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On any given day you can hear manufacturers, distributors, sales people or even customers talking about amplifiers with a "4 ohm output" or an "8 ohm output". You might even hear them refer to something called an "8 ohm amplifier" if they have a loudspeaker with this impedance (resistance) that they wish to connect. This is a rather unfortunate and also inaccurate use of technical language. There are no 8 ohms amplifiers on the market. The source impedance will be less than 0.5 ohms.
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∙ 10y ago
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Will 2 16 ohm speakers work with a 4 ohm amplifier?
There is really no amplifier on the market which has an output impedance of 4 ohms. The impedance of an amplifier is always less than 0.5 ohms. We do not use matching, we use bridging when we connect the amplifier to the loudspeaker. Scroll down to related links and look at "Interconnection of two audio units".
Can I safely run 4 x 4ohm speakers with an 8 ohm rated amplifier?
Not really. The only possible configurations of four 4 ohm speakers is 1 ohm, 4 ohms, and 16 ohms. This will not match an 8 ohm rated amplifier. It will work, but you will not achieve rated power output, and you run the risk of damaging the amplifier.
Can you series two 4 ohms speakers?
Yes, you can run a pair of 16 ohm speakers in series. The resultant impedance would be approximately 32 ohms. Assuming constant voltage, this would result in one quarter the original power to both speakers, or one eighth the original power to each speaker.
Can i plug my 4 ohms Guitar amp into 16 ohms speakers?
That should be safe; although you won't get the best out of the loudspeakers. It's a myth. There is really no 16 Ohm amplifier on the market. And there never was. The amplifier will have an output impedance of around 0.04 ohms. In hi-fi we have always impedance bridging. Zout << Zin. That means the output impedance of the amplifier is much less than the input impedance of the loud speaker. The damping factor Df = Zin / Zout tells you what Zout is. Zout = Zin/Df. If the damping factor Df = 200 and the loudspeaker impedance is Zin = 16 ohms, the output impedance of the amplifier is Zout = 16 / 200 = 0.08 ohms. You see, there is no "16 ohm amplifier" on the market with a 16 ohm output impedance. Scroll down to related links and look at "Voltage Bridging or impedance bridging - Zout < Zin".
Can you wire 2 16 ohm speakers to 16 ohms?
No. Two 16 ohm speakers connected together are either 32 ohms, if wired in series, or 8 ohms, if wired in parallel. You can, however, connect four 16 ohm speakers in series-parallel to get 16 ohms, with four times the power handling capacity of just one.
Will 4 5.5 ohm speakers connect to an amplifier with a 16 ohm output impedance?
Yes, they will. One can connect anything to anything else. Will it work? If so, how well? Is it safe? If the four speakers are connected in series, the total impedance of the speakers will be the sum of all the impedances of the speakers: 5.5 + 5.5 + 5.5 + 5.5 = 22 ohms The 22 ohm load on the amplifier will be a bit higher than the amp has been designed for, but the setup will work. At modest power levels it is doubtful that anything audible will be noticeable because of that slight mismatch, and as long as one doesn't crank it up too high, the amp won't notice the difference. It would be wise when hooking up the speakers to insure they are all hooked up in phase... Something important has to be added: There is really no 16 ohm amplifier on the market. The amplifier will have an output impedance of around 0.08 ohms. In hi-fi we have always impedance bridging. Zout
Can you wire four sixteen ohm speakers to eight ohms?
No, you can't get 8 ohms with 4 16-ohm speakers. Here are the possible wirings: +o-+o-+o-+o- all in series: 64 ohms |+o-+o-| |+o-+o-| series parallel: 16 ohms |+o-| |+o-| |+o-| |+o-| all in parallel: 4 ohms .... Well in the conventional way it is not possible. But think of the speakers as load attached to the secondary of some transformer while the primary coil is attached to the amplifier block before (a tuned amplifier type). If we adjust the turns ratio as n = primary:secondary = Sqrt(2):1, then the eefective load on the amplifier would be Reff = n^2*Rp. Now as pointed in the parallel connection, Rp = 4. So, Reff = 8 Ohm.
What is better 16 ohms speakers or 8 ohms speakers?
It depends on the application. If you have an amp that is stable in 8 ohms per channel, then 8 ohm speakers will work best. However, if you wanted multiple speakers on that channel you could use two 16 ohm speakers.
How many ohms is a computer speaker?
There is no single standard. Many computer speakers are rated at 8 ohms while others are 16 ohms or higher. My computer subwoofer here is 4 ohms.
Can you play 8 ohm speakers on a 16 ohm amp?
There is no 8 ohm solid state amp. Really! The output impedance of such an amp will be arround 0.4 ohms. Scroll down to related links and look at "Interconnection of two units- Voltage Bridging - Zout < Zin".You can, as long as the amp's impedance is much lower to the speaker(s) total ohm load you're fine. We have never impedance matching there.
Will a 4 ohms speaker work with a 16 ohms amplifier?
An amplifier that is rated to drive a 16 ohm load will not perform well if a 4 ohm load is applied to it. The output rating is calculated to allow the highest power output from the amplifier. If a 4 ohm speaker is used instead of the recommended 16 ohm speaker, the current output will be far higher for a given output voltage. Although the amplifier will drive the speaker at low levels, as the volume is increased, the output current may rise to the point where it will damage output transistors or perhaps the main power supply. Some 16 ohm rated amplifiers may well handle 4 ohm speakers without damage but the only way to find out is to try it - meaning a dead amplifier if the test isn't successful. So, just like my previous answer (what happened to it?), the answer is YES but not as well.
How do you match speakers to match a 4 ohm amp?
There is no need to match a 4 ohm speaker to a 4 ohm amp, because there is no 4 ohm amplifier on the market. The amplifier will have an output impedance of around 0.04 ohms. In hi-fi we have always impedance bridging. Zout
