Thanks for all the input guys! It seems like the main issue is not getting the most out of your amp, whether from increased distortion, or reduced range, or reduced efficiency, but there isn't anything inherently harmful to the amp, per se.
The concept of impedance curves and matching is an interesting one, and helps clarify a bit in my mind why some amps/speakers may "play well together".
I do agree, and wish, all high end audio speakers were minimum 8-ohm. My problem is that I've been out of the game for a long time. All of the high efficiency speakers I've heard were not to my liking, regardless of the amp, and I really liked the overall package of the 845 tube. It's been a bit difficult to find a decently efficient 8-ohm speaker *sigh*
The concept of impedance curves and matching is an interesting one, and helps clarify a bit in my mind why some amps/speakers may "play well together".
I do agree, and wish, all high end audio speakers were minimum 8-ohm. My problem is that I've been out of the game for a long time. All of the high efficiency speakers I've heard were not to my liking, regardless of the amp, and I really liked the overall package of the 845 tube. It's been a bit difficult to find a decently efficient 8-ohm speaker *sigh*