Speaker Impedance Question

[De1337]

Hi, I'm new here, but since I saw a lot of googling ending up here, when searching on speaker impedance and phase, I decided to sign up.

My question is this:

Can a set of high impedance speakers hooked up to a low impedance amp damage the speakers? Ofc by playing too loud, but I mean, playing at levels the speaker can handle.

Thanks in advance

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Assuming you mean a transistor amp?, then no - again also assuming that the speakers will withstand the power the amp can supply in to that impedance.

What do you mean by 'high impedance' speakers?.

 

[De1337]

2x8 ohm speakers in series would give 16 ohm, which is a high impedance compared to the amp (which is 4), right?

and transistor amp? what?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

2x8 ohm speakers in series would give 16 ohm, which is a high impedance compared to the amp (which is 4), right?

Yes, two in series would give 16 ohms, but that's not 'high impedance', you are aware that a 4 ohm amp will only give about 1/4 power in to 16 ohms?.

Why not put the speakers in parallel and get 4 ohms?.

and transistor amp? what?

Is it a transistor amp, or a valve/tube one?.

 

[De1337]

It's an old SX-440 from Pioneer, i suppose it's transistor.

And yes my speakers are back in parallel, but i was afraid that... because one set of the speakers does not have impedance specs anywhere, but i suppose it's 8 ohm, as most are, but if it's 4, and i set 8ohm+4ohm to a 4ohm amp, that wouldn't be good?

I don't know very much about all this, so i'm a little confused.

 

[mpj111]

To get maximum from the amp you need to match the impedence.

If amp is 4 ohm, your combination of the speaker should be 4 Ohms. make combination of speakers ( parallel or series or what ever it is ) to become overall impedence to 4 Ohm.

 

[De1337]

Yes, I know that mpj111, and that's also what I'm trying to do.

But can you tell me if the 16 ohm speaker config can be damaged by 4 ohm amp, without playing very loud, that would be good.

 

[Gaston]

it is going to be the wattage that is going to destroy the speakers if it gets too high. and without knowing the rateings of the speakers its going to be a guess. i would suggest listening to it and dont turn it too high where the speakers distort because that is when the damage is going to start

 

[Speakerguy]

No. Increasing load impedance seen by a solid state amplifier will not damage it at all, nor will it damage the speakers.

 

[De1337]

Thanks speakerguy79

and yeah I know when speakers distort, and never push them to that limit, first of all, it sounds awful (even though a lot of people seem to be doing it, and not care), and as you mention, it's not healthy, but thanks anyway

 

[De1337]

and by the way, what does Solid State mean? I see you sayin it, and i also notice it's written on the manual (which is written on a piece of parchment, it's so old)

 

[Gaston]

soilid state means that its all silicon based with no moveing parts like relays and no tubes. silicon based = transistors, diodes, ect...

 

[De1337]

ah, thanks

 

[Roff]

No. Increasing load impedance seen by a solid state amplifier will not damage it at all, nor will it damage the speakers.

I know that you're the speakerguy, but I still have to take issue. As Gaston said,

it is going to be the wattage that is going to destroy the speakers if it gets too high.

To use a ridiculous example, a 500mw, 16 ohm speaker driven by a big power amp can damage the speaker. Am I missing something?

 

[Oznog]

Can a set of high impedance speakers hooked up to a low impedance amp damage the speakers? Ofc by playing too loud, but I mean, playing at levels the speaker can handle.

Well, since it takes more voltage to get the same power level, it's possible that to get the volume you want you might have to turn up the amp so high that it clips. Clipping can be damaging to the speaker and possibly the amp, though it's pretty unlikely to affect the amp.

 

[audioguru]

A fairly modern amplifier has an output impedance of about only 0.04 ohms at low frequencies. It is very low to provide damping for speaker resonances. You never match the impedance of the amp to speakers, you use the speaker impedance that is recommended by the amplifier's manufacturer so the output power will be at a safe max and the current won't be too high.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

To use a ridiculous example, a 500mw, 16 ohm speaker driven by a big power amp can damage the speaker. Am I missing something?

Yes you are - my first reply!

 

[De1337]

I know that you're the speakerguy, but I still have to take issue. As Gaston said,
To use a ridiculous example, a 500mw, 16 ohm speaker driven by a big power amp can damage the speaker. Am I missing something?

so that's megawatt or miniwatt?
I'm talking about the speaker being damaged because it has a higher impedance than recommended for the amp, not that it gets too much watt input and busts.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

so that's megawatt or miniwatt?
I'm talking about the speaker being damaged because it has a higher impedance than recommended for the amp, not that it gets too much watt input and busts.

milli-watt (500mW is half a watt) - we've already explained to you, a higher impedance is no problem, just that it will be a LOT quieter.

 

[audioguru]

De,
Don't you understand? A higher impedance speaker draws less current so it uses less power. It might not be damaged with less power.