When Using the 4, 8, or 16 Ohm Tap....?

[zozoe]

Greetings,,, I'm trying to get a trusted opinion, or fact, about any possible sound/performance issues when using one's 4 ohm tap with the appropriate 4 ohm load as opposed to the 16 ohm tap with an appropriate 16 ohm load..... I once read that the more windings of the PT that are used (16 ohm), the better the sound...
Truth or bunk??
Thnx

 

[jeremy]

better? totally subjective. is there a subtle difference? sometimes i think so, sometimes i think i just want to hear something. if there is a difference, its not a big one

 

[Ewizard]

In theory, the transformer/amp will do the same thing on each tap provided the load matches that tap setting. Where I think you may actually hear a difference is because of the speaker itself. An 8ohm version of a speaker does not sound exactly the same as a 16ohm version. If I recall correctly, 8ohm versions of speakers tend to sound darker than 16ohm versions of the same model.

Better is absolutely subjective.

 

[PFDarkside]

It seems like someone would have uploaded a YouTube video of a head/cab using 4ohm/4ohm and 16ohm/16ohm combinations, since the heads and 4x12 cabs can typically do both.

 

[jeremy]

a 4x12 or even my 2x10 can switch between 4 and 16 ohms, but they are wired differently which does sound different. series (16ohms) vs parallel (4ohms), or 8 ohms a side. in my case, i use two 8 ohm speakers. in a 4x12, it would be two 16ohm speakers wired in parallel typically, with those pairs wired series or parallel.

 

[JMP/HBE]

16 bAst eVar

 

[Artie]

I'm not sure of the sonic benefits, but I always like voltage over current. I wish there were more 32-ohm taps.