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  The Steel Guitar Forum
  Electronics
  4 OHM vs 8 OHM speakers

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Author Topic:   4 OHM vs 8 OHM speakers
Lee Dorrell
Member

From: Marceline,Mo USA

posted 26 August 2003 07:33 PM     profile     
What kind of trouble am I going to get into if I Put an 8 ohm speaker into a peavey amp that previously had a 4 ohm speaker??? Any comments will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Lee
Bob Tuttle
Member

From: San Angelo, Tx, USA

posted 26 August 2003 08:37 PM     profile     
You'll have a little less output, but I doubt you'll be able to notice any difference. It won't hurt the amp. I have a Session 400 that has an 8 ohm JBL, K130 in it, and it sounds great and has more than enough power.
Lee Dorrell
Member

From: Marceline,Mo USA

posted 27 August 2003 08:16 AM     profile     
Thanks Bob, that's what I needed to hear. I thought it would be OK but it's always good to get a second opinion. Lee
David Doggett
Member

From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

posted 27 August 2003 08:50 AM     profile     
I always heard that going to higher ohms (4 to 8) is okay, but going to fewer ohms than the amp is rated for (4 down to 2) is bad.
Ole Dantoft
Member

From: Copenhagen, Denmark

posted 27 August 2003 11:11 AM     profile     
David,
That's always true with a solid-state amp. The only downside will be less output power.

With a tube amp you should always match the speaker to the output impedance, but this output impedance will often be selectable anyway.

A common exception to this rule are the lower powered, silverfaced Fender amps i.e. the 50 Watt Bassman, which has a nominal 8 Ohm output, but will quite happily accept 4 or 16 Ohm loads. This is mainly due to the way it's negative feedback loop is constructed, but that's only interresting if you're a former electronics buff like me

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Ole

My homepage !

Mike Brown
Member

From: Meridian, Mississippi USA

posted 02 September 2003 08:43 AM     profile     
Lee, the change of impedance would be OK with the Peavey amp, but as stated, the amp will produce approximately half power.

Just for the record, solid state Peavey amps willl operate without a speaker load.

Mike Brown
Peavey Electronics Corporation

Bobby Lee
Sysop

From: Cloverdale, North California, USA

posted 02 September 2003 09:49 AM     profile     
My Mesa/Boogie Maverick has two 4 ohm jacks and one 8 ohm jack. The idea is that, when you add an external 8 ohm speaker, you should plug it and the internal speaker into the 4 ohm jacks. Works real well.

More than once, though, I've accidentally left the single 8 ohm internal speaker plugged into a 4 ohm jack. It's a different transformer winding, you know. It still works, but the amp sounds different - a little more stressed. It distorts more easily.

Mike Bendinelli says not to worry about it. It won't hurt the amp. Some guys use the 4 ohm jack with an 8 ohm speaker just because they like the effect.

------------------
Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax

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