Amp Designs That Are Able To Drive 4/2 Ohms Load


I have noticed that some amps like the Krell Evo 302 will output the exact wattage when halving the impedances ie. 300W/600W/1200W into 8/4/2 ohms respectively. On the other hand, some amps like the Bryston 7B-SST does not output the exact wattage when halving the impedances ie. 600W/8 ohms to 900W/4 ohms or the Plinius SA-100 (100W/8 ohms to 180W/4 ohms)

Can someone enlighten as to where the 'missing' watts have gone for amps that do not output the exact 2X the wattage when going from an 8 ohm to 4 ohm load? What are the criterias in amp design that determine which route to adopt, and what are the pros and cons of each design?

Thanks in advance.
ryder

Showing 1 response by eldartford

As Bob noted, inability to drive a 2 ohm load does not reflect "Crappy" design. It reflects inteligent design (sorry about that) for an amp that will be used with 8 or 4 ohm speakers.

If you want to drive low impedance loads look to pro sound amps that are designed to do this.