8 ohms - 16 ohms is there a difference in sound ?

[reneisgod]

quick question is there any difference in sound with say a 8 ohm speaker and a 16 ohm speaker ?
why are some speakers 8 ohms and why are some 16 ohms ?

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

Found something that probably answers one of your questions.

From my car stereo days I learned that the lower the ohms of the sub the deeper and harder it hit. You could have the same two sub-woofers, one wired for 2ohm, one wired for 4ohm, the 2ohm one is definitely hitting harder and reaching lower tones with the same amp.

I would think the same principals apply to a guitar speaker in a cabinet. I think since you can use so many different ohm settings, like on my JSX for example I can switch between 8 and 16 (and I think even 4 if I remember correctly), and then my cab has 8 and 16, the best thing to do is to try them out and see which one suits the amp and the playing that you are doing more.

Using a lower ohm setup will be a thicker sounding, bassier type of sound. The higher the ohms, the "thinner" it will sound but be really clear. I would expect to use an 8 ohm setting for something like a Recto, but then a 16 would work or an 8 would work for a 5150. I know from my days at the studio I had everything hooked up for 8ohm in our cab room and our rack of heads. Some heads we messed with using 16ohm and they were coming out better for aggressive playing, some weren't.

Try it out and see...that's a common line around here for stuff along those lines.

~e.a

From this thread:
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/equipment/293487-4-8-16-ohm.html

Try using the search function.

I've heard Andy uses 8 ohms a lot? Not sure though.

 

[006]

Haha, I was actually going to see what the exact question was and, if it was relevant, post my thing from that very thread.

Yeah, I feel that my reply in that thread pretty much answers a lot of questions regarding ohms and what the difference actually means. Like I said, basically the lower the ohm, the harder or thicker the speaker performs/sounds, respectively. I've always used the 8ohm hook-up in every personal amp and cabinet I've owned. The best thing to do to really learn for yourself is to keep the same settings on the amplifier and just use the different ohm hook-ups available on your amp. You will be able to tell a difference, but it's something that can be explained all day long but hearing for yourself really makes it understandable.

On a side note, I'm actually quite honored that my answer was quoted and used by another forum member. I was starting to think I never contributed anything to this place, heh.

~e.a

 

[fatalforce]

I believe ohms have to do with the impedance. In other words the resistance to current flow that drives the component. Certain components require a certain impedance so it's best to match them accordingly.

EDIT:Actually that example didn't make much sense, here's a better one.
If your pre-amp outputs a high impedance the less the current flow will be needed on the input of the cab.

I think it really depends on your gear.

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

Your better of setting the head to match the impedance of the cab. The reason the sub of lower impedance hits harder is because its making the amp work harder and drawing more power which it turn causes it to get warmer and in the case of a power amp can cause the thermal protect to kick in. If you have a 100w head and set it to 16ohms and then connect a 4 ohm load to it it will actually draw 300w from the amp. This is usually the rating of a 4x12 cab so firstly your looking at square waving the speakers to crap but also causing the amplifier to work far to hard and will run the risk of killing the whole rig. Having said that this is dependant on running the rig at full power which I doubt you would do.

The best thing to do IMHO is to match the heads setting to the cabs impedence. If your running more than one cab do a bit of maths and work out the total load of the 2 cabs.


In theory you can run 4 cabs off one head. 2 16 ohms cabs run in parallel will give you 8 ohms. if you have this set up on either output of a 100w head that will give you a total load of 4ohm which most heads can select.

 

[reneisgod]

say im running a 2x12 which has 2 16 ohm speakers and my amp is set to 8 ohms
this wouldnt do any damage would it ?
should i really change my head output to 16 ohms in this case ?

 

[elmuchoescadawg]

say im running a 2x12 which has 2 16 ohm speakers and my amp is set to 8 ohms
this wouldnt do any damage would it ?
should i really change my head output to 16 ohms in this case ?

Im guessing the driver are wired in parallel in which case the cabs total load is 8 ohms so 8 on the head is right.

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

On a side note, I'm actually quite honored that my answer was quoted and used by another forum member. I was starting to think I never contributed anything to this place, heh.

~e.a

I always find your posts useful and informative. Defintley a contributer.

 

[Radd]

I always find your posts useful and informative. Defintley a contributer.

+1

 

[STINNETT]

A tube amp has an impedance switch so that you can match the impedance of the cab that is hooked to it, that is all it's for. You should always make them match. A tube amp that has a 4/8/16 impedance selector will put out the same power at any setting. You shouldn't try to run a lower impedance cab than you have it set for because you run the risk of burning up the output transformer.

I don't personally think that my amps sound any different, but among amp gurus, the general consensus seems to be that running the amp at the highest setting, usually the 16 ohm setting (with a 16 ohm cab of course), is what makes the output tranny work the hardest - hence the fattest sound.
If you think about that it will make sense, putting out 100 watts at 16 ohms is harder than putting it out at 4 ohms.

If you have identical 4x12 cabs, one of them 8 ohm and one of them 16, I think you'll be hard pressed to hear any difference. If you have a cab that is switchable mono from 16 to 4, like a Marshall 1960, I don't think you'll hear any difference running it at 4 or 16 either. If you use the 8 ohm input on a cab like that, you're only powering 2 speakers. That will sound way different, especially with the other 2 speakers reacting passively.