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Save the whales?

Posted by MarkgM (A) on November 7, 2003 at 11:39:59

Perhaps this is an environmentsl concern, but I am curious as to how needlessly it may coorespondingly do a dip into my wallet.

100 watts into 8 ohms
200 watts into 4 ohms
400 watts into 2 ohms

Above a stereotypical picture portrayed by certain amplifer manufacturers and consumers. Is there anyone out there who would say that for amplifiers in general? Now try 100 wpc into 8, 160 wpc into 4. What if there's just plenty of output transistors and a whole bunch of storage at the output stage, or whatever, can we hug a tree and put a few more dollars in our pockets? Is this a definitive loss in sonic reproduction quality?

So, what if an amp is designed such that the power supply has only so much capability, and for an 8 ohm load it's 100 watts, and for a 4 ohm load, it's 160 watts (same THD), and meanwhile I ordered a 100 watt amp. How many manufacturers will not post 2 ohm ratings, not because of instability, but for facing off against a stereotyped review?

If I had the predecessor of my current speaker, it would present a 1.6 ohm load under 300 Hz. Does that mean I need 500 watts just to drive it? Too low of an impendance, wouldn't that more likely fry a voice coil than achieve the desired result?

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