Speakers Rated 4 Ohms

[mulester7]

.....I simply believe these speakers have the "potential" to give better "sound quality" based on the need for more power....comments?....speaker manufacturers know full well, when a 4 ohm speaker they launch for sale that will require more power, is going to represent probably more cost to the consumer in wattage on hand....they launch them into the market anyway....why?.....

 

[t3031999]

I've always thought that companies made higher end speakers rated at 4 ohm because they "require" a more capable amp to drive.

This ensures that the speakers will be driven by a more capable amp and will perform to their fullest.

 

[3db]

Can't draw conclusion from a speakers quality and their impedance

.....I simply believe these speakers have the "potential" to give better "sound quality" based on the need for more power....comments?....speaker manufacturers know full well, when a 4 ohm speaker they launch for sale that will require more power, is going to represent probably more cost to the consumer in wattage on hand....they launch them into the market anyway....why?.....

The two are totally different like black and white, night and day. The fact that they need a more robust amp to make em sing is not a function of how good a speaker is. Take a look at Paradigm's signature series of speakers.. Compatable for 8 ohm loads. Energy's Veritas are all 8 ohms rated . See where I'm going with this?

There is no correlation with speaker impedance and the quality of a speaker

 

[j_garcia]

It's all about the drivers used and the crossover required to get them to sound good. I doubt many companies start out with the intent of designing a 4 Ohm speaker for home use. Take the Polk LSis for example. It is most likely that tweeter that is the reason for the low impedance of the line. Now, likely more than half the people that bought them had no idea that this would be a problem for their receivers, or even that these speakers were 4 Ohm at all. When I sold my LSi7s I always asked what they would be driving them with, and told one guy that they would not work with his receiver. He checked with the manufacturer and they told him the same thing.

I don't think 4 Ohm speakers have any more "potential" than 8 Ohm speakers, it's more about the design on the whole. I've pondered that myself and came up with some other thoughts too, like speaker sensitivity, which can have about as large of an impact on how much power you need. What got me thinking about this again recently were the EPOS ELS-3, which are 4 Ohm and 87dB sensitive. These are well regarded speakers, and I wondered if it had anything to do with those specs because that combination of low sensitivity and low impedance means you will need a decent amp to power them. Does that skew the perception of the speaker? If you have a receiver/amp that is pushed to work harder, but is still operating within it's limits to power these speakers, is the result a good or bad thing? Does it matter if it sounds good?

Good question Mule

 

[MDS]

One common misconception is that 4 Ohm speakers play louder than 8 Ohm speakers due to increased power.

Speaker manufacturers build their speakers to get the 'sound' they want within their design and cost parameters. I don't think sound quality has anything to do with 4 ohm vs 8 ohm. The issue is whether or not your amp/receiver can supply either with enough power.

 

[mulester7]

.....thanks, it just came to me, Garcia, and I know what these 6 ohm speakers give me with about 675 watts of potential continuous commanding them....guys, listen, I never crank at reference levels past about 30 seconds....and the ears don't hurt at all when I even do that....I assure you, I listen at moderate levels +....DVD's are at "moderate" levels, coming up, to all diction being crystal clear, plus a little, sure, and then bring the low under it....tv less than that, much less....you get a system that can impress you at "moderate" levels, and you've got something, imo....you then know the cranks will be there....getting the screen and the front three up in the air to disperse from, is sweet...."sweet spot"....great usage, Snap, referring to what your reference level may be....

.....guys, we all have different hearing +/- variance concerning our sense of sound pressure....where do we get "pitch" from a speaker element, when it is being governed by 60 cycle alternating current with strict guidelines of linear excursion?....anyhow, when a newbie asks about speakers, we should encourage "personal choosing" in that area only unless they have no opportunity to hear, sure....I say we have some lazy newbs show up with questions, or think someone here don't hear different from them...Nick says speakers are the most critical decision....I'm shootin' over his right shoulder on that....with a Remington 8-chamber automatic deer-rifle....yeah, infrared, for you nocturnal night-sneakers.....

 

[j_garcia]

One common misconception is that 4 Ohm speakers play louder than 8 Ohm speakers due to increased power.

That's a very good point. Given two similar speakers, it means that a 4 Ohm speaker will draw more current to achive the same SPL in the same conditions.

 

[jcPanny]

Possible reasion for 4 ohm design

I have noticed that 4 ohm speakers tend to be floorstanding models with multiple drivers. One possible explination is that manufactures use identical drivers to smaller 8 ohm bookshelf models and similar crossover components. The increased number of drivers, reduces the total impedence.

High quality amps can deliver more power to 4 ohm speakers than 6 or 8 ohm versions. Lower impedence speakers with high power ratings can take advantage of this.

 

[mulester7]

That's a very good point. Given two similar speakers, it means that a 4 Ohm speaker will draw more current to achive the same SPL in the same conditions.

.....you bet it does, Garcia, and SWEET the need, haha....Snap said it good....sweet spot=your reference level....throw them Rat-Shack meters in the trash.....

.....I'm going to post one in the steam-vent hurricane forum on Brian I'd like everyone to read.....

 

[mulester7]

I have noticed that 4 ohm speakers tend to be floorstanding models with multiple drivers. One possible explination is that manufactures use identical drivers to smaller 8 ohm bookshelf models and similar crossover components. The increased number of drivers, reduces the total impedence.

High quality amps can deliver more power to 4 ohm speakers than 6 or 8 ohm versions. Lower impedence speakers with high power ratings can take advantage of this.

.....JCPanny, very true, adding elements brings decisions on how to wire....looking at sound qualities, and we better, I don't know what other speakers do, but my floor-standing fronts are resolved in the highs as their strong point....I suspect this is the goal of producers of floor-standers....my rears are considered bookshelves, weigh 52 lbs. apiece, have most-noticably resolved mids, and especially, present "one voice" as a 2-way, (it's in the crossovers).....in surround, the four speakers create magic to me.....

.....oh well, I think a really good floor-stander will shine in the highs resolvement, and bookshelves in the resolvement of the mids, as the bookshelves speak with one voice from a 2-way......

 

[MDS]

High quality amps can deliver more power to 4 ohm speakers than 6 or 8 ohm versions. Lower impedence speakers with high power ratings can take advantage of this.

It would be better to rephrase that as 'High quality amps have to deliver more power to 4 ohm speakers'. j_garcia said it very succinctly: 'Given two similar speakers, it means that a 4 Ohm speaker will draw more current to achieve the same SPL in the same conditions.'

If your goal is to get to the number 200, it doesn't matter if you do it by 50*4, 100*2, or 25*8. I know that sounds like a stupid example but really it's accurate.

Power = V*V/R and the V is constant because receivers have a specific rail voltage (the voltage is reduced when you turn the volume control down from its max position). So the varying R is what affects the power output. The current required to maintain that relationship goes up too.

You have to think about it from the other end. If my goal is to get 100 dB SPL and the amp driving 8 Ohm speakers can achieve that with 100 watts, then it will have to be able to supply 200 watts to achieve the same SPL if the impedance is reduced to 4 Ohms.