Great Pawn Shop Find (Eden WT800)

[rigorous bass]

I was happy to find this today at a pawn shop and put it on layaway for $320. It appears to have been made in 2003. Looks new cosmetically. Tried it out and everything checked out. I hooked it up to my Ampeg 610hlf there and sounded sooo juicy. They let me crank it... man what a sound! Anyway looking at the back panel I saw that it had a bridge section that read 8ohms only. I tried bridging it using my cab which is 4ohms. Sounded fine. Am I risking blowing something by doing so? Do any of you know why it why this head says to bridge it at a 8ohm only?My experience with bridging other heads is that they can be bridged at 4ohms to combine for maximum power. Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[rickdog]

Do any of you know why it why this head says to bridge it at a 8ohm minimum?

I don't know... but I think it would be pretty reasonable to surmise that it says that because that's what it's designed for.

If you're lucky, the amp is well-designed and will protect itself from damage by limiting current. If it's not your lucky day, you'll release the magic smoke & the amp will have to make an expensive visit to a tech.

 

[agedhorse]

I sure wouldn't recommend it, in fact I REALLY wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Dean N]

Pssst.. when that guy says he REALLY wouldn't recommend it, that's a definitive OH HELL NO.

 

[rigorous bass]

Yes my thoughts are pretty much like yours so far. It just doesn't make sense to me that bridging the amps together would only be safe at 8ohms. Does anyone know why it could've been designed this way? It seems like an opposite approach to me.

 

[Inara]

The older WT800s truly were designed to bridge into 8 ohms. You're definitely risking frying it if you bridge into 4 ohms. I'm a former Eden endorser and I urge you to please believe what the label on the back says.

 

[Inara]

Also, think of what it means to bridge: you're taking two power amps running at half of the bridge load and combining them. So to bridge at 8 ohms each power amp is running at 4 ohms. To bridge into 4 ohms, each power amp is running at 2 ohms, which is a lot more demanding, and also was more difficult to engineer during the time period when the wt800 had its heyday.

 

[GreyBeard]

It is not stable bridged below 8 ohms, it will probably overheat and shut down or worse running it below 8ohms! With a 4 ohm cab I would just use one side and maybe get another matching 4 ohm cab and run both in parallel mono when you really need it.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Does anyone know why it could've been designed this way? It seems like an opposite approach to me.

When it's bridged, essentially two channels are combined to one, so one of the channels becomes the - & the other becomes the +

If each channel is pushing only two Ohms the wiring is going to heat up more than if it were pushing 4 Ohms & POOF!

Each channel is designed to push no less than 4 Ohms, for the stability of the components & wires.

It would basically be like taking a lamp cord designed for 120 Volts & pushing 120 Volts through each wire, totalling 240 Volts & meltdown.
(not such a great analogy, but the best I could think of off the top of my head)

 

[rigorous bass]

Inara...That makes sense to me. Sorry, I meant to quote you....... This one was made in 2003 which is more than likely before they were capable, I'm assuming, to bridge at 4 ohms like WT800B and C versions. I just can't find any info on the early version. So correct me if I'm wrong. I will get more watts bridging the amps going into my GK Neo 212 II (600 watts 8 ohms) than running a single amp at 4 ohms into my Ampeg 610 hlf (also 600 watts but at 4 ohms)? Confused!

 

[agedhorse]

Inara...That makes sense to me. Sorry, I meant to quote you....... This one was made in 2003 which is more than likely before they were capable, I'm assuming, to bridge at 4 ohms like WT800B and C versions. I just can't find any info on the early version. So correct me if I'm wrong. I will get more watts bridging the amps going into my GK Neo 212 II (600 watts 8 ohms) than running a single amp at 4 ohms into my Ampeg 610 hlf (also 600 watts but at 4 ohms)? Confused!

Correct.

8 ohm bridging was common when driving large 8 ohm cabinets (think 410's, 215's and even some 810 versions) where the additional power could be utilized. Things in the speaker world have changed, especially as the power capabilities of more modern amps have grown so much. There are quite a few examples of bass amps that can deliver 800 watts at either 4 or 2 ohms these days, this was more difficult and costly to do so reliably 15-20 years ago. Bridging improved the power situation but created another issue, that of driving 4 ohm and 2 ohm loads (which are done in unbridged mode).

