Loudspeaker Impedance 4-Ohm vs 8-Ohm: Which is Better?

[@phreak1118]

"Regardless of your speaker impedance... always keep the switch on the high setting." That is all I needed to know. Thanks Gene.

[@Grassy_Gnoll]

I asked The Borg. They said, "Resistance is futile." I'm not sure they understood the question.

[@dtsdigitalden5023]

My god man, have an upvote! Well earned. :)

[@gman1087]

Very good!

[@Bluudclaat]

The Borg sales division said “better sound through research”

[@chuckgilly]

Maybe the Borg will be forthcoming if I send "The Q" over there to ask the same question.

[@siriosstar4789]

@grassy LOFL 😂😄🤣 1000 upvotes

[@thomasfox8027]

Videos like these are fascinating and absolutely invaluable to people like me. You answered so many questions I've had for so long. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this, Gene! Audioholics rules!

[@serg472]

Your monologue videos are always the best, when you have some guests it always feels a bit cringy and forced back and forth. Can you please make more videos like this where you just talk alone, it's perfect as is.

[@JC-11111]

I remember when I was into car audio. I had a 2 ohm stable amp and nobody could believe it was 2 ohm stable because no one I knew had a 2 ohm stable amp at the time. I loved that little 150W Crunch USA amp. It pushed 2x10" Pioneer 300W speakers with ease. I miss those days. 😀

[@thunderpooch]

All current, yet no real volts to speak of to really back it up. Am I right? Sure you can use transformers etc, but the car is never producing 120 volts of stable and reliable voltage.

[@memcdm]

Back in the day, we considered an amp that would not be stable into a 4 ohm load was crap. Some were stable at 2 ohms. In testing we did see high power rated amps that had protection circuits thay would shut them down when encountering a stop to 4 ... far below there rated power. So now anything below 6 is a problem for receivers rated their receivers driving only 1 channel at 1000hz with distortion sometimes 5% or even 10%.... yielding a very misleading wattage rating.

[@lordofthemound3890]

Great little video! You answered questions I didn’t even know I had.

[@masterblaster2626]

This is a topic that I've been pondering for some time. It's quite clear that the 4 ohm speaker will have twice the current flowing through it's voice coil than the 8 ohm speaker will have, which I would think would make them more dynamic, all things being equal. I just can't understand why 4 ohm speakers, with 2.83 volts presented to it, are typically less efficient (lower SPL) than an 8 ohm speaker with 2.83 volts applied to it. With the voltage being the same, the 4 ohm speaker would have twice the current flowing through it, and that should result in a larger magnetic flux being created by the voice-coil, and more movement of the speaker, and more output, i.e., a higher SPL than an otherwise equal 8 ohm speaker ... any thoughts to clear this up for me?

[@peterrichard3706]

U are correct. My 8 /4 ohm speaker,s play not as loud as my 4 ohm speakers. At reference.

[@Contact_Info]

D4 has more magnetic force than d2 subs is one reason, another could be the amplifier running unexpectedly at different impedance. Could be many factors

[@maxpower78-15]

Im really diggin this channel. Lots of great insight. Lots of great tips. Lots of great deals mentioned. Havent taken advantage yet, but im sure as christmas nears id live to hear about some good receiver deals. Thanks and keep up the good work

[@spentron1]

As far as the question overall, with transistor amplification it depends on overall system power, a low power 4 ohm amp is more difficult and needs better cables, while getting big power is more complex into 8 ohms. Interesting about the UL switch hack thing though. I don't agree with always leave the switch on 8 ohms, if it makes a difference you probably need a better amp, but that's a test, if it passes then switch to 8. Only that kind though, tube amps are completely different as is bridged amps, for example the Bose 551 set for 8 ohms and one pair of speakers.

[@jaguar0811]

Great advice on using a separate amp to run 4ohm speakers. I Purchased a Rotel 1582

[@fwabble]

;0;

[@billtait6457]

Thankyou ,now it's makes sense , I have switched my Receiver back to 8 ohms .Sounds just fine and no issues, I'm 65 and never understood all of this till now . But ,what about this , I did read somewhere once ,that the danger is playing around with low power systems may blow .(I got 100 watts / channel , and hardly turn it up .)

[@elongatuspiranha]

Another great video You're on a roll Gene!

[@Bork0r]

Man... that 4 ohm receiver setting is deceiving. Thanks for educating us plebs :-)

[@ThomasAT86]

Oh thank you so much, this has been a fantastic explanation. And for everyone - watch it till the end, it's worth it!

