4 ohm or 8 ohm tap

[intoaudio]

I have a set of 6 ohm ma rx6 speakers, my tube amp runs at 55 watts/ channel. Which tap would my speakers benefit more from the 4 or 8 ohm tap.

 

[cgutz]

This might be helpful:
http://www.astrasuite.com/astrablog/4-ohm-or-8-ohm-speaker-taps-that-is-the-question/

 

[vinylkid58]

Looks like 4 ohms might work better.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/monitor-audio-silver-rx6-loudspeaker-measurements

jeff

 

[Dave C]

Try it both ways and let your ears decide. My bet is that you go 8 ohm in the end.

 

[chefg1]

I had this problem with my jolida 502 amp, it has 4 and 8 ohm taps . And the cerwin vega dx9 speakers are 4ohm but they sound better on 8 ohm tap . But i only need a moderate volume to get a clean deep spacious sound.:thmbsp:

 

[shelly_d]

Safer for your amp if you use the 4 ohm tap. This will present a higher impedance to your output tubes then it is expecting. Using the 8 ohm tap will present a lower then expected impedance to your tubes. While not a huge difference, a higher impedance on the tubes will reduce the current through them and thereby help reduce the tendency for shortened tube life.

Shelly_D

 

[Kegger]

Try it both ways and let your ears decide. My bet is that you go 8 ohm in the end.

What he said, try both and use what sounds best to you.. :thmbsp:

 

[intoaudio]

thanks for the replies everyone, I will switch them over to the 4 ohm tap and see what it sounds like.

 

[JimW]

Biggest difference will be damping factor - the amp will exert more control (higher damping) from the four ohm tap, bass might seem leaner, probably tighter, while the eight ohm tap will have lower damping, bass may seem loose, or more pronounced. In as much as speakers impedance will be all over the place, as suggested, try them both. It won't hurt the amp or speaker.

 

[for_p1]

In tube amplifier you will never know what tap will work better. It all depends on output transformer parameters. That is why reviewers in magazines like Stereophile do measurements with both 4 and 8 ohm load connected to both 4 and 8 ohm tap. The ideal would be to measure THD vs frequency in all four combinations and choose one that looks best.