10 Ohm Snubbers
2x matched 10 ohm loudspeaker loading resistors (snubbers).
Reduce the impedance of Zu Druid, Soul Supreme, Soul Superfly, Omen and Omen DW loudspeakers. See matrix and curves.
DANGER - these will get hot if you listen to your Zu speakers at live-levels, please download and read the How To Use PDF.
Some amps are designed for and sound best with easy to drive 16 ohm loudspeakers, others have a load sweet spot of 8 ohms, and still others 4 ohms. Also a factor on matchup is how an amp tolerates the reactive influences within the loudspeaker. A purely resistive loudspeaker would have a flatline impedance curve; and 8 ohm speaker would measure 8 ohms at every frequency point throughout its bandwidth.
If your amplifier sounds better with a heavier (stiffer), less reactive load, here’s an easy plug and play solution for such matchups.
Reduce the nominal Z-weighted impedance of Zu loudspeakers
Reduces the z-weighted dynamic impedance ratio
Matched tolerance is equal to or better than 0.5%
To install simply unscrew the 5-way binding post, slide over the posts, screw the nuts back on. No tools, takes about a minute.
Price is for a matched pair.
Snubbers are used to better match the loudspeaker’s load impedance to an amplifiers output impedance.
The Zu/Ohmite 10 ohm, 25 watt loudspeaker loading resistors (snubbers) feature pre-formed leads to easily connected up to your Zu loudspeakers—parallel between the red and black binding posts. These snubbers should be used under the following conditions, and connected thus:
Loading resistors (snubbers) are intended for home audio hi-fi use. They are designed to safely dissipate up to 25 watts of power into the resistor. In most cases using Zu 12 ohm speakers that means you can supply roughly 25 watts RMS of power from your amplifier into your loudspeaker with a 10 ohm snubber installed. This amount of power into Zu loudspeakers is nearly concert levels.
Connect the snubbers in parallel with the red and black binding posts on your Zu 12 ohm or 16 ohm loudspeakers—one end of the resistor will go the red post, the other end of the same resistor will go to the black post. (It makes no difference which end goes to which end.)
DANGER
If you are playing big music near concert levels for an extended amount of time know the resistor will get hot (and your ears might be getting damaged). For this reason you do not want anything touching the resistor, or to be able to touch the resistor.
To prevent a hot resistor from charring the finish of the cabinet, bend the leads so as to space the resistor off the loudspeaker a half inch [13 mm] or more. Likewise, you don’t want anything (cable, walls, plants, fingers...) closer than a half inch [13 mm] to the resistor.
A hot resistor will cool in a minute or two when the levels are turned back down to or below normal volume levels.
Ten ohm snubber will get warm to the touch at normal listening levels and conditions. Normal levels and conditions are in-home use, at 70º F [21º C], listening at about 10 feet from the loudspeaker plane and getting a sound pressure level at or less than 75 dBC-slow at the listener position.
Here’s what the 25 ohm loading resister will do to the impedance curve of your Druid, Soul Supreme or Soul Superfly. Additional curves to be published.
[Loading resistor is based on the Ohmite P/N: B20J10RE]
