Amp watts relative to cab watts??!?!

[OB311]

I have a question....

I have a Hartke HA5000 head. I've been looking at cabs, and like the Hydrive 410, and the Xl410.

My question: which will have better sound quality? If I push only half the power the cab can handle, will I be doing it justice? Or will I get better quality sound pushing power that is closer to a cabs limits?

[CL400Peavey]

Check the stickies and do a search. These topics have been covered 1,000 times.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by CL400Peavey

Check the stickies and do a search. These topics have been covered 1,000 times.

More like 10,000. It never fails to surprise me how no one seems to notice the second post from the top of the page.

[wcriley]

which will have better sound quality?

Everyone's idea of "better sound" is different. You'll need to try both cabs and decide for yourself.

[Youngspanion]

If everyone has taken the time to tell the OP to check the stickies, wouldn't it be just as helpful to just tell him what he needs to know. There is so much information in the stickies and it can be a little intimidating if not downright confusing. What is easy for you isn't always simple to another.

And I'm surprised at some of our TB Veterans for taking this approach.

[rodl2005]

Stickies don't come up on my ph's TB app.

[rodl2005]

Stickies don't come up on my ph's TB app.
Should be fine powering with that amp. The tone & clarity will all depend on the amp, cab/s & you, but you should only run into 'trouble' if you hit yr amps limits.
Keep the amp in its clean range & all should be cool.

[Edward G.]

The only value that really matters between heads and cabs is resistance: the ohms rating. The pair must match up in a way that does not result in a fire. Everything else is subjective, as well as a pretext for an argument with no known answer.

As long as you're not creating a catastrophic mismatch in resistance, any cab works with any amp. If the combination sounds over-driven, turn it down. If you don't care for the sound of it, try a different combination. That's about it, really.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by OB311

I have a question....

I have a Hartke HA5000 head. I've been looking at cabs, and like the Hydrive 410, and the Xl410.

My question: which will have better sound quality? 1) If I push only half the power the cab can handle, will I be doing it justice? 2) Or will I get better quality sound pushing power that is closer to a cabs limits?

1) You should be able to get the cleanest output from the cab (not exceeding the speakers mechanical limits). That I would say does it justice.
2) If like the sound of power compression from speakers and hitting the mechanical limits of those speakers, then this is your choice (this is what guitar players like).