Loudspeakers fed by amplifier''s 4 or 8 ohm tap

[zbrojnia]

My loudspeakers are rated at 8 ohm impedance.
My amplifier has both 4 and 8 ohm taps.
In a review, I read that the reviewer (a well reputed and known reviewer) prefered to use the 4 ohm taps of the amplifier.
What would be the advantages/disadvantages if I connect my 8 ohm speakers through the 4 ohm amplifier taps? Will it be a problem?

 

[RealBeast]

Yes you can do that, as long as you are not using a vacuum tube amplifier with transformer output, which are not very common now. In that situation you can damage the receiver by trying to draw too much power, but solid state systems do not have that problem.

You will get a lower SPL (Sound Pressure Level) from the 8Ω speakers with 4Ω receiver inputs but that is rarely an issue since you generally have the volume in the lower half of the available range. In other words you get less efficient power transfer but you probably don't need that much power.

I don't know of any good reason to do it though particularly if you like to play your music loud.

 

[americanaudiophile]

When you connect your 8 ohm speakers to the 4 ohm taps you will halve the amount of power they can receive so that will reduce the maximum volume they can play by 3db.
The possible advantage is that a lot of amps with output transformers sound better through the 4 ohm taps.
You can't hurt anything by trying it. Bring the volume up slowly when you check how loud you can play the speakers.