# Using 8 Ohm speakers in place of 4 Ohm speakers?



## KraziKarl

I also know next to nothing about this. However, bump


----------



## KraziKarl

I also know next to nothing about this. However, bump


----------



## General_Chris

well dont do that always use the same impedance as the amp tells u cause u cannot connect a 4 ohms sub to a 8 ohms amp unless u wire the 4 ohms sub in series to the amp then it might work


----------



## xandypx

yes, you can use them.. an 8ohm load is easier for the amp to power than a 4ohm load.
Going the other way is what typically causes problems with an amp. (trying to drive a lower impedence (Ohm load) than the amp is designed for)

The caveat...? The amp will only run at 1/2 the wattage it ran with 4ohm speakers connected, but the amp will typically run alittle cooler. Your volume may (or may not; amp dependant) not be quite as loud.


----------



## Skripka

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *General_Chris;15446768*
> well dont do that always use the same impedance as the amp tells u cause u cannot connect a 4 ohms sub to a 8 ohms amp unless u wire the 4 ohms sub in series to the amp then it might work


Meh. Not really.

You can *try* the 8 Ohm speakers...however you're forcing the amp to overcome more resistance than it is designed for....but your amp may not have the power necessary to drive the speakers adequately.

http://www.prestonelectronics.com/audio/Impedance.htm


----------



## xandypx

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Skripka;15446834*
> Meh. Not really.
> 
> You can *try* the 8 Ohm speakers...however you're forcing the amp to overcome more resistance than it is designed for....but your amp may not have the power necessary to drive the speakers adequately.
> 
> http://www.prestonelectronics.com/audio/Impedance.htm


Based on your post, I think your understanding of Ohm reduction/increase in amps/speakers is backward, although the article you linked to provides the correct information.

Lower impedence is harder for an amp to drive. An impedence of 0 Ohms is a short circuit.

Extremely high impedence is hard to drive, because an amp typically won't produce enough watts to drive a high impedence (see my post above re wattage 4 Ohm vs. 8 Ohm) load to any usable volume. ask your self, "What does it take to drive headphone that are typically 16-32 Ohms?".. not a lot, but you won't get sound that can fill a room. The difference between driving 4 Ohms and 8 Ohms is as i stated above. At 8 Ohms, the amp puts out 1/2 the wattage it does at 4 Ohms.

Lower impedence than an amp is designed for causes the amp to overheat, as it attemps to output more wattage than it is designed for.

Amps designed for 4 Ohm loads typically have no problem with 8 Ohm loads.


----------



## Princess Garnet

So basically, I might not get the sub-woofer to "drive" the speakers to their fullest, but nothing bad should otherwise happen, right?

By the way, everyone's referencing an amp, but I am not using one (unless this all applies to the sub-woofer in my case). Also, the previous speakers had a rating of 4 Ohm, but I'm not necessarily sure if that's what the sub-woofer itself is supposed to be.


----------



## xandypx

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Princess Garnet*


So basically, I might not get the sub-woofer to "drive" the speakers to their fullest, but nothing bad should otherwise happen, right?

By the way, everyone's referencing an amp, but I am not using one (unless this all applies to the sub-woofer in my case). Also, the previous speakers had a rating of 4 Ohm, but I'm not necessarily sure if that's what the sub-woofer itself is supposed to be.


From the picture you posted of the back of the sub, the sub contains an amp that drives the two satellite speakers.

The speaker terminals are marked as 4 Ohm, so you are correct that the amp (in the sub) was designed to drive a 4 Ohm load. As I stated before, you won't hurt the subs amp connecting to 8 Ohm speakers, most 4 Ohm amps have no problem with an 8 Ohm load. The only thing you need to test is if the volume from the speakers is adequate for your use. A lot of what it may sound like will depend on what control you have over the volume of the two satellite speakers vs. the sub. It is possible that the output of sub driver (speaker) may not be in balance with the two 8 Ohm satellites, if you can't adjust the sub volume separately from the satellites. You need to hook it up and try it to find this out.


----------



## Princess Garnet

Okay, I'll try later on tonight when I'm back home. Unfortunately, there's only a master volume for both the sub-woofer and the satellites. That was sort of some of the issue with the existing speakers, that you had to turn the bass up a little too loud to hear anything, but that was also due in part to how low quality/muffled/not clear the original speakers are, but if they're clearer, it'd still be an improvement. I guess I'll see tonight.


----------



## mdocod

More than likely, the larger size 8ohm speakers, will actually result in the system sounding better and being able to play louder and cleaner all around with less stress to the amp.

The reason being that the little satellites that probably came with the system probably suffer from relatively poor efficiency. Larger speakers are generally more efficient, so you get more sound energy for less watts. Switching to an 8 ohm speaker (from a 4 ohm) does theoretically cut the maximum power you can deliver to the speakers from that amp, roughly, in half. However, half power is just a 3db loss. More than likely, the larger speakers are ~3db more efficient, or better. More importantly, the amp is probably garbage to begin with, anything you can do to reduce the "load" on the amp for a given listening level should result in cleaner amplification (less distortion).

Enjoy,
Eric


----------



## Cavi Mike

You only have to worry about using a speaker with a lower impedance(ohm) than what the amp/receiver/etc is rated.


----------



## pioneerisloud

Almost everybody above has it right on the money.

If you want to make things even easier on yourself, find a pair of car audio speakers, and throw them in an enclosure, and I'll bet that would still sound better than the speakers it came with honestly. Most car speakers (speakers not subs) are 4ohms. SOME are 2ohm, some are 8ohm, but most are 4ohm for cars. So you COULD get full power if you used 4ohm speakers (such as car speakers).

However, that little teeny tiny amplifier (built into the "subwoofer") probably won't power a whole heck of a lot anyway.

Try what you've got, see if it sounds any better. If it doesn't, I'd say its time to invest in a real amplifier for your 8ohm speakers, or a receiver for them.









But no, you will NOT HARM ANYTHING by using 8ohm speakers on a 4ohm amplifier. Going into higher resistances is EASIER on the amplifier, because it produces less power. Going lower (as previously stated), is what will be harder on an amplifier. You could TECHNICALLY run 16ohm speakers just fine off that 4ohm amp. You'll just get 1/4 of the power out of it.


----------

