the 4 ohm rating

There was a great speaker,discontinued a few years ago.It had all the characteristics found in all the "HOT TO TROT" stuff being sold today,even by the same mfgr!It was the Avalon Ascent Series 2.Not too big.Gorgeous to behold and listen to.The load was 6 ohms.Never dropping below 5.5(according to the literature),and 88 db sensitivity.This design,compared to the more recent stuff had the following features.You be the judge as to it's worth!175 lb cabinet.Massive external crossover for each channel(55 lbs ea.)Sealed box design with a Q of .5(supposedly ideal bass"definition" characteristics).Gorgeous veneers as well.The downside was that the "really deep bass"(below 35 hz)was not there.Not many speakers can do this either,as in really accurate.This could easily be remedied with a killer sub(like a REL).Don't kid yourself,if you are thinking that it could not compare to the Ceramic/Diamond stuff of today.That design (the Ascent) was,admittedly,an all out design.The driver compliment was a Nomex- Kevlar woofer/Highly modified Aluminum hybrid(with magnesium)midrange/and a Highly modded titanium tweeter.I have heard this design on many occassions.I admit it's mine,but,it absolutely is a bargain ,when it shows up used.I'm a fanatic in terms of "Performance" and NOT marketing.This product is an easy load on an amp,and when set up according to the manual (200 pgs of informative reading)I cannot see myself parting with it as long as I live in my current home.Anyone seeing a pair used should,at least,try to give an audition.Asside from being built to a quite literal "HEIRLOOM STANDARD" they surpass,IMO,the vast majority of the "Really Shiney" stuff being "Marketed to Death" today!Oh yes, and remember,that CONSTANT IMPEDENCE makes a difference!My amp sure runs cool!!

Why do they still make tube amps? They are less powerful and more prone to 'problems' than solid state amps(in general).

To me, a speakers numbers rate right up there with amplifier numbers...pretty much meaningless. It all comes down to how a speaker or amplifier designer's work sounds to you. Yes, some 4 ohm load speakers will limit some choices in amplifier designs, just as choosing some tube amps will limit some speaker choices. The key is synergy. If you like the sound of a speaker, you will find an amplifier to drive it easily. If you find amps that you love, you may consider changing speakers to suit it better.

I have 4 ohm speakers, I bought them because they sound terrific, period. I've found an amp that drives them effortlessly (Clayton M100 monoblocks). 100/200 wpc into 8/4 ohms of pure Class A biased power. My amps are current hungry monsters that actually feed off of lower impedence speakers. In a review, the reviewer recommended using 4 ohm speakers to get the best performance out of these amps. I agree.

So in my case, I found a pair of speakers I loved, bought them, and then found the best amp to drive them. I know some will buy an amp that they love, and then buy speakers that will support them (particularly SET fans). There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Cheers,
John

Sirspeedy70680
Thanks for the tip,sounds like you have ONE nice pair of speakers.Hope to find a pair
George

Ran Spica TC-50's for over a decade with 3 different amps never a problem at 4 ohms.
Now using (the most inefficient speakers I've ever had)Chario Academy 1's at 4 ohms, not a problem at all and not hurting my amp (Eagle 4) at all.

Here is what one speaker designer has to say about designing 4 ohm speakers
"Thiel speakers have long suffered a reputation for being power hungry. Jim Thiel admitted that most of his speakers sport 86-87dB sensitivities and are 4-ohm loads. He could easily transform them into 8-ohm loads, but he prefers to avoid the concomitant loss of sensitivity by 3dB. He also uses 4-ohm loading since most well-designed solid-state amplifiers will double their output power into such loads. Why purchase this amp capability only to leave it unused?"

taken from http://www.soundstage.com/yfiles/yfiles200107.htm