If I had an amp that was 2 ohm stable, but I only had 4 ohm speakers, what would happen if I wire a 4 ohm resistor of an appropriate wattage in parallel with the speaker? I know this would make the speaker/resistor combination a 2 ohm load, but would it be any louder? The amp I have in mind puts out 60 watts with a 4 ohm load, and 90 watts with a 2 ohm load. Would I hear a difference, or would I just make lots of black smoke?

 

If you wire a 4 ohm resistor in parallel and we assume the speaker is purely resistive 4 ohms you do have a 2 ohm load, but the 90 watts into 2 ohms is divided equally,45 watts each into the speaker and the resistor
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So in theory you now have 45 watts driving the speaker instead of 60 watts.

 

Plus one hot resistor, providing it's of enough wattage.

 

Thanks guys. I guess I'll have to live with 60 watts. For now, anyway.