Still waiting for a picture of the inside of the 'magic box'. Speakons aren't exactly new tech, they've been around at least 20 years. So has Google.
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Never Ordering a Schroeder Cab Again
- Thread starter CheapTrickFanatic
- Start date
Not everyone has been utilizing speakons. Twenty years gone, or not. As for Google, I was speaking with a pro. The guy who was building and selling me the cabs and "box." I think it's not far fetched to assume he might know what he's talking about? In hindsight, should I have not assumed that? Probably so, but it's also not out of this world to think that a reputable, boutique manufacturer might have basic information at his disposal.
Sounds like a series box (allowing you to safely run two 4 ohm cabs at 8 ohms combined). Post a pic and we'll help you figure out which cables to use.
I'm having someone email me some photos of the box. I'll post as soon as they come in. As for the cables, I have that resolved now. Thanks to this thread. As to the function of the box, that remains to be seen. I think your assumption is correct, as to what the box is. I'm really not interested in pulling the box apart. Probably try to test it, and see if I can determine how many ohms it is generating, after being hooked up.
That same assumption was made about the AccuGroove Accu-Switch, which turned out to be a total fraud. Google it.
That should work to tell you if it's a series connection without opening the box--plug the cabinets in and use a multimeter to read the resistance at the jack that would connect to your amp. Impedance is greater than resistance, but the multimeter only reads resistance, so it should read approximately 6 ohms for an 8-ohm load. Good luck, Bob
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- Dec 3, 2003
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OK. I've got your back. Those mounting screws on the panel connectors are the problem. The best solution is to replace them with flat heads that will be flush to the connector body. Assuming that they are NL-4 panel connectors, you can then use any genuine Neutrik NL-4 or NL-2 cable ends. It's probable that the older style NL-2FC with the collar release rather than the thumb lever will work as-is (one of my DIY rigs is like that), but no guarantees.
D
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But, did Jorg actually say that ? According to the most recent post by the OP, he states that Jorg told him that he had a box that would " allow him to run both 4 ohm cabs ". Nothing mentioned about what the final load would be.
There was talk of this magic box on Facebook. There is someone that sells boutique basses and Schroeder cabs that claimed to have a box in his possession and that it worked and would be released commercially "in a couple of weeks". It was in Bass Players United and posted on August 18, 2016. i cannot post a link to the lengthy thread it generated
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Yeah, the 2 wire versus 4 wire speakon jack incompatibility isn't an obvious thing. You only learn it from experience. I suspect that if you went into most music stores and asked for a speakon cable, I doubt that many employees would ask if you needed a 2 conductor or 4 conductor cable. I suspect they would only ask you how long of cable you needed. FYI, for future reference, if you ever needed to bridge a two channel amp. You need a special speakon cable--we can leave that for another thread, but at least you know it now.
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I don't want to put words into the OP's mouth or Jorg's -- and I don't know why a 4 Ohm cab was suggested in the first place (whether it was what was on-hand, the drivers weren't available to build it as an 8 Ohm cab, or for some other reason) -- but a series box would allow two 4 Ohm cabs to run with a 4 Ohm minimum amp. Granted, not "at a combined load of 4 Ohms" but I still question whether there was some miscommunication or misapprehension there.
OP, please note that I'm not trying to cast aspersions at you or Jorg -- I am sorry that you haven't had the greatest experience and more sorry if you weren't dealt with straight -- I'm just trying to discern the facts of the matter as clearly as I can before drawing a conclusion.
In any case, if you have the means, it would be interesting to get resistance readings of the cabs separately, daisy-chained (sans box) in parallel, and hooked up to the box.
Again, good luck.
@CheapTrickFanatic I wonder if it would be possible to swap the 4 ohm drivers in your cabinets for 8 ohm drivers? Then you can get your original wish, two 8 ohm cabs, for a fraction of the cost of buying all new cabinets. Perhaps Jorg would even let you exchange your "magic box" for credit toward the replacement drivers. 
Exactly what I pictured. I'm sure it's a series box. I made a series box that looks almost identical to that thing so I could run two 8 ohm cabinets on an amp that has a 16 ohm output tap. Mine is only different in that it has both a speakon and 1/4 inch input jack for a little more flexibility.
Jorg should have better explained to you what the box does. And I'm not sure why he would need an engineer to build it. You don't need to be an engineer to figure out a series circuit nor build a box like that. I'm going to stop here with my comments.
@CheapTrickFanatic, that is going to turn out to be a series connection box as others have said. Your amp will run both cabs for a total load of 8 ohms. If potential phase issues do not arise (you'll know, since the combination of cabs will either sound great or not), you may like the result since your amp has plenty of power at 8 ohms. I'm a fan of running cabinets in series to exploit the feel that occurs in some amps when the power amp limiter kicks in if it's designed to push back at you like a saturated tube amp. Check out my thread about the subject. Your amp might do something similar and you won't know if you like it until you try. Cheers, Bob
Ran my Streamliner at 16 ohms tonight -- a revelation
Ran my Streamliner at 16 ohms tonight -- a revelation
Thanks, guys. Some good input. Ya, at some point, I will have someone with the proper measurement equipment test out the cabs with the box. As for reaching out to Jorg to trade out drivers, etc, you know, I think Jorg has made his position quite clear. He's not interested. He got his money, and he's cool. I think his last email response was clear, particularly after I have pursued this with him for so many months. Jorg doesn't want to help me, and I, in turn, am done with Jorg. I just want to verify what the box does and what the readings are, so I can sell the cabs. I don't want them behind me, on stage. I'm also going to continue to share my experience. Honestly, and, like I mentioned, this is very unlike me, I think Jorg has earned my response. If he's not interested in standing behind his stuff, then I'll take my experience to the market place. He can deal with any fallout. It was his choice.
Ok, well that definitely is your choice. Just to satisfy my curiousity and perhaps other's, does the box work, and do you like the sound you are getting from the cabs if it does ?
It would be interesting to hear the other side of the story, but I have the feeling that the OP is at least equally at fault. First by not knowing what a Speakon is, then by not investigating why two and four pole sockets and plugs aren't interchangeable. Perhaps Jorg was at fault for not making it perfectly clear what the OP needed for cables, but he probably assumed that the OP was at least passingly familiar with what's been a standard for so long. It would be like Dell or HP getting complaints from buyers of new PCs that there's no floppy disc drive.
