Is a Difference In Ohms sonically different?

[HolyDirt]

ok, i'm about to buy a cabinet, it has to be either 8 or 4 ohms, i know 8 will probably be better for the amp/tubes, but it there a tonal difference between the two?

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Is a Difference In Ohms sonically different?

4 is louder, but brighter. 8 is perfect for 2-12's, 16 is perfect for 4-12's. I've used 4 ohm 4-12 cabs, and they do pass more volume, but it's almost too wide open sounding. Just stick with the normal ohmages, and you'll be more likely to have a better balanced sound.

[Marcel]

Re: Is a Difference In Ohms sonically different?

i can use both 4 and 16 ohms with the same cab and i found 4 ohm more raw and hard (maybe agressive) and 16 ohm "softer". But the difference isn't big. Like you use an other speaker cable Iwould say. That's how i hear it...

[Marcel]

Re: Is a Difference In Ohms sonically different?

I would say:
the difference between different cabs would overweight the difference between the ohms that much, that it isn't a matter which ohm the cab has

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Is a Difference In Ohms sonically different?

And make sure that the amp is correctly set in ohms....tubes do not like mismatched ohms.

[MikeS]

Re: Is a Difference In Ohms sonically different?

The only way I think you would tell a difference in the two is if the final impedance was mismatched with the amp head. If the amp thinks it got an 8 ohm load, when in reality it's getting four, then it's going to put out more power, leading to higher, brighter tones.

Two 4 ohm speakers wired in series shouldn't sound any different than a pair of 16 ohm speakers wired in parallel. I'd wager that if any differences did occur that they would be measurable only and undetectable by our ears.

I'd suggest sticking with 8 or 16 ohms when running a single cabinet. Now, is this a 212 or a 412 cab? I ask, because if you've got a 412 cab with a final impedance of 4 ohms, it's more than likely got 4 16 ohm speakers loaded, which can be rewired to 16 ohms. A 212 4 ohm cabinet will have a pair of 8s; also rewirable to 16 ohms.