[@williamsmith9194]

Yes this was very helpful. I have been accused of overthinking an issue but understanding is worth the effort

[@chrono2959]

Thank you so much for the 8 ohm switch at the end that was the reason for watching the video. I always wondered that . Thank you very much

[@BruceTheSillyGoose]

thank you for clearing up the impedance switch question :)

[@phototechchannel229]

Fantastic explanation of speaker/amp Ohm ratings. Nice to hear this topic covered in such detail. So much mis-information and half-truths out there about manufacturer Ohm designations. There's a lot of Ford Vs Chevy, Analog Vs Digital nonsense out there about 4 & 8 Ohm disgnations. Those argunents arn't even close to being relivant to how speakers and amps work.

[@noco-pf3vj]

That design of the tweeter on SVS Prime Pinnacle reminds me of the MB Quart tweeter from the '90s. Like MB Quart QL-502 S or QL-1002 S, All MB Quart speakers impedance are 4 ohms, can make your amplifier sweating fast.

[@superdougie10]

Im running 4 omh's on a really old NAD high voltage receiver into really old Celestian bookshelf two ways rated at 8 omh's. This receiver is set to run either setting for omh's these speakers perform better at 4 omh's I never play them load or past like 1.5 on the volume control. Over time these old speakers have sounded different with the high voltage at 4omhs and im guessing its the extra watts from that setting and the high voltage. They are still kind of congested which is common for these speakers.

[@av8rbri473]

oh boy, this reminds me of my initial EE days in school.... did not like it; went the mechanical route.... you did make it pretty easy to understand though and I enjoy your videos; breaks down to simple ohms law....👍🏻 I learn something new from every video you have put together.....

[@hugobloemers4425]

Interesting monologue, Personally I have always preferred high impedance speakers because the requirements for the speaker cable become less stringent (and I can just put a hum drum cable in place, I always concidered cables as closing post of the entire budget). The sensitivity issue between 4 and 8 Ohms I find less compelling. I prefer to relate sensitivity to power dissipation rather than voltage to understand the speaker motor. Like wise when I look at an amplifier, I look at the (RMS) power to an 8 Ohm speaker to match the two components (if you have 2 high sensitivity speakers in a living room, the neighbors will be calling the police at 20 Watts output so I am completely at loss why anyone needs a 300W per channel amp). The part of the impedance setting I found very interesting and learned something new :) But I was waiting to get the exeption which are tube amplifiers (or rather amplifiers using an output transformer) they have to be impedance matched to maximize the power because they are not approaching a voltage source.

[@1324390]

"Regardless of your speaker impedance always keep the switch on the high setting..." Does this rule apply to tube amps, which have different output transformers and binding posts for 4 ohm and 8 ohm speakers ? I was told that a pair of 6 ohm speakers should be more appropriately connected to the 4 ohm terminals of a tube amp.

[@Audioholics]

This video is dedicated for AV receivers only.

[@1324390]

@@Audioholics Thank you for clarifyiung.

[@arliecrumpler3213]

I have a cheap system: Cambridge AXR85 amplifier and old speakers. One pair is 8 ohms and the other is 6 ohms. I've been running all 4 speakers at the say time. I don't crank them up much and the amp is running fairly cool. No signs of overheating. Should I only run one pair? My amp is rated at 85 watts per channel and 4-8 ohms. I can select speakers: A, B, or A/B . The owners manual says it's ok to run 2 pairs of 8 ohms speakers together but not a 4 ohms and 8 ohms together. Just not sure about 6 ohms and 8 ohms together. Gonna disconnect one pair for now. I appreciate your technical expertise and really enjoy your channel.

[@epi2045]

Really great video!!! I generally prefer 4ohm speakers. They seem to be less fatiguing.

[@QuicksilverSG]

Wiring speakers in series can in some cases degrade the power output of one or both speakers at certain frequency bands. When speakers are wired in parallel, the full output voltage of the power amp will be applied to both speakers and they will work independently. In series, however, the current through both speakers will be limited by the sum total impedence of both speakers, and the voltage will be split between the speakers. If the speaker impedences are identical, the voltage will be split equally between the two speakers. But if the speaker impedences aren't perfectly matched in all frequency bands, the speaker with lower impedence will have its power output limited by the other speaker in those bands. While this is typically a minor effect, it can in some cases become audible.

[@aditya2805]

Loved your video .... Good explanation ; relationship of Audio sensitivity & impedance I do have knowledge on Electrical ...but not on audio You cleared it 🙏

[@faridjamal6837]

Excellent info and very well explained.

[@jansonata77]

I got a Denon X6700H that drive 5 Dali Opticon 8 mk2 front Opticon Vocal center and Opticon 2 surround, all speaker is 4 ohm. I tested it at 8 Ohm and 4 Ohm. I got to say my Denon run cooler at 4 Ohm than 8 Ohm after 4 hours. Maybe the receiver is better now days.

