• WARNING: Tube/Valve amplifiers use potentially LETHAL HIGH VOLTAGES.
    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
    performed by someone who is thoroughly familiar with
    the safety precautions around high voltages.

OT/Speaker impedance mismatch

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
Hi Folks,

With respect to OT and speaker impedance matching, I understand why you might damage your OT with a speaker impedance rated higher than the OT i.e. a 16 ohm speaker connected to a 8 ohm tap but is the reverse a problem?

For example, can running a speaker with a lower impedance rating than the OT (say a 8 ohm speaker on a 16 ohm tap) damage the amplifier, specifically the OT?

This is a question in theory only. I am asking because a friend at work put the question to me and I could not give a really conclusive answer. An internet search seems to indicate probably not but I was wondering if anyone has any definitive response?

Rob
 
..
For example, can running a speaker with a lower impedance rating than the OT (say a 8 ohm speaker on a 16 ohm tap) damage the amplifier, specifically the OT?...


a mismatch by a factor of two is not a big deal. Speakers are never running at their nominal impedance and a 8 ohm speaker might be 20 ohms at 4,000 Hz.

No speaker connected at all is an infinite impedance and this can damage the amp, but some amps can take it, others will smoke.
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.