4 ohm tap vs 8 ohm tap


I have read reports about using the 4 ohm tap regardless of what the ohm rating for your speakers are. Right at this moment (who knows how long) I am using Meadowlark Shearwater speakers with Rogue Magnum 120 amps.
What would the audible difference be? And could I cause any damage to either products by running the Meadowlarks which are rated for 8 ohm with the 4 ohm tap?
Thanks, Scott
scottht
Morbius, I think you will find this amusing
I have spoke to a good work friend who is an electrical engineer. He has been in this profession for over 25 years.
I was telling him about the discussion on the CABLE forum of breaking in power cords. I almost had to call a code red to get him medical attention, because he couldn't stop laughing so hard.
How anal is this crap?
Would like to add that this has been a useful thread for me. I am running a pair of Granite Audio 860.1 tubed monoblocks into Equation 25 speakers and had been using the 8 ohm tap- never gave it much thought. The speakers are 6 ohm. Tried the 4 ohm last night and was very pleasantly surprised- cleaner, more articulate bass, and warmer midrange, without losing too much on top- just the effect I have been looking for with mixed success by trying different cabling.

Are there any technical reasons that a 6 ohm speaker should be driven better with a 4 ohm than a 8 ohm amp?
Makes me wonder about the Proacs that I sold because I was unhappy with them. Wonder how they would have sounded with the 4 ohm tap.
Of course the output tubes are always connected to the full primary winding of the transformer. So everyone is talking about the secondary windings, 4 vs 8 ohms. However, when you put an 8ohm load on the 4 ohm tap (or 4 on 8) you have changed the impedance loading on the output tubes, even though you never moved their wires. This probably affects the operating characteristics of the tubes.

No taps on my Crown PS-200s. The spec sheet says it supports 4, 8 and 16 ohm impedance. 170 wpc at 4 ohm, 100 wpc at 8 ohm, 55 wpc at 16 ohm - max average at 0.1% THD. Just swapped in a lovely pair of new Wharfedate Liniton Heritage Speakers listed at nominal 6 ohm, dipping to just under 4 ohm.

Still breaking in the speakers but they seem to sound best with the Crown at full attenuation, unpowered Shitt preamp with the input pot about 50% and system volume controlled by the DAC streamer input level. The Lintons are 3-way double rear ported, warm and rich with a wide dispersion range. The '70s called, they want their throwback box speakers back :)