 

[Pbassmanca]

I was happy to find this today at a pawn shop and put it on layaway for $320. It appears to have been made in 2003. Looks new cosmetically. Tried it out and everything checked out. I hooked it up to my Ampeg 610hlf there and sounded sooo juicy. They let me crank it... man what a sound! Anyway looking at the back panel I saw that it had a bridge section that read 8ohms only. I tried bridging it using my cab which is 4ohms. Sounded fine. Am I risking blowing something by doing so? Do any of you know why it why this head says to bridge it at a 8ohm only?My experience with bridging other heads is that they can be bridged at 4ohms to combine maximum power. Any thoughts? Thanks

Sweet deal man! Enjoy that thing. AND DON'T BLOW IT UP.........

 

[Inara]

Match it with a stout 8 ohm cab, and a bridged WT800 will thunder in all its glory. If you don't mind the weight, used 8 ohm Eden D410XLT Cabs are common. That combination was one of THE signature sounds of the late 90s / early 2000s, and still sounds great in many musical contexts today imho.

Regardless, you got a great deal on one of the classics, and I hope you truly enjoy it!

 

[rigorous bass]

Man great, kind advice from all of you! I knew I could rely on the TB community. My questions have been answered indeed. Still sounds like a fun amp to have! I'm sure running a single 4 ohm cab through one amp or bridging at 8 ohms will be more than enough power for what I do regardless. Thanks a bunch everyone!!

 

[Inara]

Man great, kind advice from all of you! I knew I could rely on the TB community. My questions have been answered indeed. Still sounds like a fun amp to have! I'm sure running a single 4 ohm cab through one amp or bridging at 8 ohms will be more than enough power for what I do regardless. Thanks a bunch everyone!!

Also think of it this way: if you run it at four ohms on one side, which is loud enough for *lots* of situations, you basically have a built in backup if the power section happens to fail: just switch to the other side and keep going.

 

[agedhorse]

Also think of it this way: if you run it at four ohms on one side, which is loud enough for *lots* of situations, you basically have a built in backup if the power section happens to fail: just switch to the other side and keep going.

... or the perfect opportunity to buy a matching cabinet for that lonely unused other side?

 

[Wasnex]

So correct me if I'm wrong. I will get more watts bridging the amps going into my GK Neo 212 II (600 watts 8 ohms) than running a single amp at 4 ohms into my Ampeg 610 hlf (also 600 watts but at 4 ohms)? Confused!

With the A version, available power is 2x400watts at 4 ohms or 1x800 watts at 8 ohms.

If you use one 4 ohm cabinet, you get 400 watts max power because you can't safely use bridge mode with a 4 ohm load.

If you use one 8 ohm cabinet, you can run the amp in bridge mode and get 800 watts max power.

If you have two 4 ohm cabinets you get 800 watts total...400 watts per cabinet.

I used a WT800 pushing a pair of 4 ohm 410XLTs back in the day and found the rig incredibly loud and dynamic.

 

[rigorous bass]

With the A version, available power is 2x400watts at 4 ohms or 1x800 watts at 8 ohms.

If you use one 4 ohm cabinet, you get 400 watts max power because you can't safely use bridge mode with a 4 ohm load.

If you use one 8 ohm cabinet, you can run the amp in bridge mode and get 800 watts max power.

If you have two 4 ohm cabinets you get 800 watts total...400 watts per cabinet.

I used a WT800 pushing a pair of 4 ohm 410XLTs back in the day and found the rig incredibly loud and dynamic.

Wow...That sounds like a pretty loud rig!! Aside from all this power talk, I really love the EQ possibilities this amp offers. I've been using a Harke LH1000 solely for the power and because it's simple. I've always been a plug in and play kind of guy. But as soon as I hooked up the Eden, I could tell the huge difference in tone just running it flat alone. Can't wait to gig it!!

 

[Wasnex]

Wow...That sounds like a pretty loud rig!! Aside from all this power talk, I really love the EQ possibilities this amp offers. I've been using a Harke LH1000 solely for the power and because it's simple. Plus I've always been a plug in and play kind of simple guy. But as soon as I hooked up the Eden, I could tell the huge difference in tone just running it flat alone. Can't wait to gig it!!

I rarely needed or used both cabinets, but it was fun when I did. You have a great amp, In Joy!

 

[JW56789]

If I bought an amp that had the s/n, born-on-date, etc., written in MAGIC MARKER (!), you BET I'd believe the bridge at 8-ohms only warning. Like Gleason said in 'Smokey and the Bandit', " . . . . you can think about it, but don't do it . . ."