Hartke A100 Combo out to a 410TP Cab?

[Haunted House]

Hello all. I did a search of the forums to see if this has been asked before, but couldn't find anything. So forgive me if this is a repeat. I have a two part question.

First) I 'm thinking of picking up a Hartke A100, 100 watt combo amp, with the 15" speaker. On the back panel of the amp, there is a 1/4" jack labeled "Speaker Out 8 Ohms". This is for the internal speaker, of course, but could I unplug the internal speaker, and run a cable from this jack to my Hartke 410TP cabinet instead? The cab is rated 8 ohms, as the combo amp is. I'm wondering if I could use the A100 as a head for my 410TP cab, in a pinch, if I wanted to. I could do this, but should I do this? Is it a bad idea for some reason, do you know?

Second) Does anyone have experience with the A100? I know its older, but I found a decent deal on one. And, I personally am a big fan of the Hartke aluminum cone sound. I've used the 410TP cab for years and have always loved the sound. I like a Chris Squire-type sound; bright, punchy and present, but still with enough bottom to shake the building. I've seem mixed reviews of Hartke on the forums. So if you've used the A100, would you offer an opinion of it for me?

Thanks all!
Mark...

 

[Jaco who?]

I'd contact Hartke and ask them why it states the jack is for the internal 8Ω speaker. It's very confusing because the specs on page 12 of the manual clearly rates the power at 4Ω, which would make you think the jack is for an additional 8Ω cab.

 

[Haunted House]

I'd contact Hartke and ask them why it states the jack is for the internal 8Ω speaker. It's very confusing because the specs on page 12 of the manual clearly rates the power at 4Ω, which would make you think the jack is for an additional 8Ω cab.

Yup. I did email Samson Tech / Hartke to see what they would say about unplugging the internal speaker and going to my 410TP instead, and I did receive a reply. They wrote:

Thank should definitely be okay! It may not be too much power
going through to the cabinet, but the resistance end will work.


So impedance matches, so thats good, but what did he mean by not too much power going through to the cabinet, I wonder? Because the cabinet is 300 watts and the combo is only 100? I always thought it was safer to have speakers that can handle more watts than the head supplies. But if the impedance matches, why would total power be affected? Opinions?

I don't know. Now I'm kind of leaning toward just picking up an Acoustic B100C combo to use for practice, jamming and auditions and such, and then next summer maybe looking for an 8Ω, 100w - 200w head for my 8Ω Hartke cabinet instead.