Speaker ohms?

Most of the speakers that I've looked at are 8 ohms...... Most of the receivers I've seen are rated for 8 ohm speakers....

the lower the impedence, the more grunt you need from your amplifier to drive them properly. typically for todays receivers you should only use 8ohm load speakers. if you go much lower then you run the risk of frying your amp when driving them hard, or clipping the amp and ruining your speakers.

Hold on. It's not as dire as that. While almost all amps will be specified for an 8ohm load, many are also able to handle 6 or 4ohm loads. Just look up the info and see what is suitable for YOUR PARTICULAR amp.


Kal (whose amps are happy with 2 ohm loads)

Impedance isn't an index of how good speakers are.


Consumer equipment should be safe for 6 ohm speakers. I wouldn't use 4 ohm unless your equipment is rated for it. But a lot of equipment is.

All good advice, to which I'll add that speakers are not a constant load. Those that are rated at 4 ohms will often dip down near 2 ohms, or even lower depending on frequency. Therefore, your amp needs to be pretty stout to drive a 4ohm load at high levels.

sorry didn't want to scare anybody. but i think to truly get the best of a low impedence speaker you need good power reserves and some of the newer low to mid priced receivers out there just don't have the power to do these speakers justice. i agree with kal, check your specs on your amp.