#1
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McIntosh & Wilson: 4 or 8 ohm taps?
Question for those of you that have powered Wilson speakers with McIntosh amps. What autoformer taps do you use? 4 or maybe 8? On paper, 4 is the obvious choice, but I’ve always felt the 4 ohm taps never sounded correct.
Sashas are what I’m experimenting with. |
#2
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Wilson and mcintosh (and audio research for that matter) all recommend 8 ohm.
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#3
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I drove my Sasha 2’s from the 8ohm tap of my 601s when I had those amps and that sounded the most correct to me.
George |
#4
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8 ohm tap gives a little more top end focus and punch.
4 ohm tap is fuller with better overall balance. IMHO Last edited by Dr Tone; 11-10-2018 at 11:48 AM. |
#5
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I used the 4 ohm tap on 601’s and 2301’s with my Sophia 2’s.
Keep in mind when changing taps from 8 to 4 ohms you have to up the gain in your preamp 3 dB to get close to the same level. If you don’t do that the 4 ohm tap will sound dull and lifeless. Tom
__________________
Main System: Amati Futura Mains Amati Homage VOX Center, Proac Response 1sc Rears, Three MC2301's for L,C,R MC 602 for the rears C 1100, MX 151, MCD 1100, MR 80 Nottingham Dais with Wave Mechanic Sumiko Palo Santos Presentation SurfacePro 3, RPi 4, ROON, WW Starlight Platinum USB, Schiit Yggdrasil, Benchmark DAC3 HGC MX 151, OppO BDP-95, JVC RS-500 DILA projector, 106" diagonal Stewart Luxus Screenwall Deluxe with Studiotek 130 G3 material. Lake House: Ohm F, MC 275V, C2300, MR 77, Rega P3 OnDeck: McIntosh MAC 4300v |
#6
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I think it's important to match the tap to the impedance of the speaker listed in the specifications. This is what McIntosh recommends. Most amps are built around one "tap". Some amps have no 2 ohm specification for output. It's all about current and stress on the amp caused by the amps inability to supply the necessary current to produce the watts. Asking an amp to supply current for which it cannot easily supply places stress on the amp and the sound quality will suffer. No two Mac amps are the same in this regard. The smaller the Mac amp the more you need to pay attention to careful impedance matching.
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#7
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VAC has a nice technical paper ( Can I link a white paper Ivan?) that helps to explain to the layman why the "which tap" answer is variable and not so cut and dried. |
#8
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+1
Great explanation Bill.
__________________
Main System: Amati Futura Mains Amati Homage VOX Center, Proac Response 1sc Rears, Three MC2301's for L,C,R MC 602 for the rears C 1100, MX 151, MCD 1100, MR 80 Nottingham Dais with Wave Mechanic Sumiko Palo Santos Presentation SurfacePro 3, RPi 4, ROON, WW Starlight Platinum USB, Schiit Yggdrasil, Benchmark DAC3 HGC MX 151, OppO BDP-95, JVC RS-500 DILA projector, 106" diagonal Stewart Luxus Screenwall Deluxe with Studiotek 130 G3 material. Lake House: Ohm F, MC 275V, C2300, MR 77, Rega P3 OnDeck: McIntosh MAC 4300v |
#9
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#10
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