dodger916
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AdmiralB said:ja22y said:I don't think that is true. Mismatch is safe when the output is going to a load with higher impedance and not when the load has lower impedance, depedning on how much lower. If the output is at 8 ohm and the cab is 4 ohm, it will draw twice the current then if the cab is 8 ohm. Meaning the tube will be driven twice as hard.
This is potentially disasterous advice. NEVER place a higher (numerically) load on a tube amp.
Lower is safe...the load asks for more current, the tube simply refuses to provide it. And actually, the same is true for higher loads, EXCEPT higher loads create extreme flyback voltages.
Tube amps don't work like solid-state devices.
I'm confused Admiral. Everything I've read (including the Mesa manuals) says a safe mismatch is "...running a higher resistance (for example: 8 ohm output into a 16 ohm cabinet)... A slight mismatch can provide a darker, smoother tone with a little less output and attack. This response is a result of the amplifier running a bit cooler."
Isn't that what ja22Y is saying? If the amp runs cooler when the resistance of the speaker is greater than the ouput resistance, then it stands to reason the amp will run hotter when the opposite occurs? When the speaker load is lower than the output load (as you suggest), won't the tube act like a runaway train until it redlines and self-destructs (hypothetically)?