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One 4ohm cab or two 8ohm cabs?
- Thread starter kolohe11
- Start date
billfitzmaurice
Commercial User
- Sep 15, 2004
- 16,860
- 278
- 76
- Disclosures
- Owner, Bill Fitzmaurice Loudspeaker Design
Be logical. First, going to a 4 ohm 410 will put more power into it, not less, making it more likely to blow a driver, not less. Second, the possible reason why the 410 is having a hard time is two-fold. One, it could be the drivers have a short xmax. If that's the case you need a better quality cab. Two, the 115 is holding back your system. If you want maximum output you will get it from two 410s, you won't get it from a 410/115.
There is absolutely no direct correlation between driver size and frequency response.
Those options are electrically identical.
Sure they will just be creative. Its a 4/8 Ohm tap right? Run them in series off of one hook up for a 8 Ohm load. If it were a 2/4 Ohm tap you could rum them off of separate taps in parallel for a 2 Ohm load.
This is assuming your cables are good enough. If you have a long run from your amp to the speaker particularly at 4 Ohms, you will lose some energy in the cable. Make sure you have a good quality thick cable with a good electrical cross section of at least 1.5 mm2 per conductor.
With thinner more mediocre cables, you may be better of running separate cables to each cab, but to be honest, what are you doing buying poor cables! Use speakons always instead of jacks. All the good cabs have speakons now (but some as well as jacks).
I think you could get by in the short term with miss matched cables to see what you like. That being said a set of matched cables would be a very good investment.
Right now my 410 doesn't have a speakon option. I want to get another 410 that does, and combine them.
not again!!!! Will this myth never end?? All this does is enable you to destroy a perfectly good 15" driver.
billfitzmaurice
Commercial User
- Sep 15, 2004
- 16,860
- 278
- 76
- Disclosures
- Owner, Bill Fitzmaurice Loudspeaker Design
Only if the cables are ten times the length they need to be, and/or seriously under-gauged. I don't know of anyone who sells smaller than 16 ga. speaker cables, and those are fine to 50 feet cumulative. I wouldn't recommend it, but the resulting 0.8dB insertion loss would be inaudible nonetheless.
As far as the 4x10+2x10 idea, the ticket for the OP would be to wrangle a 16 ohm 2x10 with as similar as possible a design as the 4x10; that, sitting on the 8 ohm 4x10, will give him a 5.3 ohm 6x10 with equal power going to all 6 speakers.
If that 2x10 had a series/parallel switch, it could be used (switched to 4ohms) by itself for little gigs.
If that 2x10 had a series/parallel switch, it could be used (switched to 4ohms) by itself for little gigs.
That 0.8 dB could mean up to an extra 100 watts if you have a 800 w amp. Do you really want 100 watts of power wasted in cables, audible or not - means if you spend £20 extra on cables you could save £100's on the amp...
Many bassists use a long link to the opposite side of the stage. Yes, this is longer than usual but you have to consider all situations not just what you assume. I have seen many cheaper cables sold which claim to be 16 ga or more but are discovered not to be. Best check it out for yourself rather than believe the hype.
Rather than argue it, its best to be accurate as well as concise in your post
That is my current rig except I also mate those 6x10's (under a HA3500 head) with a 2x15 cab driven by a HA5500 head so I can blend the 2 heads for clarity. All Hartke of course.
Anyone else have input on this? I have gotten mixed feedback regarding using two different cabs (mainly because one is 1/4" the other would be speakon). Risk/reward/indifference?
What kind of cabs are currently using, and which do you plan to add?
What you want to do will work, technically. But technically pounding a nail in with your forehead works too, its just not the best idea or produce the desired outcome the best way.
What you want to do will work, technically. But technically pounding a nail in with your forehead works too, its just not the best idea or produce the desired outcome the best way.
hah-- that's what I'm asking. Pounding a nail with your forehead has concrete repercussions. What about mixing cabs is negative?
I'm currently using a GK BLXii 410 (1/4" only) and a BLXii 115. Planning to add perhaps a B410 NEO Avatar 410 and rid myself of the 115. The other option is get rid of both cabs and get a 4 ohm avatar 410. But That limits my stack to only that.
I'm currently using a GK BLXii 410 (1/4" only) and a BLXii 115. Planning to add perhaps a B410 NEO Avatar 410 and rid myself of the 115. The other option is get rid of both cabs and get a 4 ohm avatar 410. But That limits my stack to only that.
