What is an Ohm?

[FBS1996]

and do they have an effect on the quality and tone of the amp?

[dbase]

A measure of electrical resistance? Dont get the ohm thingy discussion going.. theres a thread for that.

[Exploiter8]

Wire you insulate? Don't you know watt time to be ohm?

[ThudThudThud]

Wise words. If your looking at Ohms you are probably looking at an amp head, and a speaker, and a speaker cable.
Kudos for stopping where you did (if you did).
Do a search (and I'm not being a search nazi) there should be some stickies on this.

Basically if you have mismatched resistance between amp and speaker it can get expensive quickly, and make bade smells.

What amp/speaker configuration do you have? - be specific, give make and model.

[Rockmusician]

Ohm's Law defines the relationships between (P) power, (E) voltage, (I) current, and (R) resistance. One ohm is the resistance value through which one volt will maintain a current of one ampere.

( I ) Current is what flows on a wire or conductor like water flowing down a river. Current flows from negative to positive on the surface of a conductor. Current is measured in (A) amperes or amps.

( E ) Voltage is the difference in electrical potential between two points in a circuit. It's the push or pressure behind current flow through a circuit, and is measured in (V) volts.

( R ) Resistance determines how much current will flow through a component. Resistors are used to control voltage and current levels. A very high resistance allows a small amount of current to flow. A very low resistance allows a large amount of current to flow. Resistance is measured in ohms.

( P ) Power is the amount of current times the voltage level at a given point measured in wattage or watts.

This link explains ohms in more detail

Speaker Impedance Explained - Ohms

[Kraken]

at first I thought they were the guardians of the toxic jungle.

but then I remembered that not everyone would get that, so go with Rockmusician's explanation, i can't guarantee it is right, but it is better than I could do.

[seamonkey]

DC Lesson: 1 Volt through 1 ohm resistance is 1 Amp of current and dissipates 1 watt of power.


AC lesson in 7 years.

[Sartori]

Originally Posted by Kraken

at first I thought they were the guardians of the toxic jungle.

Haha, awesome.

[Kirk Bryant]

a word you use to meditate

[PhiDeck]

Ohm is, by far, the most frequently used meditation mantra. (The "h" is silent)