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Underpowering two cabs? Need your advice.

Ronnie Nine

Ronnie Nine

Guest
Nov 29, 2014
347
57
Central Europe
#1
Hi guys/gals. I'm planning to buy a 410 cabinet (rated at 8 ohms, 400 w) and to pair it with an Ampeg PF 500. Which is 500 watts of course.
I guess it would run the 410 just fine at around 250 watts or so, but what happens if I link it with an ampeg pf 210? It is rated at 450 watts.. That's 850 watts if I'm correct at 4 ohms.

I'd really like to stick to an Ampeg pf 500, but no clue if one 410 would be enough for me. If the 210 and 410 will not work, I'll have to stay with a single 410

Thanks in advance.
 
#6
Ronnie Nine said:
Hi guys/gals. I'm planning to buy a 410 cabinet (rated at 8 ohms, 400 w) and to pair it with an Ampeg PF 500. Which is 500 watts of course.
I guess it would run the 410 just fine at around 250 watts or so, but what happens if I link it with an ampeg pf 210? It is rated at 450 watts.. That's 850 watts if I'm correct at 4 ohms.

I'd really like to stick to an Ampeg pf 500, but no clue if one 410 would be enough for me. If the 210 and 410 will not work, I'll have to stay with a single 410

Thanks in advance.
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I am wondering where you come up with 850w? Adding cabs does not add any power beyond what the change in going from 8 ohms down to 4 ohms makes the amp put out. The 2nd cab could be rated at 1000w, but the amp will still be just a 500w @4 ohm load. Cabs are passive, they do not add power. Now running just one 8ohm cab on the pf500 will not get 500w out of the amp, I believe the rating at 8ohm would be closer to 350w, but I did not check the specs, so don't quote me.

350w into a 410 is pretty standard, you would only need more in extreme situations.

Then again, most 410s rated at 400w are either older or lower end models, which 410 are you referring to? All are not created equal.
 
#7
ubernator said:
I am wondering where you come up with 850w? Adding cabs does not add any power beyond what the change in going from 8 ohms down to 4 ohms makes the amp put out. The 2nd cab could be rated at 1000w, but the amp will still be just a 500w @4 ohm load. Cabs are passive, they do not add power. Now running just one 8ohm cab on the pf500 will not get 500w out of the amp, I believe the rating at 8ohm would be closer to 350w, but I did not check the specs, so don't quote me.

350w into a 410 is pretty standard, you would only need more in extreme situations.
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I came up with the 850W since I thought I might need an amp with a wattage close to that number to get the maximum out of those cabinets. Like a 800 w amp at 4 ohms would most likely push the cabinets I mentioned more than the 500 watts one.

My original question was that is it possible to damage the gear using this setup, and is it possible/worth it?
 
#9
ubernator said:
What are you using currently? Do you already have the pf500? Pf210 cab? I assume there is a smoking deal on a used 410 you are considering? Which 410 exactly?
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I have none! I am planning to buy the pf 500 since there are plenty used for sale. I would buy the 800 of course I just can't find any. The 410 would be a Hartke 4.5XL for 170 euros or Hartke XL for 130.

I live in europe. (You might have noticed that because of my poor english. 3rd language ^^)
 
#10
I was totally unaware of the language gap, or else my first reply would have been different.

Not a fan of hartke cabs, but those prices sound hard to resist. If I recall the 4.5 has a 5" mid driver instead of a tweeter, but might be "always on", I don't remember seeing a control or switch for it on the back. At those prices maybe just get both and have a monster stack.
 
#13
To answer your basic question, no, you don't have to worry about underpowering cabinets. If the volume is not loud enough with one cab, either add more speakers, or add more power. Your question about which cabinets to get could be debated since the best bet when adding cabinets is to get an identical one to your first. As long as you stay above the amps minimum impedance rating. Your scenario of adding the 2x10 to the 4x10 could end up being harder on the 2x10 speakers because each speaker would receive half of the power going to the cab. The 4x10 gets to split the power between all 4 speakers.
 
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#17
My cabs are always underpowered. Many times the amplifier is turned all the way off.

Definitely click on that link David posted and educate yourself about this stuff. It is much simpler than you are making it.

For most people a 410 is more than enough to keep up with all but the loudest bands. Personally I don't enjoy playing so loud that I need to wear ear protection, but that's just me. But if you need more than that just get another identical 410. You avoid all the issues you can get from mis-matching things.
 
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