Tube amps and low impedances


Audio Research lists its flagship Reference 600 amp at 500 wpc at 16 ohms....Do tube amps double with each halving of impedance as the best solid state amps do?

Model Reference 600MKIII Specifications

POWER OUTPUT: 500 watts continuous at 16 ohms from 20Hz to 20kHz with less than 1% total harmonic distortion (typically less than .05% at 1 watt).
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Showing 1 response by sean

Most tube amps have impedance matching output transformers built into them. You have to select the most appropriate impedance tap for your speakers and it "should" produce rated power into that load. Having said that, there aren't any speakers that i know of that maintain a steady state non-reactive load that is of a consistent impedance. As such, the output transformer is somewhat of a buffer, but power output WILL vary even with it in place.

As a side note, many tube based amps do fall off in power as impedances are dropped, especially at the very low impedances that you mention. If i was going to run a pair of VERY low impedance speakers with a tube amp, i would probably look into the Mesa product line. Since they build / design professional tube based amps, they know how to compensate for very low impedance loads. Whether or not you like the sound that their circuitry produces is a personal thing, but at least you wouldn't really have to worry about straining / blowing up the amp or tubes all the time. Sean
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