8 ohm head into 16 ohm cab = Overload?

[RocknPop]

I have a Mesa tube head (TA-15) that has 4 and 8 ohms out, and I have a cab that is 16 ohms in.

Question - will I damage my tube head if I run this combo? Should I be looking to buy an 8 ohm cab to match the impedance?

[David Garner]

Wait for a better answer, but I believe the opposite is true -- if you ran for example a 4 ohm cabinet load into an amp rated for 8 ohms you'd have a problem (and essentially double the wattage). My guess is your TA-15 will be quieter through the 16 ohm cab but unless I'm mistaken, it should work fine.

[oinge]

Wait for a better answer, but I believe the opposite is true -- if you ran for example a 4 ohm cabinet load into an amp rated for 8 ohms you'd have a problem (and essentially double the wattage). My guess is your TA-15 will be quieter through the 16 ohm cab but unless I'm mistaken, it should work fine.

The above is correct. I do this with my Dr Z Ghia head. 8 ohms into a 4x12 that is 16 ohms. I asked their support dept first and they gave me the OK. Won't damage anything but will be quieter and not as tight (in my case anyway).

[RocknPop]

The above is correct. I do this with my Dr Z Ghia head. 8 ohms into a 4x12 that is 16 ohms. I asked their support dept first and they gave me the OK. Won't damage anything but will be quieter and not as tight (in my case anyway).

Thanks guys. What do you mean by "it will be quieter and not as tight"? Do you mean that it will be less loud? And, by tighter... not sure where to start :) Sorry to ask these simple questions.

[oinge]

Well it will be slightly softer. It was noticeable for me but not a huge difference.

By less tight it just felt like additional tube breakup, that's all.

YMMV since you're using a completely different amp.

[GCDEF]

You could always go by what it says in the manual.

The TransAtlantic TA-15 provides one 8 ohm and one 4 ohm speaker output. This enables you to use many different combinations of speaker setups. You should experiment with different loading conditions as there may be a certain impedance mismatch that produces a sound you may prefer to the correct load condition. This will not hurt the amplifier, however mismatching in the higher direction will wear the power tubes faster.

[RocknPop]

You could always go by what it says in the manual.

The TransAtlantic TA-15 provides one 8 ohm and one 4 ohm speaker output. This enables you to use many different combinations of speaker setups. You should experiment with different loading conditions as there may be a certain impedance mismatch that produces a sound you may prefer to the correct load condition. This will not hurt the amplifier, however mismatching in the higher direction will wear the power tubes faster.

Thanks. I should've opened that folder :)

Cool. So no damage at all.