Speaker Impedance Tonal Difference

Sorry if this is old news, but I just came across it. I know people anecdotally talk about speaker impedance having an affect on tone. For example an 8ohm V30 (with amp on 8ohms) vs a 16ohm V30 (with amp on 16ohms). Whether it's the speaker or the actual load on the amp, I can't say. But I came across this video and I was surprised by how much of a difference there actually is. I believe in this video, you have one 8ohm and one 16ohm V30, with the amp set to match the load. Click the video and in the description, you will find the time-stamps so you can click back and forth. The difference is actually much more than just "subtle."

To me, the 8ohm version is thicker, less bright, more low-end, and less fizzy. The 16ohm is brighter, harsher, thinner, and more fizz in the highs. But maybe a bit tighter in the lows, simply because there are less of them?

Either way, it's a step in the right direction to confirm all the anecdotal evidence out there.

Cool comparison. My favorite V30s are Mesa 8ohm that are in my Traditional slant. I had a pair of Mesa 16ohm V30s and they always seemed less thick and more harsh highs but they were in a different cab so I was never really sure how much different they were.

IME, the whole 16 vs 8 ohm thing is part of why (along with some other factors) Marshall cabs are usually pretty bright compared to other cabs, especially 8 ohm ones like Mesa or ENGL.

The Mesa V30 thing is another can of worms lol. Because not only are they 8ohm, but they are a slightly different spec than the regular Celestion 8ohm V30. But... I do think Mesa offers 16ohm versions, but the ones they use in their cabs are 8ohm.

I most definitely prefer 16 Ohm. Maybe from playing Marshalls so long... or the brighter/tighter tone. Not a fan of 8 Ohm much.

Rex Rocker":2sym91hh said:

IME, the whole 16 vs 8 ohm thing is part of why (along with some other factors) Marshall cabs are usually pretty bright compared to other cabs, especially 8 ohm ones like Mesa or ENGL.

Click to expand...

Yep. +1

FourT6and2":rmscjij3 said:

The Mesa V30 thing is another can of worms lol. Because not only are they 8ohm, but they are a slightly different spec than the regular Celestion 8ohm V30. But... I do think Mesa offers 16ohm versions, but the ones they use in their cabs are 8ohm.

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They use the 16 ohm version in smaller cabs.

guitarnerdswe":3t9enitq said:

FourT6and2":3t9enitq said:

The Mesa V30 thing is another can of worms lol. Because not only are they 8ohm, but they are a slightly different spec than the regular Celestion 8ohm V30. But... I do think Mesa offers 16ohm versions, but the ones they use in their cabs are 8ohm.

Click to expand...

They use the 16 ohm version in smaller cabs.

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Oh? Didn't know that. I've only ever seen their 4x12 and 2x12 cabs.

The Mesa 16ohm I had were from a Mesa 2x12 and I checked the T-numbers just to be sure.

FourT6and2":30hab9ra said:

Sorry if this is old news, but I just came across it. I know people anecdotally talk about speaker impedance having an affect on tone. For example an 8ohm V30 (with amp on 8ohms) vs a 16ohm V30 (with amp on 16ohms). Whether it's the speaker or the actual load on the amp, I can't say. But I came across this video and I was surprised by how much of a difference there actually is. I believe in this video, you have one 8ohm and one 16ohm V30, with the amp set to match the load. Click the video and in the description, you will find the time-stamps so you can click back and forth. The difference is actually much more than just "subtle."

To me, the 8ohm version is thicker, less bright, more low-end, and less fizzy. The 16ohm is brighter, harsher, thinner, and more fizz in the highs. But maybe a bit tighter in the lows, simply because there are less of them?

Either way, it's a step in the right direction to confirm all the anecdotal evidence out there.

Click to expand...

First off, without reading other comments, I'll first say I've subscribed to Adam's channel awhile back. He takes hella time doing speaker comparisons and tries to keep all variables the same. Props for helping everyone try to find their own tone they like.

Second, your evaluation of the difference in 8 and 16 are pretty much how I hear them. This is why I currently like 8ohm greenbacks in series, and maybe it's why I never liked 16ohm greenbacks too much? Thy do sound thicker and less harsh and fizzy. Especially the 75 watt celestion comparison I listened to in another 8/16 ohm comparison. 16's sounded super harsh. To each their own though...whatever you like. But also if you listen to Mesa 8 ohm speakers outta a standard 4x12 compared to the 16ohm in their 2x12's, they do react different. Another puzzle in our search for tone!!!

