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4 ohm amp into 8 ohm speaker or 8 ohm am into 4 oh

That is the question? I have had so much different advice on this matter my head is spinning. Here is the scenario. I have a Linn Classik Musik that runs 4 ohms at 75w. Should I match the ohms for it to get the best sound and attach it to my Legacy Monitors that are 4 ohm impedence (25w to 300w) or should I attach it to my Monitor Audios that are 8 ohm impedence (100w). The Linn tech told me I would get better sound from the 8 ohm speaker rather than the 4 ohm Legacy. I thought we should match ohms?

I have another system that is an MD208 which is 8 ohms at 100w and 160w at 4ohm. Which speaker would be best for this, which is my nice home system by the by.

I want the best and safest match for these components, as they will be with me for at least 10 years.

So which pair do you all suggest for best sound and safest long lasting running. Should I match my ohms?

Thanks

JM
lamemoria
4 responses Add your response
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
speakers are rated by nominal impedance, you really do not know what you have by that rating, it is more of a guideline...

Just try for yourself and then tell us what you think!
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,784 posts
 
JM:

Amplifiers/receivers are rated at both 4 & 8 ohms. As long as you are just running the one pair of speakers with each amplifier/receiver, your speakers and amp will be safe. It is when you add more than one pair of speakers to a receiver/ampifier that concerns with the halfing of ohms (Ohms Law) and the stability of the line become a significant issue.

You already have all the electronics and speakers that you plan to acquire, so the rest is simple. With that said, I would experiment and determine which speakers sound best with each amplifier/receiver and that should be that.

Regards, Rich
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
I suggest you decide after listening.
BTW Herman, they just did.
morbius396c
134 posts
 
JM,

You don't need to "match ohms".

The question here is "can the amp handle the load"?

A speaker with lower imedance [ lower ohms ] is harder for
the amplifier to drive - because for a given voltage, the
amp has to put more current through a low ohm speaker than
a speaker with a higher ohm rating.

You can think of the amp as a pump, and the one that is
rated with a lower ohm rating can pump more water per unit
time.

You have two pumps, one rated at 100 gallons per minute,
and one rated at 200 gallons per minute. Both could fill
your swimming pool in a reasonable period of time; if you
open the valve to get 100 gal per minute. However the
larger pump will have some reserve capacity.

The amp with the lower ohm rating has reserve capacity that
you may or may not need, depending on your speakers and
listening levels.

Dr. Gregory Greenman
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