4 or 8 ohm with Harbeth


The specs for a Harbeth Compact 7es3 state that it is a 6 ohm load. On a tube amp should I use the 4 or 8 ohm tap?
valinar
Thanks for the replies. One of my concerns was the possibility of damage to either the speakers or amp. I will try both and listen.
You don't mention your amp, for one, so why are you thanking anyone for their replies? Their comments are useless without more knowledge.
Second, why would you be concerned of possibility of damage? if you bought from a decent dealer you shouldn't have to be asking....
It is the cross-over interaction with your amp that is affecting your sound and yes, your speakers will often fluctuate to 4 ohms. The lower impedance tap always tends to be safer on your outputs as this setting is made to handle more current demands.
Chashas1,
My amp is a Rogue Audio Tempest bought from a dealer that does not carry Harbeth. My thought in posting this question is to get input from those directly familiar with Harbeth and tube amps with 4 and 8 ohm taps. BTW all my current system- amp, cd player, speakers, turntable, phono preamp, and subwoofer has been purchased from dealers.
On some ARC amps, the feedback is taken from the 4ohm tap. I find it sounds the best. When a speaker manufacturer says their speakers' impedance is 8 ohms understand that this is not a constant across the frequency response of the speaker. An 8 ohm speaker can dip to 4 or 5 ohms at it's minimum. This usually occurs after it's resonance peak and is a function of the crossover and how each driver is compensated. It's easy enough to try both taps and see which one you prefer. This should not cause any damage to speaker or amplifier.