If you don't have the golden ears, then either taps will work just fine.
You won't damage the amplifier.
You won't damage the amplifier.
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I'm with almarg on this one - and kudos to him (her? sorry almarg!) for doing the research. The fact that the minimum speaker impedance is 6 ohms, combined with the output impedance of the ARC amp of about 1 ohm, brings us up to 7 ohms total (roughly). For a "set it and forget it" approach, I'd go with the 8 ohm tap. That said, as seikosha pointed out, it really is a personal taste question and it's up to your own ears to decide. If you can't hear the difference, then take it as a sign that you may be spending too much money on audio gear - as well all are. ;-) |
I believe the lower the tap, the lower the output impedance and distortion, always a good thing.Bdp, that's correct with respect to output impedance being lower on a lower impedance tap. As a rough approximation the output impedance of a 4 ohm tap can be expected to be in area of half of the output impedance of an 8 ohm tap. However, if the impedance of the speaker is significantly mismatched with respect to the load impedance the particular tap is nominally intended to drive, distortion will increase and power capability will decrease. Also, although they are in the minority there are many speakers that will sound best when driven from a higher rather than a lower output impedance. See Atmasphere's paper on "Paradigms in Amplifier Design." Mhwalker, I'm definitely a "he," but I appreciate your sensitivity to such matters :-) Regards, -- Al |
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