Vela BS 403

Headroom Notes

3.2 ohms at 260 Hz on a 4-ohm nominal, with the frequency of the dip named - almost nobody publishes that. It sits in the upper bass where music has real energy, so an amplifier that merely tolerates 4 ohms is not enough here; it needs to hold up into 3.

Amplification Warning

The most complete impedance disclosure in this batch, and the one sheet that shows why compatibility and nominal are different things. ELAC prints both, in adjacent rows: 'Suitable for amplifiers from... to: 4Ohm - 8Ohm' is the compatibility statement, and 'Nominal / Minimum Impedance: 4Ohm / 3.2Ohm at 260 Hz' is the load. Every German brand here except Nubert and ELAC prints only the first kind of row and calls it the impedance.