Changing speaker impedances? Possible?

[Borderline Productions]

How much change in resistance can the transformers handle? I thought going from 16 ohms to 8 ohms would push the limits, while going from 16 ohms to 4 ohms was a disaster waiting to happen.

[TheOrangeJuicer]

How much change in resistance can the transformers handle? I thought going from 16 ohms to 8 ohms would push the limits, while going from 16 ohms to 4 ohms was a disaster waiting to happen.

I guess that's up to the amp mfr to determine. It looks like they've got a 12w tranny connected to a 5w tube, so it shouldn't be a problem from the transformer end. It's the tube that is getting hammered as the impedance drops. The attenuator is adding resistance also though, so that raises the load impedance.

Most amps can handle halving or doubling of the load without any problems. Taking it another step, say 4 ohm tap to 16 ohm speaker, is where it gets tougher on the amp/transformer at higher levels. The voltages rise in the amp and the tranny can get hot.