One more point...maybe this is why Lynch only made lynchback a in 8 ohm?

crwnedblasphemy":3va567iw said:

FourT6and2":3va567iw said:

Sorry if this is old news, but I just came across it. I know people anecdotally talk about speaker impedance having an affect on tone. For example an 8ohm V30 (with amp on 8ohms) vs a 16ohm V30 (with amp on 16ohms). Whether it's the speaker or the actual load on the amp, I can't say. But I came across this video and I was surprised by how much of a difference there actually is. I believe in this video, you have one 8ohm and one 16ohm V30, with the amp set to match the load. Click the video and in the description, you will find the time-stamps so you can click back and forth. The difference is actually much more than just "subtle."

To me, the 8ohm version is thicker, less bright, more low-end, and less fizzy. The 16ohm is brighter, harsher, thinner, and more fizz in the highs. But maybe a bit tighter in the lows, simply because there are less of them?

Either way, it's a step in the right direction to confirm all the anecdotal evidence out there.

Click to expand...

First off, without reading other comments, I'll first say I've subscribed to Adam's channel awhile back. He takes hella time doing speaker comparisons and tries to keep all variables the same. Props for helping everyone try to find their own tone they like.

Second, your evaluation of the difference in 8 and 16 are pretty much how I hear them. This is why I currently like 8ohm greenbacks in series, and maybe it's why I never liked 16ohm greenbacks too much? Thy do sound thicker and less harsh and fizzy. Especially the 75 watt celestion comparison I listened to in another 8/16 ohm comparison. 16's sounded super harsh. To each their own though...whatever you like. But also if you listen to Mesa 8 ohm speakers outta a standard 4x12 compared to the 16ohm in their 2x12's, they do react different. Another puzzle in our search for tone!!!

One more point...maybe this is why Lynch only made lynchback a in 8 ohm?

Click to expand...

To be fair though, my Bogner 4x12 with Greenbacks has 16-ohm speakers wired up for 16ohm operation. And it sounds pretty great. Though I haven't tried the 8ohm versions to compare. I'd like to, but man I don't think I have the energy to do a swap and go back and forth lol.

FourT6and2":10xxkiqd said:

crwnedblasphemy":10xxkiqd said:

FourT6and2":10xxkiqd said:

Sorry if this is old news, but I just came across it. I know people anecdotally talk about speaker impedance having an affect on tone. For example an 8ohm V30 (with amp on 8ohms) vs a 16ohm V30 (with amp on 16ohms). Whether it's the speaker or the actual load on the amp, I can't say. But I came across this video and I was surprised by how much of a difference there actually is. I believe in this video, you have one 8ohm and one 16ohm V30, with the amp set to match the load. Click the video and in the description, you will find the time-stamps so you can click back and forth. The difference is actually much more than just "subtle."

To me, the 8ohm version is thicker, less bright, more low-end, and less fizzy. The 16ohm is brighter, harsher, thinner, and more fizz in the highs. But maybe a bit tighter in the lows, simply because there are less of them?

Either way, it's a step in the right direction to confirm all the anecdotal evidence out there.

Click to expand...

First off, without reading other comments, I'll first say I've subscribed to Adam's channel awhile back. He takes hella time doing speaker comparisons and tries to keep all variables the same. Props for helping everyone try to find their own tone they like.

Second, your evaluation of the difference in 8 and 16 are pretty much how I hear them. This is why I currently like 8ohm greenbacks in series, and maybe it's why I never liked 16ohm greenbacks too much? Thy do sound thicker and less harsh and fizzy. Especially the 75 watt celestion comparison I listened to in another 8/16 ohm comparison. 16's sounded super harsh. To each their own though...whatever you like. But also if you listen to Mesa 8 ohm speakers outta a standard 4x12 compared to the 16ohm in their 2x12's, they do react different. Another puzzle in our search for tone!!!

One more point...maybe this is why Lynch only made lynchback a in 8 ohm?

Click to expand...

To be fair though, my Bogner 4x12 with Greenbacks has 16-ohm speakers wired up for 16ohm operation. And it sounds pretty great. Though I haven't tried the 8ohm versions to compare. I'd like to, but man I don't think I have the energy to do a swap and go back and forth lol.

Click to expand...

Yeah, it's too much gear turn and tone testing. I'm in no way saying anything is better. Just what I like presently compared to what I've tried. All these little variables add up. In all signal chain stuff, I think the least affect on tone is powertubes, and what I mean is one brand El34 to the next won't change tonereally much at all. Compared to pickups, cabs, speakers, its way more minimal.

-SHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!-dont let the cat out of the bag yet!! i still have some 16 ohm speaker's to trade for those horrible, red-headed step child's, the dreaded 8 ohm leper's!!!... ive been trading all my 16 ohm speaker's for the 8 ohm version's for the last couple of years,... yes, i read an article where George Lynch said he prefered 8ohm speaker's,.. i thought it was madness, but just so happened i had some 16 & 8 ohm 6402 coned greenback's, so i did a comparison, the first thing i noticed is that the 8 ohm speaker's were louder, but after that while isolating them i heard i definate difference, i had a quad of 16 ohm 1977 BLACKBACK's , and a pair of 1977 8 ohm BLACKBACK'S, the difference was huge in my opinion, the 8 ohm black backs were very detailed and refined, much clearer, but still blackbacks, the 16ohmer's sounded fizzy, mushy,... after a few month's of trying to sell the 16 ohm black back's i got the opportunity to trade them for a quad of 8 ohm blackbacks,.. i have more to trade as well if anyone is interested-(english greenbacks, mesa & marshall V-30's)-but yeah, i'm thinking thats why the LYNCHBACK's are only available in 8 ohm's, i have no proof, but it makes sense

crwnedblasphemy":7rp0crx7 said:

FourT6and2":7rp0crx7 said:

Sorry if this is old news, but I just came across it. I know people anecdotally talk about speaker impedance having an affect on tone. For example an 8ohm V30 (with amp on 8ohms) vs a 16ohm V30 (with amp on 16ohms). Whether it's the speaker or the actual load on the amp, I can't say. But I came across this video and I was surprised by how much of a difference there actually is. I believe in this video, you have one 8ohm and one 16ohm V30, with the amp set to match the load. Click the video and in the description, you will find the time-stamps so you can click back and forth. The difference is actually much more than just "subtle."

To me, the 8ohm version is thicker, less bright, more low-end, and less fizzy. The 16ohm is brighter, harsher, thinner, and more fizz in the highs. But maybe a bit tighter in the lows, simply because there are less of them?

Either way, it's a step in the right direction to confirm all the anecdotal evidence out there.

Click to expand...

First off, without reading other comments, I'll first say I've subscribed to Adam's channel awhile back. He takes hella time doing speaker comparisons and tries to keep all variables the same. Props for helping everyone try to find their own tone they like.

Second, your evaluation of the difference in 8 and 16 are pretty much how I hear them. This is why I currently like 8ohm greenbacks in series, and maybe it's why I never liked 16ohm greenbacks too much? Thy do sound thicker and less harsh and fizzy. Especially the 75 watt celestion comparison I listened to in another 8/16 ohm comparison. 16's sounded super harsh. To each their own though...whatever you like. But also if you listen to Mesa 8 ohm speakers outta a standard 4x12 compared to the 16ohm in their 2x12's, they do react different. Another puzzle in our search for tone!!!

One more point...maybe this is why Lynch only made lynchback a in 8 ohm?

Click to expand...

Maybe I missed something but could the tone difference be from one speaker being more broken in than the other? Just a question. Please no one kill me lol

Wow that was way more noticeable than I thought it would be. I've only had 8 ohm cabs, I was actually a little curious on how 16 ohms would sound in comparison. Thanks for this!

kylendm":2qt1ucqk said:

Maybe I missed something but could the tone difference be from one speaker being more broken in than the other? Just a question. Please no one kill me lol

Click to expand...

I think he says both speakers are new. He also has another video testing out the broken-in thing. He does back-to-back clips of the same speaker when new, 1-hour of break-in, then 24 hours of break-in. Aaaaaaand I couldn't hear a difference at all.

Interesting. I might just try this myself

What happens if you use two 8ohm speakers in series for a 16ohm load. Do they retain the 8ohm characteristic, or do they adopt a 16ohm characteristic?

Mr. Willy":1j2ail62 said:

What happens if you use two 8ohm speakers in series for a 16ohm load. Do they retain the 8ohm characteristic, or do they adopt a 16ohm characteristic?

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-the 8ohm speakers still sound like 8 ohm speakers in series, that's how I wired up my cabs, 2 in series, and the 2 pair's in parallel for an 8 ohm cab,.... its easier to use two 8 ohm cabs, since some amps have only one 16 ohm output-

Mr. Willy":1m94t1fc said:

What happens if you use two 8ohm speakers in series for a 16ohm load. Do they retain the 8ohm characteristic, or do they adopt a 16ohm characteristic?

Click to expand...

I don't know. That would certainly test the theory of whether it's the speakers or the load the amp sees.