My speakers sound better off 8 ohm taps... than the 4

[r3cc0s]

What does this mean?

My speakers are rated for 4 ohms... which happen to be Totem Arros
My amp has both a 4ohm & 8ohms happen to be rated @ 65wpc on both

However after one night of just playing around, I swapped it to the 8 ohm taps and it was like a night & day difference in sound...

however my speakers though ineffecient, are rarely played anywhere near reference and @88 db... I am not thinking that I'm driving too much voltage out of the amp even out of the 8ohm taps...

but if someone can tell me if this is "safe" or explain how current (wattage) is drawn...

People tell me that by having such a low resistance rating of 4ohms, it will drive twice the current out of the amplifier... which could harm it

However isn't "double" relative to the listening levels to the frequency of which is being drawn from the amp?

I have a hard time believing that I'm even using more than 8 watts at any given time, listening at a 85 db..

[royalcrown]

I'll wait till somebody more knowledgeable than me can respond, but I will say that even if you listen below reference in terms of average db, you should remember that lots of music can have dynamic range of much higher spl, which is why most speakers need that kind of wattage to begin with. I'd be scared of playing a track and then having one strong drum beat be the one that fries the amp. Then again, I could just be overly conscious.

[r3cc0s]

Originally Posted by royalcrown

I'll wait till somebody more knowledgeable than me can respond, but I will say that even if you listen below reference in terms of average db, you should remember that lots of music can have dynamic range of much higher spl, which is why most speakers need that kind of wattage to begin with. I'd be scared of playing a track and then having one strong drum beat be the one that fries the amp. Then again, I could just be overly conscious.

well my speakers are rated at max power @ 80 watts

the amp I have is rated @ 65 watts in A/B switching @ 8ohms... at 4ohms... does literially the potental for watts drawn double?

Is that the risk?

[r3cc0s]

Originally Posted by r3cc0s

well my speakers are rated at max power @ 80 watts

the amp I have is rated @ 65 watts in A/B switching @ 8ohms... at 4ohms... does literially the potental for watts drawn double?

Is that the risk?

If anyone can help explain whether I am risking degrading the tubes or componants such as transformers by running my speakers on the 8ohm taps... that'd be AWESOME!

[Budgie]

It will not hurt your amp or speakers. It is perfectly okay to use which tap sounds best, with your speakers. The impedance rating of a speaker is only a rough guideline not an absolute value. Do a web search for "speaker impedance" to learn more.