4 ohms , 6 ohms, or 8 ohms???


My Canton 3.2 DL reference speakers sound wonderful.
They are rated up to 600W and the cabinet states  IMPEDANCE 4 TO 8 OHMS
I am considering a new amplifier which actually has one set the resistance at 4 or 6 or 8 ohms. 
I do not understand how to make that decision:
Should I run the speaker cables from new amp to the Cantons as 4 ohms, 6 ohms , or 8 ohms?
I would really appreciate some feedback on this...is there a simple, obvious answer?
wahoo101488

Showing 4 responses by erik_squires

Almost all speakers have varying impedances, and there is no 1 right way to judge what a speaker's "nominal" impedance is.  Some by average, some by minimum. There's a great deal of spec doctoring or wishful thinking involved.

You want to pick a tap that is closest to the measured values, so for this speaker 4 is it. However, it would be worth listening to other taps.

The issue isn't the impedance peak, but the minimums. I wouldn't call this a 4 Ohm speaker, I'd call it a 3 Ohm speaker. It's really abnormally, and broadly low in impedance to call it anything more.  That most of the bass is below this range means the amp is going to be working hardest where the music amplitude will be greatest.

Interestingly, Stereophile reviewed these speakers with a McIntosh with 2 Ohm taps, that seems much more appropriate than 4 Ohms. Also interesting was the change going to the Bel Canto's which don't have very good low impedance drive.

You want something pretty stiff. Less expensive but very good alternatives in the SS land would be the Parasound A21 stereo amps. That or better is where I would go.

Honestly I don't like the impedance curve at all, but if you like the sound you are going to have to carefully match them to the right amplifier to get the most out of them.
Looking at the measurements, here:

http://www.stereophile.com/content/canton-reference-32-dc-loudspeaker-measurements#BSJ98rl0dgKIixXi....

This is a very difficult to drive speaker. They have an impedance below 4 ohms for most of the bass up until around 700 Hz.

I would be VERY careful in buying any tube amp for this speaker pair. If you can audition I’d instead suggest you try a good solid state amp with good current capabilities.

By all means, LISTEN, but I worry based on this you may end up with pretty uninspiring bass with anything but a stiff SS amp.



Best,


Erik
No worries, unless you live and breathe this stuff those graphs don't make a lot of sense. :-)


One other thought. If they are bi-wirable, consider passive bi-amping. Get a solid state amp for the bass section, and keep your tubes up top.

Best,

Erik