Dummy load vs. a second cab

[jady]

I want to bring the overall impedance of my speakers down to 4ohms but i dont really need a 2nd cabinet. I have an 8ohm SWR Goliath III 4x10 and rarely need more than that to push the air in the rooms I play (If I do there is almost always a FOH).

Can I use a "dummy load" to add an additional 8ohms instead of a speaker? Is there going to be a problem ampwise or soundwise?

I dont suppose i could rewire the cab to be 4ohms. I havent opened it up yet but i would assume that the speakers are 8ohms each meaning i cant get it to 4ohms.

I have considered just adding a cheap 1x15 cab but think it might ruin the sound (and be a pain to carry around).

Thanks, John

 

[Plain Old Me]

All of the additional wattage that you gain by the impedance change will be soaked up by a dummy load. It acts as a speaker, soaking up wattage.

 

[Greenman]

Good post Jady. I also run a Golliath 4x10 and a Peavey 4x10 to get 4 ohms but the SWR is way more efficient than the peavey.
If I could loose the Peavey and still run at 4 ohms I might be happier

 

[billfitzmaurice]

Can I use a "dummy load" to add an additional 8ohms instead of a speaker?

Doing so would be the equivalent of filling the trunk of your car with cement so that you can use all the horsepower available from your engine.

 

[Jim Carr]

Doing so would be the equivalent of filling the trunk of your car with cement so that you can use all the horsepower available from your engine.

+1
Perhaps some of us think this way because of all the emphasis on 4 ohm
single cabs.

 

[Jim Carr]

I want to bring the overall impedance of my speakers down to 4 ohms but i dont really need a 2nd cabinet. I have an 8ohm SWR Goliath III 4x10 and rarely need more than that to push the air in the rooms I play...snip.

Hmmm. Why do you want this?

 

[Jazzin']

A dummy load will only lower your volume.

 

[Greenman]

I'm not really good at this stuff so forgive me but I notice less clipping at 4 ohms. Ya/No/Maybe?

 

[zombywoof5050]

Your amp will put out less than twice the power at four ohms, and then the dummy load will eat up half of that, so your cabinet will end up getting less power than it did before, and your amp will be working twice as hard which won't be as good for it.
Bad idea.

 

[jady]

Hmmm. Why do you want this?

Well, my thinking was if I had a 4ohm load, I could get more wattage out of my existing poweramp therefore getting more headroom but if the dummy load soaked up the extra power then it is a moot point I guess............

In all honesty I am trying to get a bit more headroom without spending a whole lot of cash. We are having our 3rd kid in a few months and money is kinda spoken for at the moment. Hmmmm, the quest continues I guess........Thanks all