Hi again. My friend was telling me today that playing speakers at a higher resistance (say 8 ohms) sounds better than playing them at 2 or 4 ohms. I believe he was talking about the resistance at the speaker outputs of your amplifier. I can not find any reason why this would be true, except that maybe that's why home and pro audio is based mostly on 8 ohms. any ideas????
-Ian-
Replies (7)
ssallstar598 on 06/8/2005 18:12:33
it recieves less power at higher ohm loads.... which is why amps have different output at different ohms... for example... the JBL 600.1 give out 600 watts @ 2 ohms 300 watts @ 4 ohms 150 watts @ 8 ohms (and so on and so on...)
ttocs on 06/8/2005 20:45:04
there is no difference in sound between a 8 or a 4 ohm speaker. For the most part home audio uses 8 ohm, car uses 4.
swez on 06/8/2005 21:24:12
It really depends on the amp used. Most car audio amps can do low distortion numbers at 2 or 4 ohm loads. Some amps can do a very respectable job at 1 ohm as well. The THD% may go up slightly, but anything under ~3% THD is un-detectable to most people's ears.
Home and Pro gear are designed to operate at 4-8 ohm loads. Very few HT units do well with under 4 ohm loads. Pro gear, sure... many high end amps can do 2 ohm loads and remain pretty clean. (even when bridged MONO). In short, it's a mixed bag huh?
Swez
cybersailor420 on 06/9/2005 16:37:32
Yea, it's kind of confusing. I am currently studying electrical engineering. This theory of my friends didn't really make sense when i tried to think of it in terms of formulas. I guess i'm gonna stick with my lower resistance and get the most out of my amps. thanx guys.
-Ian-
MrBrownstone on 06/9/2005 18:17:53
Basically, your speaker doesn't know it's impedance, and doesn't care. The quality of sound has to do with the input signal.
a 100W output @ 8 ohms sounds the same as 100W output at 4 ohms.
Victor on 06/9/2005 18:34:16
Read this.. guess this shud say it all..
http://www.bcae1.com/spkrimp.htm
http://sound.westhost.com/impedanc.htm
Hope that helps..
Victor..
P.s... lol.. that is a lot to read.. dont get lost in between, its not 'anybodys' job to patiently read through that and understand everything,.I had to read it 3 times to get it in my brains.. hehe.. ask questions if u are still confused., hopefully most of the golds here would be able to answer them after reading this atleast more than once..lolGRIN
MrBrownstone on 06/10/2005 14:52:30
I guess I'd use the following things to determine the sound of your speakers:
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
If you can't hear a difference (which you can't), is there a difference?
That's the longest article you have to read. Focus on the INSTALLATION, and not the equipment.
-Ian-
Replies (7)
ssallstar598 on 06/8/2005 18:12:33
it recieves less power at higher ohm loads.... which is why amps have different output at different ohms... for example... the JBL 600.1 give out 600 watts @ 2 ohms 300 watts @ 4 ohms 150 watts @ 8 ohms (and so on and so on...)
ttocs on 06/8/2005 20:45:04
there is no difference in sound between a 8 or a 4 ohm speaker. For the most part home audio uses 8 ohm, car uses 4.
swez on 06/8/2005 21:24:12
It really depends on the amp used. Most car audio amps can do low distortion numbers at 2 or 4 ohm loads. Some amps can do a very respectable job at 1 ohm as well. The THD% may go up slightly, but anything under ~3% THD is un-detectable to most people's ears.
Home and Pro gear are designed to operate at 4-8 ohm loads. Very few HT units do well with under 4 ohm loads. Pro gear, sure... many high end amps can do 2 ohm loads and remain pretty clean. (even when bridged MONO). In short, it's a mixed bag huh?
Swez
cybersailor420 on 06/9/2005 16:37:32
Yea, it's kind of confusing. I am currently studying electrical engineering. This theory of my friends didn't really make sense when i tried to think of it in terms of formulas. I guess i'm gonna stick with my lower resistance and get the most out of my amps. thanx guys.
-Ian-
MrBrownstone on 06/9/2005 18:17:53
Basically, your speaker doesn't know it's impedance, and doesn't care. The quality of sound has to do with the input signal.
a 100W output @ 8 ohms sounds the same as 100W output at 4 ohms.
Victor on 06/9/2005 18:34:16
Read this.. guess this shud say it all..
http://www.bcae1.com/spkrimp.htm
http://sound.westhost.com/impedanc.htm
Hope that helps..
Victor..
P.s... lol.. that is a lot to read.. dont get lost in between, its not 'anybodys' job to patiently read through that and understand everything,.I had to read it 3 times to get it in my brains.. hehe.. ask questions if u are still confused., hopefully most of the golds here would be able to answer them after reading this atleast more than once..lolGRIN
MrBrownstone on 06/10/2005 14:52:30
I guess I'd use the following things to determine the sound of your speakers:
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
EARS
If you can't hear a difference (which you can't), is there a difference?
That's the longest article you have to read. Focus on the INSTALLATION, and not the equipment.
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