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HELP

B

bloopdad

Guest
May 10, 2011
2
0
s wales
#1
Hi, Im new to the forum, so please go easy on me.
I'm a working pro in the UK and in need of some advice on a new amp.
The contenders i'm thinking of are:-

Eden WT800c?
Genz-Benz GBE 1200?
Thunderfunk 750?

My playing varies from VERY loud covers band (sometimes without PA support) to small theatre and jazz gigs.
Ill be going through one 4x10 and 1 2x10 cabs both at 8ohm.
(I use a Gallien Kreuger MBE150 for my D bass work and small gigs).
Weight and size are not an issue. I am looking for a replacement for my EA Iamp600.
ANY IDEAS or views would be welcolmed.
Thanks
 
#3
What is wrong with the Iamp? There is loads more power there than your cabs can take (bear in mind you are stuck with the upper limit of the 2x10, because it is the same impedance as the 4x10). Better cabs will probably do more of that you want, unless it is some dirt, cause I doubt the Iamp does that, in which case a Sansamp should sort you.
 
#7
BassmanPaul said:
Mating a 4x10 and a 2x10 both at 8Ω is a really bad idea. Both cabinets will receive the same amount of power what ever amp you choose. To work properly the 4x10 needs to be half of the impedance of the 2x10, in your case 4Ω.
Click to expand...
Huh?

This is the first time I have ever heard this.

If what you said was true, you also shouldn't run an 8 ohm 4x10 with an 8 ohm single 15 and people do that all the time. It just doesn't make sense. As long as each cabinet has the same impedance, then the load to each cabinet should be the same, regardless of how many speakers it has.

I run my Mesa Big Block 750 through a PowerHouse 4x10 (600W @ 8 ohms) and a PowerHouse 2x10 (also 600W @ 8 ohms) and it sounds SICK. Absolutely bad a$$.

I've never had any issues with volume, power distribution, or anything else.
 
#8
Addison said:
Huh?

This is the first time I have ever heard this.

If what you said was true, you also shouldn't run an 8 ohm 4x10 with an 8 ohm single 15 and people do that all the time. It just doesn't make sense. As long as each cabinet has the same impedance, then the load to each cabinet should be the same, regardless of how many speakers it has.

I run my Mesa Big Block 750 through a PowerHouse 4x10 (600W @ 8 ohms) and a PowerHouse 2x10 (also 600W @ 8 ohms) and it sounds SICK. Absolutely bad a$$.

I've never had any issues with volume, power distribution, or anything else.
Click to expand...

Paul is right. It really doesn't make much sense feeding a 2x10 and a 4x10 with the same amount of power. 8Ω 2x10 and a 4Ω 4x10 would give the same power to all drivers (unless I got it all wrong....).

As for 4x10/1x15 stack....very popular and widely used, but not necessarily a good idea. :)
 
#9
Really? because the 410/15 pairing is discussed continually on TB, and the general consensus there is the same, BAD pairing. I mean, think about it- you split the power evenly between the 2 cabs, so the 410 has 4 drivers, and can handle 800 watts, while the 15, or 210's have half or less drivers, and handle significantly LESS power. So your rig is now limited by whatever the smaller cab can handle, leaving the 410 hardly breaking a sweat. This is why matched pairs of cabs always work better. Even power distribution, and ALL speakers take the same amount of power, working together, AND providing a thing called "coupling". Doesn't mean mixed cabs don't work, or suck, or whatever, just that they're not paired optimally, and could be "better".
 
#10
Ok, so I guess I'm learning something new... sorry, I'm not a long-time "TB'er" like some of you guys are.

Then tell me this... both of my cabs are rated 600 Watts at 8 ohms.

Other than the number of speakers, they are identical in rating.

My 2x10 does NOT handle any less power than my 4x10.

How exactly is one of them taking any more power than the other if wattage rating and total resistance is identical?

Sorry... I'm just trying to make sense of this and telling me that "it just is" isn't working for me.
 
#11
Thermal rating (i.e. published RMS wattage of most cabs) is not the limit of your cabs. You'll hit mechanical limit far before you sink 600W into them.

Also, so you have 2 8 ohm cabs. Each cab is getting half your power. For simplicity sake, let's say it's a 1000W power section.
So the 4x10 gets 500W and the 2x10 gets 500W.
500W/ 4spkrs = 125W/speaker
500W/ 2sprks = 250W/speaker
 
#12
You could do a search on this however....

The power rating of an average cabinet is somewhat comical. Manufacturers tend to use the thermal rating of their drivers to calculate the total rating. Thermal is the point at which the voice coil starts to melt. In real world usage, a cabinet can actually make use of about half of its thermal rating before hitting its excursion limits. At this point any more power that is applied will just be used as heat and the cabinet will get no louder. This is how drivers fail.

In your case, if the same or similar drivers are used, the cones in the 2x10 will move twice as far as those in the 4x10 because they are receiving twice the power of the individual drivers in the 4x10.
 
#13
Ok... thanks for the info guys.

Yes, I know a person can search on a subject like this, but I wasn't exactly looking for an answer... I stumbled into a pre-existing discussion and had questions pertaining to the conversation taking place.

Anyway, I just got off the phone with Marcus from Mesa Boogie.

He told me that I'm fine... the speakers in each cabinet are acually different, allowing them to be used together without any problems.

He said the 2x10 Powerhouse I have is rated at 600W @ 8 ohms and contains two 300W speakers, and my Powerhouse 4x10 is 600W @ 8 ohms and contains 4 150W speakers.

Therefore, he said the way the power is distributed to both cabs and the way each cab handles the load is almost identical.

I'm going with what he said... as it makes perfect sense to me. And, more importantly, with what my ears are saying... which is that it sounds phenomenal.

Just for fun, though... I'll try bridging the speakers (amp to 2x10, 2x10 to 4x10) and see if there is any audible difference.
 

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