2. amps-preamps
  3. 1234460131

Driving 1 ohm

Hi,

I'm actually driving my recently refurbished Acoustat 2+2 electrostatic speakers with a Conrad Johnson MF 2500A. My Acoustats have been completely modernized with new more rigid frame, new electronics in the interface, Medallion transformers and other tweaks.They really get down low with a lot more dynamics than before.

A lot of electrostatics owners will often chose pure Class A amplifiers to drive the load these speakers command. The 2500A plays beautifully and doesn't get very hot at the task.

My question is : am I slowly damaging the amp without noticing it ?
andr

Showing 4 responses by rwwear

rwwear
2,883 posts
 
It depends on how loudly you play the amp.
rwwear
2,883 posts
 
A true high current amp will double it's output as speaker impedence halves. Some of the early Krells would double their load all the way to .5ohms. Some of the Apoggees were .5ohms.
rwwear
2,883 posts
 
I wasn't recommending anything just defining a high current amp.
The Zero Impedance device looks like an autoformer or a similar device. It doesn't seem like something an OTL amplifier design would promote.
rwwear
2,883 posts
 
The Acoustat 2s aren't supposed to drop below 3 ohms and only require over 50 watts. Maybe a fairly powerful tube amp will work fine with them. Hopefully you can try one before buying.
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