I have a Ampeg SVT 810HP. I've been looking at a few heads who's wattage doesn't match up with the cab. He keeps getting up my ass about underpowering. I've been trying to explain to him how it's entirely UNreal. But he won't listen to me. Can you guys help me out please?
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Help me shut my friend up
- Thread starter agebbia
- Start date
If underpowering a speaker is bad for it, just imagine how bad it must be to turn it off at the end of practice, when you are then running zero watts through it! Honestly, I don't know how speakers sitting unused are able to survive for years on end with no power at all.
I hope you meant to say UNreal? That cab is way under-powered right now with no amp hooked up and running. Hope it doesn't catch fire
Dude . . .
It's like blowing bubbles - you are the amp, the gum is your cab. If you are "underpowered" some action (sound) will be apparent (a little puffed out), but you won't see (feel/hear) the "possibilities".
Too much "you" and the bubble will lose its shape, its ability to be considered a structure, its beauty . . .
You'll have blown it out - popped it . . .
Underpowering?
Doesn't hurt the gum, just doesn't let it shine . . .
It's like blowing bubbles - you are the amp, the gum is your cab. If you are "underpowered" some action (sound) will be apparent (a little puffed out), but you won't see (feel/hear) the "possibilities".
Too much "you" and the bubble will lose its shape, its ability to be considered a structure, its beauty . . .
You'll have blown it out - popped it . . .
Underpowering?
Doesn't hurt the gum, just doesn't let it shine . . .
jHawk Customs
Guest
Better would be listening to IMO. Better yet would be if your friend was there with you.
I used a 25w head with a 115 with a thermal power handling rating of 450w on my gig tonight. There were points in the show I had it up pretty good and it was clipping. Nothing happened to my speaker.
Ampeg make 800W cabinets (SVT-810e), but their most powerful amp is 450W (SVT-450H). 'nuff said?
Impedence matching is more important. By the way, that cab is awesome. 1500W RMS with a pair of coaxial tweeters.... BEAST of a cab. That thing should handle anything, from 1w up.
Impedence matching is more important. By the way, that cab is awesome. 1500W RMS with a pair of coaxial tweeters.... BEAST of a cab. That thing should handle anything, from 1w up.
Sorry, but not enough said
Actually their most powerful amp is the SVT 8 Pro at 2500w RMS. Then they have the SVT 4 Pro, which is 1200w, the SVT 7 Pro at 1000w, and the PF500 at 500w. However, your point is well taken...the SVT tube amp itself is only 300w and nobody complains about it underpowering any high power handling cabs.
Sorry, but not enough said
However, your point is well taken...the SVT tube amp itself is only 300w and nobody complains about it underpowering any high power handling cabs.
Oops, was only looking at the classic series on their site. Good point about the tube amp.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only way to hurt a cab with a smaller amp is if you run the amp into clipping and send square wave distortion to the speakers. This only happens with SS amps, since tubes don't do square wave distortion.
Feel free to correct.
Feel free to correct.
Then running a distortion box (which makes square waves) is bad for speakers?
Feel free to enlighten.
Square waves dont hurt woofers. They can hurt tweeters, and they do hide the sounds of your woofers farting out. Distortion pedals are also an additional gain stage, which can really boost the power sent to your speakers regardless of what the master volume says.
If you aren't playing at a level where the amp is distorting badly, losing any damping ability or the transients (thumping/popping) don't cause excessive driver excursion, it's not likely that the speaker(s) will be damaged. If the amp is ballz to the wall, the instrument is of normal output and you use pedals to add gain to the signal, you can damage the speaker(s).
Tell him to explain why and how an amp that's running cleanly at a low number of Watts will damage a speaker that can dissipate more. By that logic, we should drive with our gas pedal to the floor just because our tires can handle more than what we give them.
Tell him to explain why and how an amp that's running cleanly at a low number of Watts will damage a speaker that can dissipate more. By that logic, we should drive with our gas pedal to the floor just because our tires can handle more than what we give them.
Certainly, I'm no amp expert, but the dirt box would add the square wave signal to the front end of the amp, right? Maybe the signal from the pedal doesn't translate to squarewave distortion from the power amp?
But that is all pushing the drivers past their limits, not specifically the signal sent to them.
+1
To the OP: Is your friend a guitar player?
I would tell him he doesnt need the 412 cab he is probably using. He would never run the risk of over powering a 112 or 212 guitar cab...
Ask your friend why Ampeg sells an SVT at 300 watts matched to their 800 watt 810 which so many people use. If this were true you would never dare turn your amp down to a lower volume.
The best response I've ever heard to this stupidity is: "So you have to have your amp turned all the way up all the time? As soon as you turn down the volume, you are 'under powering' the cab by running fewer watts into it." This generally shuts them up as they realize just how dumb their argument is.
BTW, square waves don't harm speakers, that's another myth on the same level as under powering cabs.
BTW, square waves don't harm speakers, that's another myth on the same level as under powering cabs.
