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Post subject: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:09 pm
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I'm trying to do some research into buying another amp and while comparing specs I've noticed different brands and different types having different ohm values. While I know that more wattage = louder sound, what does ohms mean? For example my current main amp is a Vox VT40+ which has 60W RMS with a 10 inch speaker at 8 ohms. Another amp I'm looking at has 50W RMS with a 10 inch speaker at 4 ohms. This has me wondering -say the wattage was exactly the same on both amps but one was 4 ohms and the other 8 ohms -which one would be louder? And, which one would have the better over-all sound?
I've noticed that small car stereo speakers are often 4 ohms while larger lounge room style speakers are usually 8 ohms but larger ohms doesn't seem to mean larger speaker because I've also noticed headphones have 32 ohms!
So, I'm a bit confused!
Can anyone shed some light on this for me?
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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:39 pm
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I don't think ohms has anything to do with sound quality. It's about what resistance or load the power amp is expecting. For example if you are going to lift something and you think it weighs 2lbs and it really weighs 50lbs you might hurt yourself and vise-versa. 8 ohms seem to be right in the middle for guitar amps. Now someone might know something I don't, but ohms can really matter if later you want to run a certain cab or speaker configuration. You may want to upgrade the speaker one day, I think everyone makes good speakers in 8 ohms. Also, it commits you to a particular wiring scheme if you're on one end or the other - (4 or 16 ohms) for most amps. You can read about series and parallel speaker wiring and ohms to see what I am getting at. You can increase and decrease the ohms of a multiple speaker setup with wiring and the number of speakers. Many amps today will operate at multiple loads to make life easier on you, you just have to check amp by amp. Lastly, tube amps and solid state amps handle loads differently if you go higher or lower than what the amp is rated for - but I would just stick to the rating.

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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:56 pm
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So, really there isn't much difference between two 50W speakers with 1 at 4ohms and the other at 8ohms?
If I understand you right (not really sure if I do!) neither speaker will be louder, just have different wiring? Is that it?

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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 3:29 am
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Read this, if you are going to be matching speakers to your amp this is VERY important. If you don't understand it after the first time you read it, book mark it and read it again the next day.


http://www.prestonelectronics.com/audio/Impedance.htm



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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 3:52 am
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Dan999 wrote:
So, really there isn't much difference between two 50W speakers with 1 at 4ohms and the other at 8ohms?
If I understand you right (not really sure if I do!) neither speaker will be louder, just have different wiring? Is that it?


Bottom line, your amplifier is what determines what the impedance of the speaker should be. It's rated to work with 4, 8, or 16 ohm output. If you don't match it, bad things will happen in your amp. Louder or not louder isn't the consideration. Working or fried is the question.

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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 7:55 am
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Dan999 wrote:
So, really there isn't much difference between two 50W speakers with 1 at 4ohms and the other at 8ohms?
If I understand you right (not really sure if I do!) neither speaker will be louder, just have different wiring? Is that it?


(Ohm, not "ohms". You don't say Fahrenheits either. //grammarnazi)

Yes and no. A 50W 4Ω amp with a 50W 4Ω speaker will sound exactly as loud as a 50W 8Ω amp with a 50W 8Ω speaker.
However, if you put the "wrong" impedance speaker on an amp, it can sound weaker - or louder. Before it burns up the output stage of your amp, that is. (Well, not really, unless you dime it - most amps can handle impedance mismatches of between half and twice the rated impedance without going up in flames, but better not risk it. Just don't.)

Yes, the winding and wire thickness in the speaker element is directly related to the impedance - the same wattage speakers with the same name from the same company will have a different winding as the Ohm rating changes, and will sound different.
In my opinion, a single 4Ω speaker sounds better than an 8Ω one - but you can hook up two 8Ω speakers in parallel to get 4Ω[*], and that usually sounds even better.

[*]: Adding more speakers in parallel decreases the impedance. Think of the impedance as how restricted the flow is. Much like a single water hose can have a high water impedance, by adding a second hose, you reduce the overall impedance, just as getting a fatter hose would. But your water pump might not be able to handle it.


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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:49 am
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I was only saying "ohms" to fit in. "Fahrenheits" I kinda like it. It's 75 Fahrenheits, kinda grows on you.

