Amp to Cab power?!

[03leigj]

So I have read lots of the Amp FAQ stuff but I am just not sure about the watts as the main thing that seems to get explained is the impedance and after reading a variety of sources I understand this pretty well now (I think).

My question is about the power of an amp and over/underpowering cabs, as I don't understand the distribution of an amps power when it comes to more than one cab.

Basically I have been looking at getting an orange bass terror 1000w head that I know can go with an orange smart power 4x10 isobaric cab that can handle 1200 rms at 8ohms, but I'd also like to add a regular orange 1x15 cab that can only handle 400w at 8ohms and I don't understand if this is a viable option, would I have problems with too much power going to the 1x15 or not enough power going to the 4x10?

Thanks in advance

[Bass Unique]

Originally Posted by 03leigj

So I have read lots of the Amp FAQ stuff but I am just not sure about the watts as the main thing that seems to get explained is the impedance and after reading a variety of sources I understand this pretty well now (I think).

My question is about the power of an amp and over/underpowering cabs, as I don't understand the distribution of an amps power when it comes to more than one cab.

Basically I have been looking at getting an orange bass terror 1000w head that I know can go with an orange smart power 4x10 isobaric cab that can handle 1200 rms at 8ohms, but I'd also like to add a regular orange 1x15 cab that can only handle 400w at 8ohms and I don't understand if this is a viable option, would I have problems with too much power going to the 1x15 or not enough power going to the 4x10?

Thanks in advance

I am assuming you want to drive these hard for high output? If so why choose an Isobarik alignment? It loses you 3 dB efficiency straight away although can give an extended bass shelf in a smaller box.

If both cabs are 8 Ohms nominally, you can assume similar power would reach each cab. Therefore you could probably drive both cabs with 800W from your amplifier (400 to each) up to the limit of your 15 cab. Whilst you are not at the limit of the other cab, there would be no underdriving problem.

Underdriving a speaker is one great myth. It is just a recommended minimum amplifier power to have enough headroom for control and to get what you expect out of the speaker. there is little risk to damage (except possibly tweeters when clipping). Overdriving a speaker continuously produces good smoke efffects :-)

[T-Bird]

Hi.

There's primarily two schools of thought on amp/cab power/power handling, both rely heavily on ones ability to hear when the speakers start to break up.

One is to have twice the power on the amp, which gives good headroom, but gives also the possibility of over-excursing the cab in a split second if there's a transient spike or some other high energy interference.

The other is to have twice the power handling on the cab, which usually prevents sudden deaths. I've been leaning on the latter for these 25 years I've played and done sound.

BTW, the figure is a thermal power handling, it has nothing to do with the power vs. frequency the speakers over-excurse.


As for Your suggested pair, the 115 will blow, sooner or later. Especially if You place it under the 410. Get another 410 instead.

As I'm one of those guys who on an occasion run a 410 115 setup, I won't be commenting on how wrong it is sound distribution-wise .

Regards
Sam

[Mr. Foxen]

Originally Posted by 03leigj

So I have read lots of the Amp FAQ stuff but I am just not sure about the watts as the main thing that seems to get explained is the impedance and after reading a variety of sources I understand this pretty well now (I think).

My question is about the power of an amp and over/underpowering cabs, as I don't understand the distribution of an amps power when it comes to more than one cab.

Basically I have been looking at getting an orange bass terror 1000w head that I know can go with an orange smart power 4x10 isobaric cab that can handle 1200 rms at 8ohms, but I'd also like to add a regular orange 1x15 cab that can only handle 400w at 8ohms and I don't understand if this is a viable option, would I have problems with too much power going to the 1x15 or not enough power going to the 4x10?

Thanks in advance

No point in using the isobaric cab, you get the max volume of a 2x10, and you don't have a limit on power with 1000w. If you want a traditional sound, get a couple of the 1x15s (although you don't need 1000w for a traitional sound), if you want a 1000w of true bottom then you'll have to go for a cab not by Orange, because they are sticking with 60s design principles.