Cab impedence question

[banjo5]

This is probably a piece of cake for you equipment jockeys. I've never run more than one cab and I'm considering it. The question is, can i run 2 cabs with different impedences? If I remember ohms law from 100 years ago, the cab with smaller resistance will draw/consume more power. Right?

[craig.p]

Right you are, sir. But the proper way to describe it is that the cab with the lower impedance will sink more current and therefore dissipate more power.

[coreyfyfe]

More to the point, what cabs you plan to run and with which head are important factors. A more complete picture would help, but as long as you head can handle the load, and the power distribution is optimally balance for the cabs, you should be fine to do this.

[edbass]

You can run different impedance cabs as long as the sum total doesn't exceed the amps capability.
With a transistor amp the sum total shouldn't go below the minimum safe impedance for the device, and with a tube amp you want to keep the total impedance at an acceptable match for the output stage.

And yes, the lower impedance cab will get more power than the higher impedance one.

[Bubba Ghanoosh]

Ampeg : Frequently Asked Questions

See Questions 5 & 6.