I have an Ampeg PF500 paired with the PF115LF. Love the sound but need a little more volume. I am playing a passive bass guitar. My question is should I get another PF115LF to get the extra volume that is needed or should I change my PF500 to the PF800? How much difference can I expect with either one? Thanks for your help.
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Additional Cab or New Amp Head
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If Both cabs are 8 ohms
Another identical cab will give you heaps more volume than the extra watts I'd think.
And you'll be running your amp at full power at 4 ohms.
Another identical cab will give you heaps more volume than the extra watts I'd think.
And you'll be running your amp at full power at 4 ohms.
You should be already right on the edge of overdriving that single 15. More power would do nothing but destroy it. Extra cab ftw.
Its usually the speaker that is the handbrake, not the amp. You might find that a bigger amp into the same speaker gives you pretty much the same volume because that’s as much the speaker can manage.
Swapping the amp will not get you there, even if it's twice as powerful as the old one. It's the cab that's limiting you, since it can only move a certain amount of air. A second PF115 will double the amount of speaker surface area, which will of course move more air.
. None.
Cab definitely. More wattage, more air movement from the cone, makes a nice looking stack. Win win win.
I dunno how the pf115lf matches up with the he cab. Might be best to get matching cabs for a 100% sure effect.
Big Hoss
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Not Ampeg, but when I doubled my cab I added the 210 to my Rumble 500 combo the volume potential was audibly and hugely increased...
It is if you have a handle on your volume knob. I regularly run a PF800 into a 210av cab rated for 200w and nothing's ever happened. But I have a handle on my volume knob. People with itchy trigger fingers need not apply.
That's not the point. The OP is running a 500W amp into the 115, doesn't think it's loud enough, and wonders about upgrading to an 800W amp. Sure, if he doesn't open the PF800 all the way, he can drive the 115 with it, but he's not going to be able to go much louder than he can with the PF500. How is that a solution?
I am sold on the 2nd pf115lf suggestion but just for the sake of argument, isn't the ampeg pf800 rated 400 watts @ 8ohms? If this is so how would this be too much for a pf115lf that is rated 400w at 8 ohms? I'm new to this so please enlighten me. Once again I'm not going in that direction. I will still get the extra cab. Just needed some clarity. Thanks.
Some folks may want to kick in figures of merit about how much power you can safely run into an 400W cab before damaging it, but I was thinking more about the fact that it's not going to get much *louder* as you push it to its limits. Speaker power response curves aren't linear. As the drivers push against their limits, they start getting hotter more than they get louder. I think Jimmy was up late and misread the sense of "not an option" in my posting. I didn't mean it was dangerous, only that it would be pretty pointless.