[@Audioholics]

You severely limited your available power to your speakers doing that. If you prefer less dynamic range and higher distortion as opposed to providing better ventilation, knock yourself out.

[@jansonata77]

@@Audioholics Thanks for the answer. I will give another test round. Keep up the great work. I like your videos on products. Testing different things.

[@Jusstisse]

​@@Audioholics I have this EXACT receiver and am planning on buying 3 Kef R3 Metas for my LCR. You are saying that I should ignore the Denon Recommendation to switch to 4 ohms and leave it in 8 and it will be ok? This makes me sad that a $4k receiver has a stupid switch like this. In your other current video i thought you were speaking about like $300 receivers. Its depressing that it applies to these (what i consider expensive) AVRs ...

[@dickydoesaudio3466]

Wish this video would have been available about two years ago, it would have saved me some money. I popped several tweeter's before realizing my Denon 6400 wasn't putting out enough power for my 4 ohm speakers. Because Denon state's the receiver is capable of pushing 4ohm speakers, I thought it was fine. Guess not. I went the somewhat cheap route and bought a couple crown amps for my front three speakers everything's been good since then...

[@GunnyPhillips]

Great information as always. Thanks Gene.

[@AvithOrtega]

Hi! I have a question about frecuency response/audio quality of a Speaker connected with an Amplifier that have different ohm values, hopefully you can resolve my doubt :) - I have an amplifier with a 3 ohms output and I want to connect a speaker of 2 drivers (1 woofer and a tweeter) of 8 ohms. - As far as I know the only drawback is that it will sound less loud (which is not a problem for me), but the frecuency response of the whole speaker is preserved just as it was designed for. Is this correct? - What if I match the impedance of the speaker with the one of my amp using a 5 ohm resistor in parallel? Will it just sound louder or does it improves the audio quality/frecuency response of the speaker? - If I only connect my 3 ohm amp to the 8 ohm speaker, will this affect the crossover of the speaker (as I understand it (here)[soundcertified.com/how-does-increasing-speaker-impedance-affect-db-output-power/], or the speaker crossover is completely independent and therefore not affected by the ohm mismatch?

[@zombielandiii2711]

Hope you can review Kef R3 and/or RSL CG25. Now, I'm going to see some of your videos. I'm specially interested on dual subwoofers calibration, I think I screw it, because I buy two different. A monolith monoprice 10 inch, and a speedwoofer RSL. So I Will try to make this combination work, or get rid of one of the two. Wish me luck! Oh, by the way, congratulations for your new Mark for 90,000 subscribers and 20 millions of visitors. Without a doubt, this honest channel deserve it and more.

[@devitomichael]

Wow. This is the type of information I feed upon! Awesome!

[@tommichaels2581]

Thanks Gene. Very helpful. Confirmed what I was doing.

[@marshallborder9089]

Have a new Pyle amppifier 40 Watts x 2 POWER OUT PUT that requires a 10% RMS 4 ohms speakers , but I have a pair of 60 watts 6 ohms JVC bookshelf speakers on hand . Think these 6 ohms will work .

[@Chiroman527]

Gene, fantastic dissertation about ohms and impedance. I'm just learning about this as I setup a new basement studio setup construed during COVID pandemic. New Denon DRA 800H Receiver with 2 speaker outputs. A and B. I connected 2 pairs of 8 ohm rated bookshelf speakers in parallel to the B speaker output, a d 1 pair of Fluance Signature Series Surround HiFi Bookshelf speakers, a 8 ohm speaker with nominal 6 ohms. The system played very well until after a time, with voulume at 62 (98 the highest), the Receiver overheated and shut down. When i disconnected the A speakers , the paralleled speakers played without issue. I now added a integrated amp , an IOTAVX SA3 to play the Fluances , hooked up via the Zone 2 preouts on the Denon. Any other way to play all 6 speakers on the Denon? This was a great well skilled video. Thx . Be well

[@wcovey9405]

All things being equal, The lower the imp., of a speaker the heaver the load on an amplifier, the heaver the load of an amp., the higher the amplifier's distortion. The higher the current draw of a speaker the heaver the wire running from the amp to the speaker has to be. The higher the current draw, the greater the heat the amp., generates shorting the lives of the amplifier's components. Your want sensitivity, make the speaker's magnets stronger. Back in the days of tubes, when amplifiers had audio transformers, speakers with higher impedances, in the order of 16 to 32 ohms, were the better speaker. You want a better speaker, put a stronger magnet into it and reduce the load of the amplifier driving it.

