2. amps-preamps
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configure amp 4 or 8 ohm to drive 6 ohm speakers

Hi all, my push-pull vacuum tube power amp can be configured for 4 or 8 ohm load but is currently wired for 8 ohm. The spec on my speakers is 6 ohm. Should I switch the amp to 4 ohm, and if so why? Would it be for sonic reasons or to be safer for the amp? If better to switch, I need to get the info from Cary to change the transformer connections.

amp is Audio Electronic Supply AE-25 super amp with 6l6gc in triode mode.

speakers are Opera Platea's

thanks in advance for any input
Phil
willamp

Showing 1 response by roscoeiii

roscoeiii's avatar
roscoeiii
1,155 posts
 
If you already have the amp and speakers, just try it out and see what works best for your speakers and your taste in music.

Not sure if you have a frequency vs. impedance graph or not, but if you have one and see a big dip in impedance, I might give more thought to a 4 ohm tap if there isn't much sonic difference between the two.

But really, try each and go with what you prefer. If they sound the same, I'd go 4 ohm, since even with 6 ohm nominal impedance listed, there are often some dips in a freq vs. impedance plot.
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