JBL 16 OHM compatibility question
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SimplerTimes
Super Member
What spark says ^
You can go up in impedance with any amp, not down. So your 8 ohm rated amp will run 8 and above speakers but will most likely overheat with anything lower than 8.
You can go up in impedance with any amp, not down. So your 8 ohm rated amp will run 8 and above speakers but will most likely overheat with anything lower than 8.
BMWCCA
Addicted Member
Well, that's just not an assumption you can make. A good amp (any of my Crowns) can handle 2-ohms without problem. Many speakers are 6-ohm or even 4-ohm and don't present any problem to a half-decent solid-state amplifier.
Chris Brown
Super Member
The only real downside is that most amps are going to have less power output into 16 ohms compared to 8 ohms. If your amp does 100wpc at 8ohms, it might only be good for ~50wpc at 16 ohms. As long as that's still enough power for what you need, then you are okay.
If the OP's amp is rated at 4 or 2 ohms, I think he would have mentioned it.
BMWCCA
Addicted Member
Normally, amp manufacturers "rate" their power output compared to speaker impedance. Doesn't mean the amp itself is only rated for an 8-ohm speaker load. The actual impedance the amp sees will vary with the same speaker depending on what it's doing anyway. And then there's the question of whether any JBL labeled as 16-ohms is really measurable to 16-ohms. Many pro amps will state they are stable into a 2-ohm load, if they are. They'll seldom "rate" their amps at 2-ohms. I seriously doubt the OP's speaker connections say "8-ohm" only. They more than likely have no "rating" on the speaker outputs if it's solid-state amp.
I have plenty of JBLs listed at 16-ohm, but even more listed as 6-ohms. My 4345s have one rating of 8-ohm and another at 7-ohm—depending on the measuring frequency. my L5 and L7 are listed as 6-ohms. How many amps have you ever seen "rated" 6-ohms? Do you think my amps really care what the impedance is as long as I only have one pair of speakers connected? My venerable Crown PS400 manual lists output wattage for 8 and 4-ohms. It also shows under the heading of "Load Impedance" "rated for 16, 8, and 4 ohm use". The manual for my Crown Studio Reference-II amp actually shows a power output rated for 2-ohm parallel-mono use of 1,115 watts, as well as 16-ohm bridged-mono output of 715-watts. Nothing "rated" at 6-ohms, and everything works just fine! Saying an amp will overheat at anything less than 8-ohms is simply incorrect.
There are certainly amps (mostly receivers) rated for only 8 ohm loads (or higher, obviously).
Do I think an amp cares about the load it sees? Most certainly. If not, there would be no need for stouter power supplies, multiple output transistors, more heat-sinking, voltage regulation, current limiting circuits, etc.
Not sure why you are dwelling on speakers rated at 6 ohms.
What you do is of course your choice, but for those less interested in the details the proper approach is to use an amp rated for an impedance equal to or lower than the speaker's rated impedance.
Even if no damage ensues from doing otherwise, the less able the amp to deliver current demanded by the load, the less linear its output.
Do I think an amp cares about the load it sees? Most certainly. If not, there would be no need for stouter power supplies, multiple output transistors, more heat-sinking, voltage regulation, current limiting circuits, etc.
Not sure why you are dwelling on speakers rated at 6 ohms.
What you do is of course your choice, but for those less interested in the details the proper approach is to use an amp rated for an impedance equal to or lower than the speaker's rated impedance.
Even if no damage ensues from doing otherwise, the less able the amp to deliver current demanded by the load, the less linear its output.
BMWCCA
Addicted Member
I'm dwelling on speakers rated at 6-ohms because (1) they are quite common, and (2) you insisted that running them on an amp "rated" at 8-ohm would cause the amp to overheat. Maybe the OP can show us where it is said his "solid state amp is rated at 8-ohms". I will bet you that the specs simply show a power rating measured at 8-ohms, and I would be most surprised if it said anywhere on the speaker connections only to use 8-ohm speakers.
The OP is likely not all that familiar with vintage JBLs or, perhaps, electronics in general. A quick picture of the back of his "amp" or at least the model number, would answer a lot of questions more related to your answer than to his question.
People asking questions on this forum deserve to get accurate answers:
https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/how-to-stop-worrying-about-speaker-impedance/
BMWCCA
Addicted Member
You are correct. My apology. That was the answer right after yours that I was correcting.