[@manFromPeterborough]

The tower speaker may not be triple woofer, it may have 2 active woofers and a passive radiator, also many centre channel speakers are 4 ohm due to the 2 8 ohm woofers wired parallel

[@Lawrence818]

Wow I was telling people at best buy that my Pioneer SC-87 was clipping out (Nannie) with my Martin Logan Theos on five ch driving. They were like so confused and telling me it should not be doing that lol. I just got a separate 2 ch Amp and now I have 0 problems.. Real Experts are hard to find in life.

[@mii747]

Thanks Gene. Very informative. 👍

[@jimbasler1054]

I have a Pioneer sx-1250,from 1976. I drive a pair of JBL LX600 8ohm speakers,for low to mid volume listening,and a pair of Cerwin Vega AT-12 4ohm speakers,for some higher volume listening. If I use a speaker selector switch,is there any reason that I shouldn't drive both pairs,together? The receiver specs say no lower than 4ohms...... I had this receiver serviced and recapped recently,and it bench tested at 180wpc. Thanks in advance!

[@Ed.T-p1b]

I am most confused with the given speakers' impedance specification. eg: nominal umoedance 8 ohm, minimum impedance 3.8 ohm ; What it is? What should I treat the speaker impedance if I am to play two pairs of speakers for both A and B of one amplifier which has a limit of maximum 4 ohm?

[@tedplehn8800]

Does the advice to keep your amp at the higher output apply to tube amps? I've heard that to choose 4 or 8 ohm taps based on perceived sound quality.

[@Audioholics]

No,this is for AV receivers with an impedance switch.

[@mkshffr4936]

@@dubbler9228 On a tube amp generally you want to use the matching impedance tap. However, using the "wrong" tap will just change the load line (or more accurately load ellipse ;)) on the output tubes from what the manufacturer considered optimal so max power output, distortion etc will change. In any normal situation you won't damage the amp but you may or may not like the change in sound. Just be sure to power down before changing as you don't want to have the amp trying to drive an open output.

[@benhanson2117]

This was very informative. Thank you

[@stephens2r338]

Your correct except with a tube amp. You often have the opportunity to choose16 , 8 or 4 output matching. Try all of them...often connecting the 8 or 16 ohn connector to the 4 ohm speaker sounds better.

[@longstaffkj]

I've never understood how these devices were rated. Thanks for explaining this so clearly. Great vid.

[@arianbardez7149]

I recently purchased a Yamaha as-501 integrated amplifier (85 rms/channel @ 8-ohms) - resulting in the depletion of my very limited finances. So now I don't have any means to buy matching Yamaha speakers. But I have a pair of Pioneer car speakers in wooden enclosures ( 4-ohms, 150-rms/each ). Please let me know if I can use them without causing any damage ? The as-501 Amp has an Impedance Selector switch - Should I set it to 4--8 ohms or should I leave it at 8 ohms ?

[@romanlewandowski9616]

Thanks again for the great review

[@thomasrauch6477]

can you do a review on the JBL l890 tower speakers? what they like for power, best eq setup, best distance from listener, ect. thank you for all of the information you give in your videos.

[@anthonymartino9917]

I have those speakers two pair. They are great speakers decent low end and good mids and imaging. You can run them on a decent receiver just fine. I upgraded them to the Polk lsim 707s and now the Legacy Focus SE. For the cost the l 890s are excellent.

[@dennisciarcia7015]

Does 4 ohm speaker require an amp with more power? I would think a amp with less power (i.e. more bang for the buck) since it plays louder. example: 33% of my amp's power into a 4 ohm would be louder than that same volume level (33%) into an 8 ohm. So i would have to turn the amp up to get the same db for a 8 ohm vs 4 ohm. Confused on why 4 ohm taxes an amp.

[@TheRealCompensator]

I want to pair my Kef T305 with a Denon AVC-X4800H. Is this a good option / combination?

[@finscreenname]

Infinity was famous for using 4 ohm speakers for everything and then wiring the woofers in series to get 8 ohms going to the crossover for some reason. Thinking it was mainly because they killed Amps on a regular basis.

[@hobojon44]

I have ELAC 6.2 6 ohm speaker where is that speaker and the Marantz pm 7000n what about 6 ohm speakers

[@revokdaryl1]

Isn't it true that a lower impedance speaker results in a lower (halved) damping factor to a higher impedance speaker? I'm pretty sure if an amplifier has a damping factor of 300 with an 8 ohm speaker, it'll more or less be approximately only 150 with a 4 ohm speaker. I've been wanting to look into some 16 ohm speakers, which favour high voltage to high current. This would mean the damping factor with a 16 ohm speaker on the same amp would be 600, right?

