16 ohm speakers: any amp sounds better with more resolution. speaker cables less critical.


First,
  
Thanks to anyone who responds with whatever answers/opinions/advice comes from this. I'm retired, covid bound, Donna is taking care of everything holiday related, too much time, always curious.
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I happened across this in an old thread started by Ralph (atmasphere)

"Sixteen ohms, BTW is a very simple means for getting more resolution out of your system, as nearly every amplifier made sounds better on 16 ohms than it will on 4 or 8 ohms. Speaker cables become far less critical too."

My speakers are 16 ohms (Electrovoice horn tweeter, horn mid, 15" woofer, crossover, rheostats, from 1958).
Extremely efficient, I have more than enough power. Amp, now and in the past all had 16 ohm taps.
Of course I can hook them up to my Cayin's 8 ohm taps now and listen, but facts, opinions, advice, to learn is good.
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Lots of Questions? 

1. why/how do 16 ohm speakers make amps sound better, with more resolution? 

2. why speaker cables less critical? perhaps this is why I/we don't hear cable differences in my system?
I'm using my homemade twisted pair of cat 5 now (8 individually insulated small diameter solid core).

3.  to get exterior bias control: use 8 ohm tap for my 16 ohm speakers? (get alternate amp 4/8 no 16 tap,)

lose advantage(s)? 'sounds better'; 'more resolution'; 'speaker cables less critical'? 

this says slightly more mids:

http://blog.hughes-and-kettner.com/ohm-cooking-101-understanding-amps-speakers-and-impedance/

I can fine tune my speakers via their two rheostats: 'presence' and 'brilliance', so not really an issue for me.

4. Importance of Bias Control

how important is Bias? (I don't care about heat, power output, or tube life, just as bias affects sound). Frankly, using vintage tube receiver Fisher 500C, 800C and Fisher Mono Blocks 80Z, I have never checked or adjusted bias. I just put the control in the center position when cleaning insides/controls.

I have always used 16 ohm taps of various vintage tube and SS amps and newer current tube Cayin A88T. (original version, the only one with 16 ohm taps). It's bias control is internal, versions with safer external bias do not have 16 ohm taps.

5. replace their two rheostats? ('presence' and 'brilliance': copper wire-wound on ceramic body, mid/neutral position).
I have them in neutral position now, l/r frequency response equal.   

do I need to keep rheostats 16 ohms? use 8 ohm rheostat with 16 ohm drivers?

sales sheet says 16 ohm, but data sheet shows range 1.0 to 5k ohms. 

https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/303/controls_rheostats-1228697.pdf

does that mean, the drivers will draw whatever they draw (varies thru frequency range anyway), doesn't matter as long as rheostat range starts 1.0 ohm, extends past say 100.0 ohms?

https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/303/controls_rheostats-1228697.pdf

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thanks, Elliott











elliottbnewcombjr
And yet, the guy who designs some of the most fantastically successful speakers made anywhere in the world today says nevermind 16 ohms, even 8 ohms is obsolete. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMAO9LPsups

Nevermind Tekton speakers. It is getting nauseating that an answer to everything starts with "Eric". Pushing too much sometimes pushes away.
the guy who designs some of the most fantastically successful speakers made anywhere in the world
Really?

B
Am I missing something?

In the video he didn't mention sound QUALITY at all. Nor any comment on AMP performance/distortion differences.

His comments are about the SPEAKER, not the amp. He emphasizes, it's his choice for his high performance, high efficiency SPEAKERS . His demo is about loudness, saying 4 ohm will produce 3db more VOLUME than 8 ohm. IOW, it helps him with efficiency.






Did MC miss the part where the OP has 16 ohm speakers driven by a Cayin tube amp? Of course the sound quality is likely to be best when you are matching the impedance of the speaker to the value of the output transformer tap. The higher ohm tap results in less distortion, increased bandwidth and better efficiency. Apparently MC loves distortion and small bandwidth trying to drive 16 ohm speakers from a 4 ohm tap. Oh and there will likely no bass left at all in the speaker output let alone impact and texture. This actually explains a lot of his advice.

And yes, looking at Eric's video and the premium he places on volume I understand why he leans towards 4 ohm designs.   Lower impedance designs are simply an approach to get more power out of solid state designs....not getting lower distortion. sheesh....