cabinet pairing ohmage question

[Ryanx]

looking to get my hands on a 610s.  now if i were to pair that with my model t along with an 8ohm 215, would it be best to run it at the 2ohm setting at high volume for say an hour, or would i be better running it at 4.  i'm assuming 2 because the ohm load will come out around 3.  this would typically be a switch in situation as i currently run a 4x12 with it, just thinking if i wanted to play mix and match with cabinets i'd need a safe zone.

thanks

[NsubUlysses]

How many ohms is the 6x10??  2 ohms seems like the only safe thing to do. Old Model Ts go down that low??

[NsubUlysses]

Should have mentioned this but you NEVER want to have your head set to a higher load than the speakers because you risk blowing hte output transformer. ie. an 8 ohm head going into a 4 ohm cab

Its OK the other way around, say a 8 ohm head going into a 16 ohm cab, you will just lose a little bit of volume because you're not using the amp efficiently but it won't hurt it.

[Ryanx]

old news, i'm looking to find out the instance for my specific situation.

[Isaac]

Actually, the nominal impedance running a 6 ohm and an 8 ohm cabinet in parallel is about 3.4 ohms, rather closer to 4 ohms than 2. Additionally, many people knowledgeable about tube amps say that running a tube amp at a higher impedance than the load is better then running it at less. That is, it's better to run a 4 ohm load at the 8 ohm setting than vice versa, which is decidedly not the case with transistor amps. I don't claim to know the answer, myself, but there seems to be a broad consensus that up to 100% mismatch is usually okay on a tube amp.

Personally, I'd run it at 4 ohms rather than 2 in this situation. And yes, NsubUlysses, old Model T amps did go that low. My 1974 T has 2, 4, 8, and 16 ohm settings on the impedance selector.

[EdBass]

Should have mentioned this but you NEVER want to have your head set to a higher load than the speakers because you risk blowing hte output transformer. ie. an 8 ohm head going into a 4 ohm cab

Its OK the other way around, say a 8 ohm head going into a 16 ohm cab, you will just lose a little bit of volume because you're not using the amp efficiently but it won't hurt it.

I think you have that backwards. What you posted seems as if you are trying to apply SS amp wisdom to a tube amp, and they are different animals indeed.

Additionally, many people knowledgeable about tube amps say that running a tube amp at a higher impedance than the load is better then running it at less. That is, it's better to run a 4 ohm load at the 8 ohm setting than vice versa, which is decidedly not the case with transistor amps.

Tube amps are pretty rugged and will generally tolerate a mismatch pretty well. Speaker ratings are “nominal”, which in kind of like an average, and an 8 ohm cabinet can actually show an amp anywhere from <3 to >50 ohms depending on frequency, power, etc..
But IMO, as Isaac points out, a lesser load is preferable to a higher load.

Leo Fender’s amp designs had a jack that shorted out when there was no speaker plugged in as a protection device.
That is; without a plug in the jack it was a dead short; an 8 ohm tap going into a +/- ZERO ohm load – to keep from damaging the amp. If Mr. Fender felt “higher was better” as you posted, he would have left the jack open when there was no plug as a safety measure.