Can all amps drive a 4 ohm load?


My second silly question in as many days. I'd really like to know though. Can all amps drive a 4 ohm load to some extent, or will some only work with 8 ohm speakers?

I'm using an Audio Aero Prima integrated at 40wpc, and there's no mention of the power output into 4 ohms at all. I'd like to take it over to a friend's place to try it out on his maggies, but I don't want to blow anything up.

Thanks!
128x128lousyreeds1
Well in a sense most all amps can drive a 4 ohm load but if they don't have much current delivery they won't drive it to loud levels and the sound in general can be a bit enemic. Maggies in general like lots of wattage and current. I doubt that your unit would show off either the capabilities of the amp or the speakers. Not something that I would spend my time doing.
I sold a pair of Monitor Audio 4 ohm speakers to a friend who tried to drive them with a consumer grade receiver. When he used the 12 gauge speaker wire I'd included with the speakers everything worked fine but when he moved the speakers further away and tried to connect them with zip cord the receiver would shut down soon after the music started.

My theory was that the combination of the higher current demand of the speakers and the higher resistance of the skinny wire was tripping a protection circuit in a receiver that just couldn't handle the load. I'm sure the problem was that the inexpensive receiver didn't have the current capacity and I doubt that would be a problem with a higher quality amp.
Nothing will be damaged. If your objective is just to sample the planar sonic perspective, low volume is OK, and your amp will suffice. Just don't expect to evaluate the potential of the Maggies.
Hi,

the Audio Aero Integrated selects the impedance of the speakers automatically. This is straigth from the manual:

• Connections

Connect the supplied power chord to mains plug (1) and then connect it to the mains supply.
Connect the interconnect cables to the RCA plugs at the rear. The sources are identified on the front and are in correspondance with the printing on the rear plate

(2). You can chose LINE 5 as unbalanced (U) and balanced (B) input with the small switch located between the inputs. A tape monitor output is available for recording

(3)Connect the speakers cables to the corresponding binding posts as referenced on the rear plate printing

(4)The impedance is automatically adapted to the speakers.

Hope this helps.

Josep