2 ohm vs 4 ohm comps

[12voltjunky]

im running a ti500.4 and am wondering how a set of 2 ohm comps would perform up front. basically, would the lower impedance compromise the damping factor or overall sq of the front stage? and if so, how much?

[Eric D]

Good luck finding a nice set of 2 ohm components. Pretty much all known quality components are around 4 ohms nominally.

[The Golden One]

mb quart used to make some musicomp components that with the crossover made a 2ohm load from a pure sq perspective i could'nt understand why they did it. my main man well my phoenix gold dealer had some ran off a zx350 but at the time i did'nt get to hear them because he was still doing his install. to him it was all the hipe but it does go against the sq purest that resides within me so they were not for me to each his own i guess.

[ttocs]

infinity makes 2 ohm comps but their tweeter makes my ears bleed.

[12voltjunky]

guys, thanks for the input and i understand where you are coming from. i should have qualified my question with the fact that i will be using mid level components - at best. im on the lookout for something inexpensive but decent, so it might take a while. im upgrading factory speakers in a "new-to-me" set of wheels. with that being said, a true sq system is already out the window. so what would i gain, if anything, by using 2 ohm comps? (other than wattage)

im curious about damping factor and the benefits of headroom or disadvantages of heat, etc...

thanks

[The Golden One]

you may gain a few db's but most likely will gain more distortion at higher level's so what ever db's you gain will be with some added distortion. probably when it starts to come on strong is when the distortion starts doing it's thing but if you could A/B a 4ohm setup to a 2ohm you would know for sure.

[12voltjunky]

^good point.

thanks again for the input. gonna stay on the hunt for something 4 ohm.

any soft domed reccommendations for the budget minded install? For what i paid, i really like my alpine sps coaxials but they are being used.

[Audiophiliac]

I ran some Image Dynamics CXS62 comps that were 2 ohm. I only sold them because in the v.1 mids, there was a gap around the phase plug that dirt could get in and make scratching noises. I got sick of trying to clean that gap out all the time. If not for that, I would probably not have ever switched.

BUT...I am glad I did because I swapped in a set of Exile Xtec65 comps and they sounded even better!

[waynehead]

Yeah the only problem with ID's stuff is the very tight tolerances in the voice coil gap. Im not sure why they are this way, maybe it helps linearity at high excursion. I had problems with my idmax for the same reason. I still think they would do good for you.

[Audiophiliac]

I hear the v.2 ID CXS drivers have eliminated this as an issue.

[NewOldStock]

Isnt there another negative that comes along with dropping the impedance of a speaker?

I remember being told (but not who told me) and I remember reading somewhere (Home Theater forum) ... with that kind of qualifying statement, I should just stop talking now ... that as you drop impedance on a speaker, you actually decrease your amplifiers ability to control that speaker (damping factor?)... so an 8-ohm speaker would have a faster transition from note to note than a 2-ohm speaker. which is why home theater runs much higher impedance's than car audio... (8 - 16 ohm vs 2 - 4 ohm)

I wish I could remember where I read that, when I get home I will have to see if I can find it again... hell, maybe I just dreamed it because it sounds plausible but not right.

[12voltjunky]

^ that sounds reasonable. to put it in leymans terms, i think of it like this: if you drop the impedance, you get more power from the amp basically trading quality for quantity.