[@borlach321]

From my experience a 4ohm speaker likes more power ( a lot) in which case I would never use an AVR. Would you say this speaker is difficult to drive? Frequency Range (+/-3 dB) [Hz] 50 - 26.000 Sensitivity (2,83 V/1 m) [dB] 87.0 Nominal Impedance [ohms] 4 Maximum SPL [dB] 107 Recommended Amplifier Power [W] 40 - 150 Crossover Frequency [Hz] 3,1 Crossover Principle

[@donk1822]

I figure the truth likely lies between two extremes, whatever they are. This is good. I use Tannoy DC3000's, and TDL Studio 1's which are both nominally 6 ohm's. ;)

[@donpech1422]

Hi if my ampis 4 ohms do 8 ohms speaker load my amp too much? My amp have 2 channels and is 4 ohms 750 watts per channel if i use 8 ohms speaker how many watts of 8 ohms is ok? Thanks

[@MrApple-qf3qo]

So I big CVs would it be better to play them on a stereo amplifier or AV Receiver

[@WindomRettes]

Question: I have a pair of Pioneer SP-FSF2 tower speakers rated at 6 ohm mated to a Yamaha TSR-7850 receiver. As you stated in this video should I keep the receiver speaker output switch at 6 ohm or return it to the 8 ohm position?

[@WindomRettes]

meant to type SP-FS52

[@Audioholics]

Answer is in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/haaYk4JuhZd3qNk

[@WindomRettes]

@@Audioholics After watching video I adjusted my receiver back to the 8 ohm speaker setting,Thnx.

[@vinay00420]

Hi Gene, Can you share some of you insight on airmotiv c2+ center speaker which is an 4 ohms speaker with 92db sensitivity

[@styner3]

I can't talk about the airmotiv c2+ but I bought the C2 on closeout in May and it's incredible, especially for the price. At $399 the airmotiv c2+ is still a great deal, the C2 has taken the dialog in movies to another level for me so the C2+ must sound even better.

[@vinay00420]

@@styner3 Thanks this was very helpful :)

[@MLDurant]

Explained perfectly. Thank you!

[@scottwien139]

Hi Gene - thank you so much for the explanation on 4 ohm vs. 8 ohm speakers. Follow-up...I am considering a pair of Tekton Pendragons - Eric offers them in 4 ohm builds or 8 ohm builds. I have a high current 250 watt per channel amp - should I go with the 4 ohm build with upgraded 4 ohm caps and capacitors?? I was thinking the 4 ohm as I want to eventually dive into tube amplification. Thanks

[@thunderpooch]

The higher the ohms, the less power they require. Resistance gives you an idea of efficiency, but not of audio quality.

[@dennishaley4443]

Scott...I have the 8 ohm Pens with the 7 tweeter array and upgraded wiring and caps...Love them.....They wanted me to do the 4 ohm and I said no way....Almost all hi efficient , hi end audiophile speakers are 8 ohm. They sound better.

[@blipco5]

I'm going with the Enzo XL with 7 tweeter upgrade and upgraded crossover components. I'm deciding between 4 and 8 ohms even though my Parasound amp can handle 4 ohm loads. I just think it will run hotter and don't want to replace it any time soon. Eric is pushing hard for the 4 ohm.

[@dennishaley4443]

@@blipco5 I know they push almost too hard for the 4 ohm.....Most high efficient speakers are 8 ohm. Even the reviewers say to always use the 8 ohm tap if you have a choice. Good Luck...Good Choice but 8 ohm for me. I will Never sell these speakers because nothing for $2500 even comes close. Don't forget to get a Schiit Loki mini for $148...tone controls are fabulous.

[@blipco5]

Dennis Haley.. Thanks for your response. My Parasound P6 preamp already has tone controls which is one reason I bought it though I normally run in bypass. I only use the tone circuit when I use my FM tuner to boost the highs and either bump or tame the bass. My power amp is the Parasound A23+ and can easily run four ohm speakers but I had concerns. So I contacted Parasound and they told me that the four ohm speakers will not be a problem as long as the amp is well ventilated, which it is, but that confirmed it will run hotter. So it's 8 ohm for me as well. On a side note, they really like the Tekton speakers and they use them to demo Parasound equipment. Mainly for space requirements (Eric suggested the Pendragons but they just won't fit the space, they'll block off two fairly expensive paintings). I'm getting the Enzo XL with the seven tweeter upgrade and crossover upgrade. My big problem now is figuring out the custom color to match my room. I'm replacing my beloved Speakerlab S3 that I built 40 years ago with recently recapped crossovers. The S3 are nominal 8 ohm, sound incredible (blew away the JBL L100 that I demo'd the Parasound equipment on) and will play louder than my ears can take.

