Do you guys agree ???

[Dr.Mavashi]

From PlexiPalace:
"Finally, Look at the speakers and cabs. I find high gain amps sound smoother in a 16ohm cab than a 4 or 8ohm."

 

[jeremy]

Re: Do you guys agree ???

in general i think amps sound best at the highest rating, so if you have 4, 8, and 16 ohm taps my guess is the amp will sound best at 16 ohms.

why? i have no idea. maybe cause all the windings on the tranny are in use?

 

[shredaholic]

Re: Do you guys agree ???

+1, winding use is my best guess too...

 

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: Do you guys agree ???

bump

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Do you guys agree ???

According to Gerald Weber higher impedances tend to roll off some highs. Say you're given two 8-ohm speakers - you can wire them in parallel for 4 ohms, or series for 16 ohms. (Further assume your amp has taps for both impedances, so it can match whatever impedance you choose). The 4-ohm setup will sound brighter and livelier, because there is less impedance - more specifically, a smaller inductive component in the total impedance, which is what fights the high frequencies.

Reversing this analysis, I can see why someone would thing the 16-ohm setup sounds better for high-gain amps - it will help round off their inherent fizzy, bright nature.

Buy Weber's latest book, it's a gold mine of info, once you get past the lack of literary style.

 

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: Do you guys agree ???

Rich_S,

Thanks dude which impedence would you say has the best complex mids ?

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Do you guys agree ???

I know my Marshall sounds better at 16 Ohms in my 4x12 then it did in 8 ohms or 4 ohms in my combo, when I was changing speakers a lot. Some of that has to do with the cab, but even in combo form, 16 soundes better than 4.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Do you guys agree ???

I think that gain sounds better into 16 ohm cabs, but a lot of clean guitar amps and bass amps sound better at 4, simply because there's less resistance to the harmonic complexity, so all the frequencies are clearer.

And that's why most highgain amps are mated with 16 ohm 4-12's, while Fender, Matchless are 4 ohm. Many bass amps run at 2 or 4, so there's no frequency loss in the lows or highs.