Can I run an 18" cab and two 15" cabs off of crown xls1000?

[Jaguar]

Can I run a 18" cab and two 15" cabs off of crown xls1000 with a Sans amp bddi and if so,in what configuration? Could I run the 18" off one channel and the 2 15's off the other? The two 15" cabs are Ampeg svt's and the 18 is a Peavey Black Widow.Thank you for any help.

[DWBass]

Sure.

[Jools4001]

Yes you can. Running the two 15's in parallel on one channel will get you 350 watts into the resulting 4 Ohm load. The other channel will push 215 watts into the black widow.

Personally, I can't see why you'd want to do it, but you can if you want to.

[Jaguar]

Van Halen Tribute band

[Jaguar]

Thank you for the help

[Jaguar]

When just using the two 15" cabs,what mode should I use?
Should I go speakon from channel 1 of amp to top 15"cab and then a 1/4" from that cab to the bottom 15". So far does not sound as loud as my V4b.Should I turn the volume knob to max output?

[Jools4001]

Most cabs that have two jacks have them wired in parallel and most cabs are 8 Ohm, so yes, wiring your cabs the way you describe them will be fine. They're rated at 200 watts each aren't they? So wired in parallel they will present a 4 Ohm load and combined they will take the 350 watts into 4 Ohms from the single channel of the Crown.

The "volume knob" on a power amp isn't usually a volume knob as such, it's an input attenuator. Your preamp will whack out a certain voltage and that voltage will increase as you turn up the volume knob. Some preamps (like my ART) are capable of pushing out a hefty voltage that can drive the power stage into clipping if you're not careful, so the 'volume' on a poweramp is more usually an attenuator so that you can make it's input less sensitive. Either way, "turning it up" will just decrease the resistance to the input voltage so when it's set to 'max' it will allow all the voltage from your preamp through. So just 'turn it up'

Your volume problem may not be down to turning the poweramp up. The Crown is a decent amp but it is not very sensitive. It requires a preamp that can provide 1.4 volts to drive it to it's max, I'm not sure if the BDDI can do that

[Downunderwonder]

Yes, bddi can push a Crown no problem. You are free to turn the Crown up full and use the level on the bddi to control volume. As always, listen for the speakers complaining, overdriven bass cabs are not far from dying, get the overdrive sound from the sansamp.

[Jaguar]

Thank you for the very understandable information. I learned a lot today.Its a little late to try right now but I will do so tomorrow.

[Jaguar]

Oh yeah,should I run it in bridge bypass mode?

[Downunderwonder]

Bridging would be asking for trouble I would think. 500w into 4ohm should be quite enough and 1000w into 4ohm would only give you a tiny little amount of extra headroom before cooking your cabs.

[Jaguar]

Which mode?

[Downunderwonder]

Stereo? Not bridged. Rtfm time.

[two fingers]

You can. But you shouldn't. You just....... shouldn't. Why exactly does a VanHalen tribute band justify such a setup? I never thought MH's tone was a total mud fest.

[Jaguar]

I can what?

[Downunderwonder]

He's referring to the possibility two 15's of unrelated origin to the 18 will combine to produce muddy sound. What you could do is bury the 18 face to the wall with a pillow to reduce its mids and highs and hope the lows are in phase.

[Jaguar]

With just the 15's do I run bridge mono?

[two fingers]

OK I'll ask. What the heck is wrong with the V4 in your sig?

[iamdenialNJ]

Bathroom #2 for the audience.

[Jaguar]

Nothing wrong with the V4