[j3brow]

Hey gang. Help me understand this relationship.

In the context of a speaker with a nominal impedance of 8 ohm and a minimal impedance of 3.1 ohm in bass region (Focal Scala EVO).

From what I’ve gathered, speakers that have low impedance in the bass compared with the nominal impedance work best with high current amps that always seem to be capable of doubling watts as the impedance is halved (eg 200w @ 8 ohm, 400w @ 4 ohm, 800w @ 2 ohm).

I understand that the McIntosh autoformer results in ability to supply the amplifier’s rated output whether using 2, 4, or 8 ohm tap which is great when the speaker nominal impedance is fairly flat across freq spectrum.

But what happens when we use 8 ohm tap on the MC601 for example and the bass impedance dips down to 3 ohm? Is this a problem?

If one picks the 4 ohm tap, that helps the bass current needs but what about the higher impedance for the remaining freq?

I know we can try whichever tap we want and pick whichever sounds best, won’t hurt amp or speaker but before purchasing said speaker, is a McIntosh amp able to properly drive a speaker like this compared with a different amp that is capable of doubling watts with decreasing impedance.

Are McIntosh amps considered “high current” amps or is that term only reserved for amps capable of doubling output?