Hi Jkull,
First, congratulations! Glad the amp and speakers have worked out so well.
It won’t hurt anything to try the 4 ohm and 16 ohm taps. And it seems to me to be worth trying, as I suggested earlier. Given especially that the speaker’s impedance deviates widely over the frequency range from its nominal 8 ohm rating, assuming its impedance characteristics are reasonably similar to those of the later version of the Cornwall II. The reference I provided earlier indicated an impedance for the later version ranging from around 5 or 6 ohms in much of the bass and mid-bass regions, to more than 20 ohms throughout most of the upper mid-range/lower treble regions, and to as much as 75 ohms in parts of that region.
Regarding your phono stage candidates, I see no technical issues that would arise using the Decware with the 219ia and your Soundsmith Zephyr MkII cartridge. With the Bottlehead I would be a bit concerned about its very high output impedance of 4000 ohms. That would be reasonable in relation to the input impedance of the 219ia, but would make its sonic performance more cable sensitive than usual, on the output side. And I note that its website description states that on its outputs "interconnect cables of 1 meter or less are recommended." Although you could probably get away with a longer length than that if you were to choose a cable having particularly low capacitance (e.g., less than say 20 pf/foot).
Enjoy! Regards,
-- Al
First, congratulations! Glad the amp and speakers have worked out so well.
It won’t hurt anything to try the 4 ohm and 16 ohm taps. And it seems to me to be worth trying, as I suggested earlier. Given especially that the speaker’s impedance deviates widely over the frequency range from its nominal 8 ohm rating, assuming its impedance characteristics are reasonably similar to those of the later version of the Cornwall II. The reference I provided earlier indicated an impedance for the later version ranging from around 5 or 6 ohms in much of the bass and mid-bass regions, to more than 20 ohms throughout most of the upper mid-range/lower treble regions, and to as much as 75 ohms in parts of that region.
Regarding your phono stage candidates, I see no technical issues that would arise using the Decware with the 219ia and your Soundsmith Zephyr MkII cartridge. With the Bottlehead I would be a bit concerned about its very high output impedance of 4000 ohms. That would be reasonable in relation to the input impedance of the 219ia, but would make its sonic performance more cable sensitive than usual, on the output side. And I note that its website description states that on its outputs "interconnect cables of 1 meter or less are recommended." Although you could probably get away with a longer length than that if you were to choose a cable having particularly low capacitance (e.g., less than say 20 pf/foot).
Enjoy! Regards,
-- Al