.....Garfish, some speaker manufacturers (Thiel?) intentionaly correct their crossovers so that the speakers present a fairly consistant load. I believe the intent is to offer amplitude coherence and to help keep the amplifier stable by limiting the electronic gymnastics. Though some claim that these measures suck the life from the over all sound, it seems like a "sound" idea to me.
.....Philojet, high impedance loads can be just as difficult for solid state amps as low impedance loads are to tube amps. In as much as solid state amps tend to put out more power into low impedance loads, the inverse is true as well, solid state amps put out less power into high impedance loads. Most people don't realize that even a mighty Krell with will wince faced with a 32 Ohm load as much as the average (there are always exceptions) tube amp will wince when faced with a 1 Ohm load. Solid state amps don't have as much a problem today, as in yesteryear, when there were many more speakers with loads over 16 Ohms. This is not to say one is better than the other. It's about using the right tool for the job at hand.
.....Philojet, high impedance loads can be just as difficult for solid state amps as low impedance loads are to tube amps. In as much as solid state amps tend to put out more power into low impedance loads, the inverse is true as well, solid state amps put out less power into high impedance loads. Most people don't realize that even a mighty Krell with will wince faced with a 32 Ohm load as much as the average (there are always exceptions) tube amp will wince when faced with a 1 Ohm load. Solid state amps don't have as much a problem today, as in yesteryear, when there were many more speakers with loads over 16 Ohms. This is not to say one is better than the other. It's about using the right tool for the job at hand.