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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 12:48 pm
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The efficiency or sensitivity of a speaker will change how loud the amp is. In other words, a 50w amp will be much louder with an efficient speaker than another 50w amp with a less efficient speaker, regardless of the ohm ratings.
Here's some speaker info that might help:
http://celestion.com/category/4/Guitar/ ... 2Diameter/

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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 1:43 pm
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arth1 wrote:
Yes and no. A 50W 4Ω amp with a 50W 4Ω speaker will sound exactly as loud as a 50W 8Ω amp with a 50W 8Ω speaker.
However, if you put the "wrong" impedance speaker on an amp, it can sound weaker - or louder. Before it burns up the output stage of your amp, that is. (Well, not really, unless you dime it - most amps can handle impedance mismatches of between half and twice the rated impedance without going up in flames, but better not risk it. Just don't.)

Yes, the winding and wire thickness in the speaker element is directly related to the impedance - the same wattage speakers with the same name from the same company will have a different winding as the Ohm rating changes, and will sound different.
In my opinion, a single 4Ω speaker sounds better than an 8Ω one - but you can hook up two 8Ω speakers in parallel to get 4Ω[*], and that usually sounds even better.

[*]: Adding more speakers in parallel decreases the impedance. Think of the impedance as how restricted the flow is. Much like a single water hose can have a high water impedance, by adding a second hose, you reduce the overall impedance, just as getting a fatter hose would. But your water pump might not be able to handle it.

Can you elaborate on what differences you find in the sound between the different ohm ratings?
Does one sound like the speaker is being pushed harder or is there a difference in the way it directs the sound? I can imagine how two speakers will sound better, fuller, wider, but I'm not familiar with any sonic differences between speakers that are the same, minus their rating.

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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 1:54 pm
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arth 1 wrote

Quote:
(Ohm, not "ohms". You don't say Fahrenheits either. //grammarnazi)


seeing as were being slightly pedantic that's not actually true, you never heard of ohms law. The simplest most basic of the "laws" probably. Ohms just means more than 1 ohm.

Georg Ohm wasn't American, In the UK we say maths, I guess folks from the US always say math.

Al


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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 2:17 pm
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Al 87 wrote:
arth 1 wrote

Quote:
(Ohm, not "ohms". You don't say Fahrenheits either. //grammarnazi)


seeing as were being slightly pedantic that's not actually true, you never heard of ohms law. The simplest most basic of the "laws" probably. Ohms just means more than 1 ohm.

Georg Ohm wasn't American, In the UK we say maths, I guess folks from the US always say math.

Al


Really. That's interesting. I have always been interested in the way different cultures structure their language. I was educated in the US :oops: and find that some of my friends that were not actually speak better English (Or American English) than I do. It may be slang, but we do say "How many Ohms is it?" and we do call it "Ohms Law". Or is it "Ohm's law"?

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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 2:54 pm
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Hi Matt

Well now we are getting into the nitty gritty of grammar lol. I think if it's a reference to the man, ie Ohm's Law then it would probably be Ohm's.

If were talking plural units then ohms is good. As we also use microohm, megohm etc
maybe that's where differences emerge in various parts of the world regarding the use of the "s"?

:wink:

.. Al


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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 3:49 pm
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Al 87 wrote:
arth1 wrote:
(Ohm, not "ohms". You don't say Fahrenheits either. //grammarnazi)


seeing as were being slightly pedantic that's not actually true, you never heard of ohms law. The simplest most basic of the "laws" probably. Ohms just means more than 1 ohm.


No, that's Ohm's law - a possessive, not a plural. Epynomous units do not get an s in plural.

10 Watt, not Watts
10 Ohm, not Ohms
10 Volt, not Volts
10 Becquerel - not Becquerels
10 Kelvin - not Kelvins
10 Hertz - not Hertzes
10 Siemens - not Siemenses

Al 87 wrote:
Georg Ohm wasn't American

And? It's "zehn Ohm" in German, not "Ohmen".


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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:34 pm
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There is* a strong argument for using the highest impedance available if you use a tube amp with a long speaker cable. A poor quality cable adds significant impedance in series with the speaker. Let's assume this is 1 ohm (it won't really be this high). The mismatch at the 4 ohm terminal is one quarter of the load whereas at the 16 ohm tap it is down to one sixteenth. That's why in the past Marshall recommended always using the 16 ohm tap if possible. These days the valve P.A. is a thing of the past, cable runs are shorter and it really doesn't make much difference which tap you use.

* was

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Post subject: Re: Speaker ohms -is higher or lower ohms better?
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 6:49 pm
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omar59 wrote:
Read this, if you are going to be matching speakers to your amp this is VERY important. If you don't understand it after the first time you read it, book mark it and read it again the next day.


http://www.prestonelectronics.com/audio/Impedance.htm



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Good article omar59, thanks for posting.

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