the 4 ohm rating
It's not that simple. No speaker has a perfectly flat resistance curve. A speaker may be called an 8 ohm because it averages 8 in the midrange but frequently may jump to 16 ohm or higher in the bass and may also jump in the higher frequencies as well. If you get a chance, look at a speaker performance graph in a catalog or on the Madisound website. It ususlly shows the frequency response and Ohm graphs. Sonny http://www.info@madisound.com |
Bigjoe, You are drawing incorrect conclusions. For one, the requirement for an 8 ohm load as opposed to a 4 ohm load is a constraint on the speaker designer. All product engineering and design is a series of trade-offs. By placing this constraint on the designer - you may be forcing the designer to trade-off the sonic performance in order to meet the load constraint. You are also incorrect at saying the the wattage, i.e power at the lower impedance of 4 ohms is "inflated". The power IS the power. It is true that for a given voltage, the lower impedance will result in more power being delivered to the speaker because of the need for greater current. However, there's nothing "inflated" about that power - you are truly putting more power into the speaker. For the best sonic results - don't constrain the designer. If the design naturally gives you a 4 ohm impedance - so be it. Don't make the designer trade off sonic performance in order to match your minimum impedance specification. Now it is true that you may need a heftier amplifier to drive that speaker - the lower the impedance the more load on the amp. However, there are many amplifiers that are up to the task. That's just the "cost" of doing business with that particular speaker. So for the cost of a more powerful amp, you've lessened a constraint on the speaker designer - who can use that to better advantage to give you better sound. Don't go to the other extreme and conclude that 4 ohm designs are inherently better than the 8 ohm designs - they are not. Neither has an advantage. However, when the speaker designer is engineering the speaker, the laws of physics and electronics may naturally lead him/her to one side or the other. What is best for the listener is to allow the speaker designer the flexibility to choose the best load impedance for that speaker - unfettered by a requirement to meet some artificial minimum. "Que sera sera" - what will be; will be. Dr. Gregory Greenman Physicist |
Bigjoe, funny you ask that question at this time, as I am headed down a similar path of questioning. So far in my search I've found a list of reasons against high impeadance. The topper may be that the mainstream consumer doesn't care and making high impeadance drivers is far costlier. Looking forward to learning more from others about this. |