[@rajivbhowmickgkb280]

I Have an amplifier 180 watt per chennel output in 4 ohms . So can I use 150 watt speaker in 8 ohms? Because if i connect 2 × 8 ohms in parallel in become 4 ohms 300 watt

[@hiviman]

got a question i know this is old but im a lil confused your note about spl changes at mid/high vs low, but isnt that backwards? our ears are most senitive to mids/high not bass but why do u need 10db difference in the most senitive range compared to lows at 6db that our ears arnt senitive to? or am i missing something

[@ddcrocky3831]

What about svs ultra bookshelf speakers would that be hard to drive say like pioneer sc901 powering those ultra bookshelf svs speakers

[@valde223]

Why is som blu-ray audio higher then others som time a have to turn the vollum really high to hear the voices

[@PoesAcoustics]

That isn’t a speaker impedance issue. While there are encoding standards from SMPTE for movies, they may not always be followed. It is also possible that you have some kind of automatic compression system on. It’s an option on many receivers and many Blu-ray players. Check the audio settings and turn any form of compression or volume levelers off.

[@HermesTrismegistes369]

I have the Sonus faber sonetto viii’s(4ohm). And SF recomends pairing with 50-300w amp. I have a Parasound halo a51, and at 4ohm’s gives out 400w. Will my system be ok?? 😮

[@Thor777AHT]

I have 2x Neo 10 8ohm. Should i wire them in series 16 ohm or paralell 4 ohm? my ICEpower1200A2 can handle both

[@bobzealand5692]

Cool ! Howd the newer ml motion 60xti compare to the older model?

[@mark.4047]

Am i missing something here? From what u understand v sq / r = p. 2.83² = 8. 8/4 =2. So a 4ohm speaker rated at 85db spl @ 2.83v (no wattage mentioned) 1 m, will be 3 db less sensitive.

[@Audioholics]

Not following what you're saying here completely but if you have an 8 ohm speaker rated at 85dB SPL @ 2.83V, if the speaker magically turned into a 4 ohm speaker with all other parameters the same, the sensitivity would now be: 88dB since it's dissipating 2 watts instead of 1 watt from the amplifier.

[@mark.4047]

@@Audioholics : when the manufacturer publishes t/s params for 4ohm speakers it's usually it's ?dp@2.83v/1 meter. No 'watt' is mentioned because 2.83v is the measure and is independent of wattage. The impedance of the woofer will determine the watt output of the amp and in the case of 4ohm woofers 2 watts. This would mean then that an 8ohm woofer is drawing HALF the power in watts at the same voltage sensitivity as the 4ohm, thus giving the 8ohm woofer the 3db advantage.

[@SwirlingDragonMist]

Gene you sweetheart! I feel like the belle of the ball! Ha ha thanks for taking a deep dive into this topic! I saw this video 2 weeks ago and have been putting off my reply, sorry to leave you hanging. I ended up passing on those Beta-50’s cause the tweeters were dented, but I picked up some Beta-40’s one of which has a tweeter which although still fully domed shows some past fascination-deformation and little cracks from the CMMD layers delaminating, it honestly looks like glass as it diffracts light when I get up close at different angles with the flashlight. (Sold separately lol) . I happen to find a replacement tweeter on ebay for a beta-40 and what should I happen to see in the backside photo? It’s got 4ohms written on it. I then spent a little time with the brochure and noticed they call their horn-like parabolic waveguide a “Constant Acoustical Impedance” waveguide. Implying to me that the horn loading provides some air pressure impedance to perhaps increase the 4ohm tweeter’s resistance in the system. Hard to say if they rated it with or without the waveguide. I put the new Beta-40’s into storage with the rest of my setup, I’m essentially couch surfing, so tragically I haven’t been able to listen. Or analyze. The Beta series has two center channel options, I have the cheaper 2 way mtm design. I ascribe to the philosophy that the center channel is the most important channel. So I sprung to get the current reference series center channel RC263 as a bump up in overall performance. So I have my 4 towers 2 surrounds an extra center channel to cannabalize for a doner tweeter to spare. But guess what the impedance on the reference series center is marketed at? 6ohm with 89db sensitivity, compare that to the beta line advertised at 8ohm 91db. Is that just specmanship for the same number? The reference series also has a much shallower and broader waveguide, it’s almost flush compared to the deep pocket the beta tweeters sit in, but the reference also has a little torus and some other scifi jetsons junk suspended close to the tweeter’s dome. Which Is exactly the esoteric high tech gimmickry I love! What do you think about those sensitivity differences in mixing the sets? And about the hornloading affects on impedance curves? Or the CAi “Constant, Acoustical, Impedance” waveguide.

