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Amp connection 4/8/16 ohms

84.156.19.78
Posted on May 3, 2014 at 04:46:36
Stitch
Audiophile

Posts: 736
Location: Camden (New Jersey)
Joined: April 3, 2007
 Some tube amps offer these 3 choices for a given Speaker. Just a question:
What happens sonically when you have a 5 ohm speaker chassis and you connect it to
a, 4 ohm Amp terminal
b, 8 ohm terminal
c, 16ohm terminal?

I think it will work fine with all 3 choices, but are they all sonically neutral here?
Can you choose what you like best or are there sonic mismatches (colorations)?

Kind Regards


 

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RE: Amp connection 4/8/16 ohms, posted on May 3, 2014 at 05:27:18
danlaudionut
Audiophile

Posts: 5480
Location: Schenectady
Joined: June 6, 2002
 The 4 ohm tap will give you higher dampening
The 16 ohm tap will give you the most power
Different speaker react different to this
There is no really "right" answer
Just what sounds best to YOU with YOUR speakers

DanL



 

RE: Amp connection 4/8/16 ohms, posted on May 3, 2014 at 09:06:26
Stitch
Audiophile

Posts: 736
Location: Camden (New Jersey)
Joined: April 3, 2007
 Thank you DanL

Kind Regards


 

Hold on, posted on May 3, 2014 at 13:28:41
richardl
Audiophile

Posts: 3555
Joined: September 5, 2002
 If your speakers have a non-flat impedance(and most do) then the interaction with the 16 ohm tap will actually produce a non-flat response usually. It can wear on you pretty quickly if the treble has a rising impedance that causes a rising response in the treble. If you try the taps, I suggest that you get a rough measure of what the response is and check the impedance of your speakers so that you don't just wind up deciding that you don't want to listen music because you have ruined it for yourself. Just trust your ears, IMO, is a quick way to drive yourself out of the hobby.

 

RE: Just trust your ears, IMO, is a quick way to drive yourself out of the hobby, posted on May 3, 2014 at 17:41:37
danlaudionut
Audiophile

Posts: 5480
Location: Schenectady
Joined: June 6, 2002
 This does not make any sense.
If he finds a tap that he enjoys
and doesn't do measurements
and since it isn't right according to some rule
then it will drive him "out of the hobby".
That makes me think so many things that range
from snobbery to ... well none of it is good.
Let's leave it at that.

DanL



 

RE: Just trust your ears, IMO, is a quick way to drive yourself out of the hobby, posted on May 3, 2014 at 19:55:06
Paul Joppa
Industry Professional

Posts: 7296
Location: Seattle, WA
Joined: April 23, 2001
 Well, consider the scenario Richard is talking about:

1) you try all the taps and the high impedance tap sounds much more detailed and lively. It's actually the accentuated treble but that's subtle and not as obvious as the first impression.

2) you choose that connection and go back to listening.

3) by the end of the week you are suffering listening fatigue. It's actually from the excess treble, but you still think you've made the right impedance tap choice because you compared them and liked it best.

4) by the end of the month you discover that you are not listening as much, it's not fun anymore.

This actually happens - many speakers have unnatural treble and bass which makes enough of an appeal that people buy the speaker after hearing it for 5 minutes on the showroom. Half if not more of the audio industry operates in this reality. It's sad but true!

Almost all speakers are designed for a very high damping factor, so their response will be distorted with SET amps, more on high impedance taps than on low impedance taps. So, IMHO, the best option is to listen for an extended period to the lowest impedance tap (4 ohms in this case). Once you are habituated to the sound, try the 8 ohm tap - with most speakers it will be a bit brighter and with slightly more boomy bass, but a little more headroom. Listen for a week or two, then go back to the 4 ohm for a reality check. Repeat for the 16 if you like, it will exaggerate all the differences.

Wine is sold on the same theory - tastings of recently released wines leads to popularity of wines that will not age well, they are at their best when young. Connoisseurs want ageable wines, everybody else is really happy with two buck Chuck. Same with the old Pepsi vs. Coke tastings.

 

RE: Just trust your ears, IMO, is a quick way to drive yourself out of the hobby, posted on May 3, 2014 at 21:11:49
Mick Wolfe
Audiophile

Posts: 3365
Location: AZ
Joined: October 10, 1999
Contributor
  Since: September 4, 2000
 I'm not a connoisseur, but I'm surely not happy with Two Buck Chuck. Lots of decent choices sub $10 without bringing "Chuck" into play. As far as the taps are concerned, that's a good observation on listening "longevity". Time will tell you the correct answer.....be it a tap, cartridge, component, etc.

