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Re: Save the whales?

Mark,

Many amps claim to double power as the impedance is halved. They don't. If an amp is rated 100 in to 8 ohms and 200 in to 4 ohms it is more than 100 into 8 ohms. Many magazines perform this test in their reviews for you to review.
Every direct coupled amp must be designed to optimize power in to some impedance. If two ohms is max design power say to drive a low impedance planer speaker, the match will be fine. This same amp will produce low power however if the owner later purchases 8 ohm speakers. In this situation you are paying say for 400 watts and receiving about 100 to 150 watts. As mentioned below, a tube amp with variable output taps may not have this issue.
Direct coupled solid state amplifiers do not double power in to low impedances but halve their power into higher impedances.
Ron-C


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