[@Audiolympian]

Awesome Video Gene. So much knowledge. So does a true lower ohm speaker basically have the ability to get louder with less distortion? I have some lower ohm speakers like Elac’s and Sonus Faber and truthfully I don’t notice much of a difference between them and my Goldenear triton 5’s I guess as far as ohms go. Thanks and shared

[@Audioholics]

Yes but not because its a lower impedance but because it has multiple drivers sharing the load.

[@PoesAcoustics]

Audiolympian well and again, I’ll preface what Gene says by noting it all depends on the speaker. All else being equal, adding multiple drivers reduces distortion and increases output. That doesn’t mean a speaker with 3 drivers has less distortion than a speaker with 2 drivers. It would just depend.

[@Audiolympian]

Matthew Poes thanks for your reply it makes sense. . I’ve just been trying to understand the real difference between the different ohm speakers for some time now. To me there doesn’t seem to be one

[@PoesAcoustics]

Audiolympian it is just an electro-mechanical property of the speaker. I wouldn’t buy speakers based on their impedance myself. I would buy a speaker based on its performance. The nice thing about a lower impedance speaker is that the amplifier puts out more power. If you have a good quality amplifier that is designed well and behaves as it should with a 4 ohm load, it can potentially deliver a 3dB increase in max output. That is nice to have. It’s a kind of free lunch. However my view is that we go by speaker performance first and impedance second.

[@Audiolympian]

Matthew Poes I never have. I just happened to pick up some speakers I liked that happen to be 4 ohm. But truthfully I really love my Goldenear speakers.

[@georgeleesoonhuat1394]

Hi there. I have an AV Amplifier by Onkyo and a pair of tower speakers with 6 ohms impedance. I had some issues with the amp shutting down. I was advised by amp technician to select 4 ohms impedance in amp selection instead of my original selection of 6 ohms or more. Please advise me on this 4 ohms impedance selection on my amp with the 6 ohms impedance tower speakers. Will it cause any harm to either amp or speaker? Your technical info appreciated.

[@GeorgeOu]

You should use two monitors and XSplit for these broadcasts. The second monitor can show you the composite final product. If you want free instead, get OBS Studio.

[@559carpet]

i have a question i have a pair of polk audio TSI 300 tower speakers. the specs say 8 ohm but why is it when i read it with a ohm meter it says 3.6 to 4.1. all speakers in towers are working and sound great but when i crank it up my receiver clips. it is a Yamaha RXV659. Thanks

[@pay9011]

My 1988 JBL L-60T speakers are 6 ohm. Is that a good or bad thing? (My amp is 8 ohm)

[@SangramVID]

Nice video ....Sir my question is I can connect 6 ohms speaker to 8ohms in series ? plz reply this speakers I will use in 8 ohms stereo amplifier ?

[@reneagutierrez]

Could you make this more simple with is Better 4 hom or 8 hom

[@EM-ke8is]

Hey Matt , big fan thanks for the response , I recently disconnected my B&K ref amp 200x7 with the Monoprice , while I may not be able to measure I will use the B&K and see if this occurs as I remember the Klipsch RF-7's kept playing clear and loud and continued to increase .When running the XMC-1 in reference stereo mode and not PLIIx the RF-7;s responded while using the Monoprice .Again appreciate look forward to watching next video keep up your great work audioholics .

[@FitraHomestead]

Do I understand it correctly, that when you have a 4 ohm speaker that it power handling goes up? As any good amplifier would double up or atleast go up quite a bit vs 8 ohm. So my amplifier gives more power into 4 ohm vs 8. So if a speaker is 4 ohm generally speaking they handle more power?

[@Audioholics]

They can due to having more drivers, but not always.

[@PoesAcoustics]

Audio Fun well I would add to what Gene is saying by noting that impedance is not in any way related to power handling. That is a function of the drivers. If you have one driver rated at 8 ohms and you pair them. You get 4 ohms impedance and double the power handling. However the doubling in power handling came from doubling the driver. If you wire in series, the impedance is 16 ohms but the power handling still doubles. You can also have a 2-way speaker that handles far more power than a 3-way speaker. It just depends on the drivers.

[@JordanKL1]

Or harman was using an L pad on the tweeter @7:45

[@jurgenkuhne9549]

Please help with specifications for the TLS Reference TL REF 1000 TX. I bought this set of surround speakers 15 years ago. I have upgraded to a Denon S950H, I am not sure if the speakers and Denon are a best fit.

[@adaboy4z]

Now I understand why my Ifinity Beta 50s have 4 ohm tweeters and 10 ohms dual 8 inch woofers but they advertised the speaker as 8 ohm..

[@heatheracosta780]

So if I'm running Three 6 inch 8 ohm Skyline performance Studio speakers that are 350 watts each. then i would need about 450 W 4 ohms to run them.. ?

