4Ohm vs. 2 Ohm

[MrSkippyJ]

There seems to be some confusion as to why a 4 ohm mono and a 2 ohm stereo load are the same, as far as the amplifier is concerned. When two 4 ohm speakers are connected to each channel of a 2 channel amplifier, the amplifier is capable of driving the speakers with half of the total power supply voltage. If the amplifier has a power supply which produces plus or minus 20 volts, it will not be able to drive the speakers on a single channel with any more than 20 volts at any point in time. If we have a 2 ohm load on each channel, at the highest point on the waveform the amplifier will apply 20 volts to the speaker load. Remember that we are only considering a single point in time for this example. If we go back to ohms law...

I=V/R

I=20/2

I=10 amperes

If we take a single 4 ohm speaker and bridge it on that same amplifier, the amplifier will be able to apply twice the voltage across the speaker. This is because while one speaker terminal is being driven positive (towards the positive rail), the other terminal is being driven towards the negative rail. This will allow the entire power supply voltage to be applied to the speaker's voice coil. It will now be able to drive the 4 ohm speaker with 40 volts instead of 20 volts in the previous example. Back to Ohm's law...

I=V/R

I=40/4

I=10 amperes

The same amount of current flows through the output transistors whether the amplifier is driving a 4 ohm mono load or 2 ohm stereo load. As far as the amplifier is concerned, they are the same load.

Taken from:

http://www.bcae1.com/bridging.htm

Edited March 25, 2011 by MrSkippyJ