j-malotky Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 Jim While enjoying the pics of your pristine 250s, I notice you are running your Cornwalls off the 4 ohm tap instead of the 8 ohm tap. Do you have 4 ohm Cwalls? Or does 4 sound better than 8? Just curious, wondering if you have some info or observations you can share with us? JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 Does he have the ALKS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 JM, thanks for the compliments on the images. I love my MC250 (can't you tell?) dndphishin can explain the principals of using the 4 ohm taps for 8 ohm Cornwalls (which mine are, of course). He read a review from AudioREVIEW.com that my brother Charles wrote several years ago about his MC250 for his HT. In it, my brother had talked to other MC250 users about using the 4 ohm taps instead of the 8 ohm taps...to make a long story short, it's supposed to improve the sound quality and imaging (?). When I bought my MC250, I was still using Kimber Kable 8TC for my speaker cables to my Cornwalls. I too tried the 4 ohm taps to the CWs, and overall the sonics were fabulous. Later on I replaced the 8TC with my present cables (the Orbeck Stratti), but this time I connected my CWs to the 8 ohm taps, and to tell you the truth, I really don't hear any difference whatsoever...aside from the fact that the Orbeck cable isn't thin sounding (to my ears) like the 8TC with my Cornwalls, the imaging and soundstage are just as precise as ever, and the amp doesn't really get any hotter than it did using the 4 ohm taps. So I continue to use the 8 ohm taps with my 8 ohm Cornwalls, and I'm content! Someone else with more technical expertise will have to explain to you about using 4 ohm taps on 8 ohm loudspeakers, and any/all benefits that come from this proceedure. Oh, and Dean...no ALKs (all original). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 JM, I'm certainly no expert here, I just tried something I read in a review on that amp. I tried it both ways, and I do prefer it on the 4 ohm taps - a bit more detailed or "under control", the amp runs cooler, and not so "hot" with the gain control. I intend to investigate this VERY thoroughly (as the 2 channel setup is still taking shape). I will try this as monos (I'm doing one 2 channel amp at a time currently - I wanted to use each individually for a period of time). I did a "quick comparison" using the first amp (I got them one at a time) and chose the 4 ohm taps. LeoK had the more technical explanation behind it in the other thread (I gave it a bump). I say, do what sounds best - unless there is a compelling reason not to use the 4 ohm taps (electrical issues with the gear), but JT's brother did it, and I heard no reports of smoking amplifiers. But JT's brother didn't bridge these either - so is this A-OK to strap these as monos and tell the amp these are 4 ohm speakers? IOW, hook them up to the 8 ohm strips on the amp when bridged? As long as it's electrically feasible, I say do what sounds best. More on this as the system takes shape..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 The reason I brought up the ALKs, is because Al's crossover turns the Cornwall into a 4 ohm speaker. With tube amps, the opinion of most is that the transformer should not see an impedance lower than the taps that are being used. So, an '8 ohm' speaker that dips down to 4 ohms on occasion -- should be put on the 4 ohm taps. Not everyone believes this though, and even Leo went turncoat and recently bought some 8 ohm tapped Magnaquest transformers for his Moondogs and RF7's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 OK, I looked at my 250 manual and Mc recomends the following: 3.2 to 6.5 ohms use 4 ohm tap 6.5 to 13 ohms use 8 ohm tap 13 to 26 ohms use 16 ohm tap DND when you do the test, let us know. I have the 250 manual in PDF format, found it on the web, don't remember where. I can email it to you if you like. I will not have access to my home email this week, so email me at work. john.malotky@apw.com and I will reply with the users and service manual if any of you 250 owners want a copy. To mono, input to the right channel RCA. Switch the switch to Mono. Use the left com for your ground. for an 8 ohm speaker, connect both R & L 16 ohm taps and connect to your speaker. 4 ohm uses both 8 Ohm, and so on. I cant wait till next weekend to hook my new amps up since I am gone all this week for my crummy job. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 Gentlemen, I'll be eagerly awaiting your research on this matter. I too am interested in whether using the 4 ohm taps for 8 ohm loudspeakers has its advantages or not. My brother's away on business for a week, so I can't ask him about this right now (usually can't get a straight answer from him anyway). Hell, I'm so technical illiterate, I don't know if I could even use two MC250's as monoblocks for each Cornwall due to the fact that I don't have a preamp (just my CD player connected to my single amp). I assume I would need a preamp with two outputs to do that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 I think you could just strap the amps into monobloc mode, run one channel from the CD to each amp. Try it and see, if you've got two of the Macs. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 The K-33 woofer is a 4 ohm woofer. So, a Cornwall is 4 ohm speaker for most of the frequencies where there is music, especially high power region. That's why the 4 ohm tap works best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted April 7, 2003 Share Posted April 7, 2003 mtc, choose the tap via listening tests...try both taps out and see which sound pleases you. I use the 4-ohm taps for my k-horns because the bass seemed to bloom a little when I had the 4 ohm tap and I liked the result. but then again I am a heretic and use tone controls and other nasty , non-purist things to make my system sound the way I like...lol, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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