Word For The Day Archive

Impedance

Measured in ohms, impedance refers to the resistance of a circuit or device to AC (alternating current). Such an AC circuit could be any two audio devices connected together, like a speaker and an amp, passing audio signals. All other things being equal, more power (watts) will flow through a speaker with a low impedance than one with a high impedance. This will also put a greater strain on the amplifier to try to produce this power. If the impedance is too low your amp will not be able to handle it and bad things will happen. Most modern electronic audio devices have extremely high input impedances so they can be driven by very low power outputs. This is one of many reasons why high quality audio equipment can be built so much less expensively these days.