16 ohm speakers. 8 ohm amps

[conductor]

I have 16 ohm A7-500's. My amps have 8 ohm taps only. Is it imperative that I use an amp with 16 ohm output taps? Any input (no pun intended)on this situation would be appreciated.

[Fitts]

If you are using a tube amp, you probably should try to match your impedances as best possible. In your case, adding a 16 ohm resistor in parrallel with the 16 ohm A7 will cause the amp to "see" 8 ohms and run correctly.

[jmarkwart]

Conductor,
It is not imperative that you use an amp with 16 ohm taps on your 16 ohm A7s. Your 8 ohm taps will work fine, but provide less power (-3dB) through the loads than 16 ohm taps would at the same output voltage. With tube amps, this connection will also produce less output distortion. The question is do you still have enough power available to play load enough without clipping?
Jeff

[AL-TEC]

My question to you is: What type of amp is it you have? Vintage tube, new tube type, solid-state with or without output transformers?....ect.

AL-TEC