speaker impedance question

[nahfuten]

i could probably find this somewhere if I search, but I'm lazy

what are the implications of swapping speakers with difference impedances?
for example, I have a line6 spider 112 with a 16ohm speaker, and I want to put in a vintage 30.
do I have to get a 16ohm vintage 30? what would change if I put in an 8ohm?

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: speaker impedance question

Basically, the impedance is the load being placed on the amp. Depending on the amp, a mismatched impedance can "blow up" the amp. You always want the impedance to match. If you have to mismatch the impedance, the amp is generally happier going up. In other words, if the amp wants to see an 8 ohm load, it'll take a 16 ohm load better than 4.

 

[Chaos]

Re: speaker impedance question

Impedance mismatching results in an inefficient transfer of energy (less dB per watt)
This wasted energy is mostly dissipated as heat produced in the windings of your amp’s output transformer.
A well-built transformer can take some abuse, but overheating will shorten its life and / or eventually destroy it.