Is higher or lower ohms better for a speaker?
That's tricky given that a speaker with better sensitivity will be louder than a less sensitive one for the same power. An 8 ohms speaker with a sensitivity of 93db/W/m will be twice as loud as a 4 ohms speaker rated at 90db/w/m (both fed 1W of power, that's 2.83V for 8 ohms and 1.415V for 4 ohms). The net result is that for the same loudness the 8 ohms speaker will put less load on the stereo or amp.
So for 93db/W/m, the 8 ohms speaker requires 2.83V, so draws 0.35A. The 4 ohms speaker will need 2.83V instead of 1.415V for the same loudness (it is 3dB less efficient). So it draws 0.7A at 2.83V. Thus the amp runs hotter.
In summary car systems are designed for 4 ohms and speakers are quoted for loudness at 2.83V - that makes them appear louder than 8 ohms speakers. This is wrong since loudness is not measured with voltage but with watts. So whenever you see a 4 ohms driver quoted for 2.83V simply reduce 3dB from the loudness (SPL) value advertised to find its actual rating and then get the speaker that has the highest SPL rating that you can afford. That way you will get more loudness without having to turn up the volume knob all the way to max.
So for 93db/W/m, the 8 ohms speaker requires 2.83V, so draws 0.35A. The 4 ohms speaker will need 2.83V instead of 1.415V for the same loudness (it is 3dB less efficient). So it draws 0.7A at 2.83V. Thus the amp runs hotter.
In summary car systems are designed for 4 ohms and speakers are quoted for loudness at 2.83V - that makes them appear louder than 8 ohms speakers. This is wrong since loudness is not measured with voltage but with watts. So whenever you see a 4 ohms driver quoted for 2.83V simply reduce 3dB from the loudness (SPL) value advertised to find its actual rating and then get the speaker that has the highest SPL rating that you can afford. That way you will get more loudness without having to turn up the volume knob all the way to max.
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