Amp extension

[warswr]

Hey fellas.

I did a search and didn't come up with much in this field so I was hoping you could enlighten me.

I have an amp that produces 500 watts per 4 ohm load.

I have a 4x10 8 ohm.
Id like to had a 1x15 8 ohm.

So that way I fill out my sounds a little bit, and get those extra watts (cause the impedance is now only 4 ohms).

Both of my cabinets only have an input on them. My amp can run in Stereo with two cables running from the back of the amp to each cab, but this would make me loose the extra 100 watts (at least how i understand it). How can I get the 4 ohm load total between the two 8 ohm cabinets? Would i need to put them in Series? How would I put them in series? Is there a way to do it parallel?

Any light you could shed would be great!!

-Will Myers

 

[superblues]

double check your amp's owners manual and see if the output jacks are wired in series or parallel. If they are wired in parallel, all is good and simply plug the 1x15 cab into the second jack.

series connection is not the way to go as two 8 ohm cabs in series magincally become a 16 ohm load. despite this fact, its not the end of the world if you wire the cabs in series. unless your amp's rated wattage drops by more than 50% from an 8 to 16 ohm load, you're likely to have a greater perceived volume level from the speakers. by adding a second cab you've essentially doubled your speaker's surface area.

very general rule of thumb, to double (?) your volume level:
1. double your speaker surface area (i.e # of speakers)
2. quadrupe your wattage (if your speakers can handle this).

YMMV