Uh-oh Speaker Ohms

[AfroMan Skeeter]

It's not a typical thread, I understand ohms.
I have 2 cabinets, one wired at 2 Ohms and the other unknown. I need to re-wire them both to 8 ohms, but none of the speakers have any indication as to what impedance they are!
They are custom built cabs so I can't look up the speakers, is there another way to test their ohm rating?

 

[Rattman]

Hello Afroman!! You've raised a GOOD question..and at one time this also would have stumped me. But after some fine military training, I can share with you what I've learned without too many more words: Get a DMM and measure 'ohms' or 'resistance' on each speaker individually. Mark each speaker accordingly.. now start your wiring until you achieve the desired impedance.. continuing to measure as you go to 'make sure'.

 

[AfroMan Skeeter]

Thank you!
Where can I find a DMM and how much might it run me?

 

[TheJoSko]

I believe he is referring to a Digital MultiMeter. You can pick one up at any electronics supply store, possibly even at a home depot.

They range in price from cheap, i.e $20, to well in the hundreds.

Have fun

 

[AfroMan Skeeter]

Oh ok, my brother just said he has some. He's 500 miles away though, so I have to wait 2 weeks.

Thanx for your help guys'.
I'll let you know how it goes if anything bad happens lol.

 

[georgestrings]

Thank you!
Where can I find a DMM and how much might it run me?

I've seen 'em as cheap as $3 at Harbor Freight - and those are plenty accurate enough for your purposes...


Although resistance and impedence are both measured in ohms, they're not the same - but you can get a rough idea of impedence by taking a resistance reading... In my experience, a 4 ohm speaker will usually read around 3 ohms of resistance, and an 8 ohm speaker will measure around 5-6 ohms resistance... After that, the number of speakers and wiring configuration will determine the overall impedence of the cab...



- georgestrings