 

RE: Just trust your ears, IMO, is a quick way to drive yourself out of the hobby, posted on May 3, 2014 at 22:05:46
Paul Joppa
Industry Professional

Posts: 7296
Location: Seattle, WA
Joined: April 23, 2001
 Hah! You're right, I should not have picked on Chuck. I was really thinking of the low-acid, overripe-fruit wines which are appealing on their own but don't do well with food, and don't last more than a year. Different people like different things, and we all change anyhow.

 

RE: Just trust your ears, IMO, is a quick way to drive yourself out of the hobby, posted on May 4, 2014 at 08:21:14
Mick Wolfe
Audiophile

Posts: 3365
Location: AZ
Joined: October 10, 1999
Contributor
  Since: September 4, 2000
 Yes, nothing stays in my little wine cooler more than a couple of months, so I guess I'm covered. My tastes in wine, beer and coffee change constantly. Glad I got over that habit with audio equipment..... that truly takes the wind out your sails financially.

 

RE: Amp connection 4/8/16 ohms, posted on May 4, 2014 at 11:21:17
Caucasian Blackplate
Industry Professional

Posts: 8313
Location: Seattle
Joined: June 18, 2004
 It's also worth noting that those amps with an extra binding post for each tap will only use some of the available secondary copper until you get to 16 Ohms.

 

RE: Amp connection 4/8/16 ohms, posted on May 4, 2014 at 20:23:06
RGA
Reviewer

Posts: 15177
Location: Hong Kong
Joined: August 8, 2001
 I have an amp with a 16 ohm tap as well. I was under the impression that the 16ohm tap was strictly for very high impedance speakers like the original LS-3/5a and some other ultra high efficiency designs.

My KEF LS-50 for example dips to 3.2 ohms. Is it safe to use the 16ohm tap? I was under the impression the 4 ohm tap would be the best choice for speakers that dip this low.

 

Exactly!-nT, posted on May 5, 2014 at 07:17:04
Cleantimestream
Audiophile

Posts: 7551
Location: Kentucky
Joined: June 30, 2005
 !
The Mind has No Firewall~ U.S. Army War College.

 

RE: Amp connection 4/8/16 ohms, posted on May 5, 2014 at 17:09:59
Caucasian Blackplate
Industry Professional

Posts: 8313
Location: Seattle
Joined: June 18, 2004
 Yeah, this information isn't really connected with my point. For a speaker dipping to 3.2 Ohms, the 4 Ohm tap will work best. (A 2 Ohm tap might be better)

My point is that a single secondary with 3 impedance taps is a design compromise in and of itself that may lead to less than stellar performance out of the lower impedance taps just due to the design of the transformer.

 

RE: Amp connection 4/8/16 ohms, posted on May 5, 2014 at 20:57:36
coolhand
Audiophile

Posts: 537
Joined: June 5, 2006
 A great question and one that only you can answer correctly by experimenting with your speakers & amp !

The prime reason being that although your speaker may state that it is 5 ohm, that is most likely a median figure of some sorts, as speaker is a non-linear device and its actual impedance will vary with frequency...
(Even speakers with compensated networks will have differing interactions with different amplifiers, or vice-versa however you prefer to interpret it)

How these variations inter-react with your amplifier, and with your personal sensibilities is not something anybody else can second guess ;-)

For example you can use the taps to compensate for excess room brightness, room darkness, speaker position and low frequency damping reactance in your room etc...

Furthermore if your speaker has provision to separate the HF and LF sections for example, you can employ them on different taps, often to great benefit !!

Thomas Mayer discussed this potential on his blog and describes some variations in the link below with diagrams, I can recommend them as well worth experimenting with:

 

Thanks Paul, posted on May 7, 2014 at 16:04:55
richardl
Audiophile

Posts: 3555
Joined: September 5, 2002
 I guess I did not make myself at all clear. I just believe that a hasty "sounds ok to me' can lead to some serious boredom or suffering later that drives you away from listening.
My goal is to make it through an entire symphony without interruption, which is about 40 minutes or so and if I cannot, whether I like it or not, I know it will measure wrong from experience.

richard

 

It depends, posted on May 11, 2014 at 07:08:33
morricab
Distributor or Rep

Posts: 9181
Location: switzerland
Joined: April 1, 2005
 For example, I had a KR Audio VA350i that ALWAYS sounded best on the 8 ohm tap regardless of what kind of speakers it was hooked up to (and I hooked it up to damn near everything).

Now, I have a JJ 322, PSE 300B amp and so far to my ears the 4 ohm tap is more transparent and with better power delivery (sounds less strained at louder volumes) than on the 8 ohm tap when driving my Reference 3a Master Control MMC speakers. That surprised me given my previous experience with SET amps. But that is how my ears tell it so I use the 4 ohm tap for now (I will switch back eventually for a repeat of the trials).

So, you should experiment with the taps to see what works best for you and your speakers.

 

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