16ohm speakers

[shsulli]

Could I hook up 10ohm speakers to the 8ohm tab on an amp? what is the rule of hooking up speakers to amps with 4/ 8 /16 ohms? thank you for your replies.

 

[whoaru99]

Afaik, use the closest match.

 

[shsulli]

I think It may cause overload if the wrong tab is used but I can not remember what the rule is to connect the speakers.

 

[Nat]

The different taps are provided to achieve the best possible efficiency, but the impedance of a speaker is not a single number -- it varies, sometimes wildly with frequency, and the cited figure is just an average or maybe a median. So if you don't match exactly, no problem. Its possible that if you are running the amp flat out that a mismatch might allow the transformer to overheat, but overloading amps is a bad idea in general, correct tap or not.

 

[NicoR]

It can't hurt the amp if you hook up a higher impedance load than what it is rated for, ie. hooking 16 ohm speakers to 8 ohm taps.

The only drawback to hooking up to high of an impedance is that the sound won't be as loud as if the speakers were hooked up to the right tap.

EDIT: For tube amps, ignore the above advice, as they do not handle higher impedance loads well (at high volume at least)

 

[shsulli]

Thank you for the responces. The speakers measure 10.5 ohms and my tube amp has a tab for 4/8/16 ohms which ones are safe to use?

 

[Urizen]

The speakers measure 10.5 ohms and my tube amp has a tab for 4/8/16 ohms which ones are safe to use?

All are safe. Use the one that sounds the best, and keep an eye on the amp. Check to make sure the trannies aren't getting too hot.

 

[Susurus]

Remember that you may be measuring a static load.

8 Ohm speakers usually measure 6.5 or so by my Fluke DMM. 4 Ohm speakers say 3.2 or so. Reading 10.5 just across the terminals probably means a 14-16 nominal rating.

 

[markus]

Remember that you may be measuring a static load.

8 Ohm speakers usually measure 6.5 or so by my Fluke DMM. 4 Ohm speakers say 3.2 or so. Reading 10.5 just across the terminals probably means a 14-16 nominal rating.

yup . . .. what he said :thmbsp:

 

[bowtie427ss]

If you're measuring with a typical vom, you're measuring DC resistance NOT AC impedance.

A DCR of 10.5 ohms would be very typical in most 16 ohm speakers.

Use the 16 ohm tap.