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Speakon Cable?

#3
Not a good idea! When you bridge, both the tip and the barrel of the phone plug will be hot. If you short the cable as you plug it in, and they all do, you connect the hot of one channel to the hot of the other. If you inadvertently drop the plug onto a grounded object you short out one of the channels.

Install a speakon socket on the the cab or better yet replace both jacks on the cabinet with speakons.

Paul
 
#4
I agree with Paul. Heva a tech put a speakon on it. My Ampeg 8-10 has both. When I first got it I didn't have a Speakon cable and I played it (with a 1/4" cable) for a couple of days until I could get some ends and make one. When I hooked up the Speakon cable, it made a BIG difference. When I asked my favorite tech about it, he said that the Spekon handles a lot more current than the 1/4" plugs/jacks do. Anyway... It shouldn't cost that much and would make a big difference, especially when you are pushing the number of watts that you are. Good luck!
 
#6
BassmanPaul said:
Not a good idea! When you bridge, both the tip and the barrel of the phone plug will be hot.
Click to expand...

How does this work exactly? Is this because his amp uses a 4 pole speakon output? As far as I knew, cabinets have 2 polarities, (+) & (-). Is the circuit through the cab changed fundamentally when you bridge? I thought that it was changed inside the amp when you activate the bridge switch, but I know little about it. My peavey amps have binding post output connections, which when you bridge you use the 2 positive posts, but you place the cables (-) to the channel B (+) positive post so I assumed inside the amp it was switched (when set to bridge) to act as a (-).
 
#8
Modding the cab for Speakon is the best way. It's what I do to all my gear. As for the cost of paying someone else, I dunno. I suppose I'd do it for USD40. $15 parts + $25 one hour of skilled labor.

1/4" plugs have exposed contacts, and present a shock hazard, if the other end is attached to an amp, which is on. Also they'll short out briefly when inserted, or if the plug is pulled out slightly.
 
#10
hrgiger said:
How does this work exactly? Is this because his amp uses a 4 pole speakon output? As far as I knew, cabinets have 2 polarities, (+) & (-). Is the circuit through the cab changed fundamentally when you bridge? I thought that it was changed inside the amp when you activate the bridge switch, but I know little about it. My peavey amps have binding post output connections, which when you bridge you use the 2 positive posts, but you place the cables (-) to the channel B (+) positive post so I assumed inside the amp it was switched (when set to bridge) to act as a (-).
Click to expand...

In the bridged mode one channel goes negative while the other goes positive. It isn't grounded. Sort of like a push pull tube amp. (manufacturers just happen to GROUND one side of the output transformer for the speaker only as a ground reference not because it needs it)

The Bridged mode on say an AMPEG uses the +1 and +2 connections just like we do with our Peavey amps by plugging into the two channel's + terminals.

The cabinet just takes the connections and makes music.

I still have two cabs (my 215's) that came from the factory with 1/4" only I will probably modify some time this year. I'm a speakon guy too. There are speakons that take a 1/4" in the center too, but I have never used them.

BOB
 
#11
hrgiger said:
How does this work exactly? Is this because his amp uses a 4 pole speakon output? As far as I knew, cabinets have 2 polarities, (+) & (-). Is the circuit through the cab changed fundamentally when you bridge? I thought that it was changed inside the amp when you activate the bridge switch, but I know little about it. My peavey amps have binding post output connections, which when you bridge you use the 2 positive posts, but you place the cables (-) to the channel B (+) positive post so I assumed inside the amp it was switched (when set to bridge) to act as a (-).
Click to expand...

Some amps have a different speakon for bridge wired hot1 to +1 and hot2 to (-)1. Others have hot1 to +1 and hot2 to +2 with both (-)1 and (-)2 grounded.

I personally don't like banana plugs for my stage gear. It's too easy to get a reverse phase using them.

Paul
 

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