The 4 ohm speakers may draw more current than 8 ohm ones so larger cable and/or shorter runs may help. I have never seen any difference myself with decent speaker cable but could make a difference in some circumstances.
Speaker Cable Different for 8ohm vs 4ohm
What is the impact on speaker cable when using a 4 ohm speaker such as a Magnepan 3.6 vs a typical 8 ohm speaker. I have read that when using 4 ohm speakers that it is a good idea to keep speaker wire runs as short as possible. Of course, wouldn't it make sense to keep speaker wire runs as short as possible in any case?
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- 13 posts total
The magnitudes of whatever sonic effects the resistance and inductance of the cable may cause, if any, are dependent on the relation between those parameters and the impedance of the speaker. The higher the resistance of the cable in relation to the impedance of the speaker, the greater the possibility that it will be sonically significant. The higher the inductive reactance of the cable (the inductive form of impedance, which is directly proportional to frequency) in relation to the impedance of the speaker at high frequencies, the greater the possibility that it will be sonically significant. Therefore lower speaker impedance makes it more important that cable resistance and inductance be kept low. Resistance and inductance (as well as capacitance, which is generally a less important parameter for speaker cables but may affect amplifier performance if it is extremely high) are all directly proportional to length. Regards, -- Al |
A p.s. to my last post. See this Wikipedia writeup on the voltage divider effect, and in Figure 1 think of Z1 as being the combination of the cable's resistance and inductive reactance, and Z2 as being the impedance of the speaker. That may help clarify why it is the relation between the two that is important. Regards, -- Al |
- 13 posts total