of the speakers. Impedance does matter, but as highfihoney points out, you are not getting anything free. 4 Ohm speakers draw more current from your receiver, which means you are left with less "room to play" aka headroom to achieve the same level as a similarly spec'ed 8 ohm speaker.

Watts ARE also important, it is the manufacturer's rating of said gear that should be suspect...

 

[Louis]

Thanx for the info! That clears things up for me!
On a side note I've been reading up a lot on bookshelfs it seems that most people are vouching for AV123 x-ls speakers and Ascend Acoustics CBM 170 so at least I'm getting more options that just the brick and mortar store brands (polk, etc..) which i only considered before....
Again, thanx a bunch for the explanations.

 

[gcmarshall]

So, piggy-backing on Louis' question - should a Yamaha that is, on paper, not rated to drive speakers below 6 ohms, be mated with 4 ohm speakers? And, should one limit the 4 ohm load to just letting the Yammie drive the mains or can it do all 5 in a surround format?

Let's assume average sensitivity.....maybe 90....???

 

[j_garcia]

Most mid level receivers can handle a few 4 Ohm speakers, but I wouldn't push my luck with a full set of 4 Ohm speakers on one. So, if the mains were 4 ohm, but the rest 8, I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you started to see heat/strain issues. My receiver is pretty hefty, though it is also only rated for 6 Ohm minimum, and it didn't like my full set of 5 4 Ohm speakers (91dB sensitivity). Adding amps for just the main pair pretty much solved that though.

 

[dave1490]

No a 4 or 6 ohm speaker will not play louder than an 8 ohm speaker, 4 ohm speakers are not graded the same as 8 ohm speakers,8 ohm speakers use 1 watt at 1 meter while 4 ohm speakers use 2.8 volts at 1 meter which translates to 2 watts at 1 meter,to compare both a 4 ohm speaker with an 8 ohm speaker you minus 3db from the 4 ohm speakers rating,example,if the 4 ohm speaker is rated at 93 db at 4 ohms for an equal comparison you subtract 3db making it 89 db.

It is a misconception that many people have thinking that 4 ohm speakers play louder & that 4 ohm amplifiers produce more useable wattage.

ya if you take the amp out of the equation.that bring,s up a ? so you say a 16ohm driver rated @40watts is 80@8ohms i know this is all mulipuls and division{had a few beer,s so give me a break}.if that,s the case i know way people get anico drivers.

 

[dave1490]

You should be looking at the sensitivity of the speakers. Impedance does matter, but as highfihoney points out, you are not getting anything free. 4 Ohm speakers draw more current from your receiver, which means you are left with less "room to play" aka headroom to achieve the same level as a similarly spec'ed 8 ohm speaker.

Watts ARE also important, it is the manufacturer's rating of said gear that should be suspect...

watt,s are alway,s suspect.it,s not like i used to be.some rate @peak some without headroom ,some with.it,s all marketing for the $$$.people like big number,s but be suspect.

 

[j_garcia]

What I meant by that was the only way to really tell how much power a given amp is, is to listen to it and crank it up. Regardless of rating, you can tell if an amp has any real balls or not

 

[highfihoney]

ya if you take the amp out of the equation.that bring,s up a ? so you say a 16ohm driver rated @40watts is 80@8ohms

No, having the amp in or out of the equation has nothing to do with it.

All 4 ohm speakers are rated at 2.8 volts @ 1 meter,2.8 volts = 2 watts.

All 8 ohm speakers are rated at 1 watt @ 1 meter,1 watt = 1 watt.

 

[MDS]

All 4 ohm speakers are rated at 2.8 volts @ 1 meter,2.8 volts = 2 watts. All 8 ohm speakers are rated at 1 watt @ 1 meter,1 watt = 1 watt.

You're right of course but you should probably clarify that the reason for it is because 2.83 volts into 8 ohms = 1 watt and 2.83 volts into 4 ohms = 2 watts. That explains your previous example that you have to subtract 3 dB to compare 4 ohm speakers to 8 ohm speakers.

 

[highfihoney]

You're right of course but you should probably clarify that the reason for it is because 2.83 volts into 8 ohms = 1 watt and 2.83 volts into 4 ohms = 2 watts. That explains your previous example that you have to subtract 3 dB to compare 4 ohm speakers to 8 ohm speakers.

How true,i was gonna write a better explaination but i remembered dave saying he had a few beers so i thought i'd keep it simple for now

 

[dave1490]

No, having the amp in or out of the equation has nothing to do with it.

All 4 ohm speakers are rated at 2.8 volts @ 1 meter,2.8 volts = 2 watts.

All 8 ohm speakers are rated at 1 watt @ 1 meter,1 watt = 1 watt.

ya you make more sence to me honey.im gathering the amp only uses 1/2 the power for a db.

 

[JoeE SP9]

Hi guys,
I had a question on the difference between these 2 types of speakers. Basically my situation is, I just got a new Yamama HTR-5960 that is running for now with my old HTIB satellite speakers and sub. These Sony satellite speakers, being HTIB I am aware are not the best thing around so I am looking to upgrade to some decent speakers in the next couple of months.
The satellite speakers I have on are 6 ohm speakers and most of the mid priced Bookshelf speakers I see are 8 ohm (i was looking at Polk since I hear they sound good with yamaha receivers, so I looked into the RTi Line).
My question, being a newb at this, is...doesn't a 6 ohm speaker play "louder" than a 8 Ohm speaker? I checked other models of Polk speakers and whether they are satellite or Bookshelf they're all 8 ohms except for the Lsi line which is way over my budget....
I'll be honest the little cheap speakers i have on now don't sound all that bad, but they do look kind of puny...but I certainly wouldn't want to upgrade to a bigger speaker that i have to crank louder to hear the same level volume i do now.
Should I instead look into another brand of bookshelf speaker that may offer 6 Ohms? or is impedance not really that important (as I learned is the case with Watts in receivers) or should I be looking at the speaker DB instead of Ohm to gauge how powerful they are?
Thanks!

Who cares what ohm rating a speaker is? All that matters is that you like them and your receiver can drive them loud enough. In other words buy speakers based on how they sound not on their ohm rating.