Series/Parallel or Parallel/Series?

[Rafael]

Wiring a four driver cabinet....

Advantages and disadvantages over wiring them
series/parallel versus parallel/series? In other words,
say you start with 8 ohm drivers:

Two in series totaling 16 ohms, each pair in parallel, net 8 ohms

Two in parallel totaling 4 ohms, each pair in series totaling 8 ohms.

[Rick Auricchio]

The first: Series pairs, wired in parallel.

Consider what happens if a voice coil opens. In the first case, the series pair cuts out, leaving you with a 16-ohm series pair.

In the second case, an open coil leaves one speaker in series with the good pair. That remaining speaker can blow because the good 4-ohm pair can dissipate twice the power that a single speaker can.

Otherwise, I don't see any difference.

[parsons]

wire it up and let 'er eat!

[PhiDeck]

In the scenario that Rick Auricchio describes, where one speaker fails (open voice coil):

1) Series/Parallel
- Cabinet nominal impedance: 16 Ohm
- Qty. of driven speakers: 2
- Power per speaker: 1/2

2) Parallel/Series
- Cabinet nominal impedance: 12 Ohm
- Qty. of driven speakers: 3
- Power per speaker: 2/3, 1/6, 1/6

Perhaps a better approach, assuming your amp can drive 4 Ohm, would be to wire four 16 Ohm speaker in parallel. When one speaker fails open:
- Cabinet nominal impedance: 5.33 Ohm
- Qty. of driven speakers: 3
- Power per speaker: 1/3

[MAMMOTHvolume]

get another head