[@petecap4382]

Hi I know it's off the topic but I know you are in Florida with all the hometheater equipment how to you handle the electric bill? do you go with Solar? I just relocated to orlando the light bill is crazy.

[@Audioholics]

My electricity bill isn't too bad. HVAC is more power hungry than my amps so I heavily insulated my attics, and deployed solar cooling fans.

[@simongomes7us]

What happens when you amplifier is 6 ohms like onkyo and your speakers are 8 ohms like klipsch ? What result do you get ? What is the effect on such a combination ???

[@PoesAcoustics]

Simon Gomes AN amplifier isn’t rated with an impedance like that. You are talking about the power rating referenced to a 6ohm speaker load. In your example, the amplifier puts out more power. The reason amplifiers are sometimes rated into 6ohms instead of 4ohms is that they can’t get a passing rating into 4 ohms with UL certification but it gives a bigger number than 8 ohms.

[@scottiffanimccord1509]

Thank you for the advice at the end about the 4/8 ohm switch on the back of my amp, I thought by having it on the 4 ohm setting I was getting more output, I was wrong thanks.

[@ben156]

Output resistance should always match what the speaker is wired/rated for. Safe mismatch is possible but not ideal.

[@EM-ke8is]

I recently purchased the Monoprice Monolith 7x200 amp and connected to an Emotiva XMC-1 driving Klipsch RF-7's ,450c and RB 59's for my surrounds at about -10 db or so the volume wont increase , Klipsch being sensitive speakers and the Emotiva processor functioning optimally , do you feel its an amperage problem at the outlet 15 not 20 ,or something with this subject of impedence ?

[@PoesAcoustics]

E M there are too many factors to answer this simply. If you could measure, we could figure this out. However, I would just say that the most likely problem is that you are hitting the maximum output of the speaker. If you look at our subwoofer tests, which test max output, and look specifically at compression tests, you will see that at some point a speaker just doesn’t get any louder. You add 3dB of signal, but only get 1dB or extra output. That is compression. Eventually it just won’t get any louder.

[@dandonna3904]

better to power 8 ohm speaker with 4 ohm amp to be safe? in those low dips

[@leslybranson1007]

So when a speaker says 8ohm(min 3.0) so what ohm rating is that speaker?

[@thiagodelgado3128]

sorry bother again but and the measurements of the MXA5200? they are better than older models? or can I buy CX5200 with a MXA5000?

[@Audioholics]

MXA5200 only if you want to bridge 2 channels for more power. Otherwise they are virtually identical.

[@thiagodelgado3128]

@@Audioholics already finished the review?

[@Audioholics]

@@thiagodelgado3128 not yet but measurements were completed a while ago. Hopefully will publish in 2 weeks.

[@thiagodelgado3128]

@@Audioholics really thx your answear. I really choose basead ok your IMO, I don't know if my next upgrade must be a sb4000 or mxa5200 pra 5000, my system is a rb81 ii+rc62ii+rs42ii with a aventage 1020. I Will like to get reference levels. My sub is dar worst sw112 but dont know whats is the right choice to do. Can u advice me?

[@CharlesDowiot-qv7pp]

Both Good 4 is good with Amp high power 8 less power run

[@reynaldogauiran796]

Sir can I use 2 speaker at the same time in one channel with 8 ohms and 4ohms?

[@califpv]

Yes, you just have to bridge them

[@dtsdigitalden5023]

Thanks for the mathematics behind all of this. Fantastic!

[@johnpoo1662]

So let's say you have two different 2-way bookshelf (tweeter+woofer) speakers from the same manufacturer. Same sensitivity, same woofer diameter. One is 4 ohms and the other 8 ohms. Assuming all other things being equal (no amp clipping etc), why would anyone buy the 4 ohm version? Is there something inherently better about a low resistance coil that translates into more linear driver motion? The compromise being it just wastes more power.

[@aaronfitzgerald9109]

Having 8 ohm amp with a 6 ohm speaker, does not make sense, wont the 6 ohm speaker try to draw 6 ohms worth of power from the 8 ohm set amp? Thus the speakers are calling for more power (lower impeadance rating) than the amps set at??

[@jaguar0811]

When I blew up the Marantz SR 8012 I called tech-support and they stated that I should have switched the receiver to 4ohm

[@andrewskaterrr]

Lord Jaguar Jaguar I have the SR5010 and am looking at getting some 4ohm speakers. I just read that there’s a 4ohm mode you are supposed to change it to. Did you notice a difference? Did it still blow again in 4 mode?

[@dandonna852]

PS audio lets us know there amps can handle down to 2 ohms and also Parasound lets us know that there amps handle down to 2 ohms

[@ThunderStruckMTB]

Love this..... always straight to the facts and in a way that even I can understand it.