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Why 2 ohms is not a good idea..

#81
Trolling or whatever, this thread has made me laugh aloud three times. I'll even egg it on for that!

I'll admit i've felt the "2 ohm fear". What is this fear? Where did it come from? it must have started for some reason, but I don't think i've heard an actual horror story yet. If it was so unsafe after all these years of use and equipment designed to perform at this rating, wouldn't it be something we'd all know? Small % or not of 2ohm users we're talking tens of thousands of high volume gigs here. How many of you have messed up something running a 2 ohm load?
 
#83
Worst...thread...ever...

I can't tell if this thread has raised my audio IQ or lowered it. Fortunately, it's a moot point for me. There's as much chance of me running a 1200w 2-ohm bass rig as there is a chance of me nailing Angelina Jolie.
 
#85
I especially liked that line "a few EE's in the military would disagree". :p Right, because their scientific education is more valid than civilian electronic engineering, or because their scientific education has been magically transmitted into the OP's brain, or what? What a hophead.
 
#86
match your impedance.. regardless of what that is, including 2 ohm.. if you are set at 2 Ohms and running 1200W, do not use a 100' 16 Gauge speaker cable..

it would be better to use a 12 Gauge, 10' cable.. or heavier and shorter, if possible..

it's pretty simple, but most people don't know what they are doing.. and that drastically reduces the useful life of most amps/cabs.. and sometimes, the user..
 
#87
Hey what's been going on here, it looks like I missed all the fun...? MAybe I can stir the pot some.

All my speaker cables for the big rig are 25' long, 12 ga with speakons. Looking at GB's chart it's right in the ballpark.

I am a believer in heavier guage speaker cables providing a cleaner signal. Now you all might poo poo this, but if you're burning audio in your cables you are waisting the good stuff.

I came from drag racing, we put big everything on the cars to make them go fast. But I haven't gone to monster cable on the bass rig yet. Should I? HAHAHAHAHA

BOB
 
#89
First I've ever heard of someone being afraid of a 2 ohm load. I actively seek to use amps rated for 2 ohm loads, and then try to pair them with a comination of cabinets that lets them run at 2 ohms. I like it.

My experience with an sm900 involved lots of smoke, flame, and a bad solder job by an incompetent amp tech. Other SWR experiences I had involved thermal shutdown switches. These experiences turned me off of certain SWR models, though, not 2 ohm loads. Bad heat dispersion doesn't mean that low impedance is evil.
 
#92
funny thread but I did learn afew things.

I currently purchased a carvin B1500, an amp that can push a claimed 1900watts at 2ohms, and my speaker setup being two avatar 4ohm cabs will run it at 2ohms. An yhoo, I noticed the speakon cables that were given to me are 14gauge speakon cables, each about 10ft long. Is there any reason to look into 12's? Granted, I'll NEVER have need to crank this setup as it is only seventeen steps past overkill.
 
#93
nbw said:
An yhoo, I noticed the speakon cables that were given to me are 14gauge speakon cables, each about 10ft long. Is there any reason to look into 12's?
Click to expand...

Yes, but you have to buy the special Munster cables and buy into the faith.... and while you are at it, replace every sound system with Bose.....



Then everything will be aligned in the marketing world.

Dan K.
 
#94
bongomania said:
I especially liked that line "a few EE's in the military would disagree". :p Right, because their scientific education is more valid than civilian electronic engineering, or because their scientific education has been magically transmitted into the OP's brain, or what? What a hophead.
Click to expand...

To be fair, we'd probably have to figure out how to make the speaker cable cost $500/ft if it were intended for military use. :D
 
#95
With the current obsession with ultra-tiny heads I'm surprised Monster haven't started selling a super-light cable to match, consisting of a couple of feet of 14 or 16 gauge cable. They could say it uses super-Monster (TM) conductors which allow such a skinny cable to work without melting. ;) Makes a lot more sense than 12, 10 or even 8 gauge on such a short run!

Alex
 
#96
greenboy said:
There's some truth to what you say. But I think your figures might be off a little, just by looking at this chart several cabling companies use for load/gauge/length recommendations:

Code: 
Speaker Impedance   8 Ohm Load       4 Ohm Load
   Wire Gauge      Distance (ft)    Distance (ft)
     18 AWG             10               5
     16 AWG             20              10
     14 AWG             35              18
     12 AWG             60              30
     10 AWG            100              50

Deriving a 2-ohm column from that I think it's easy enough to deal with 2-ohm cabling losses.
Click to expand...

+1. As long as cable resistance is less than 10% of the load impedance you're OK. A six foot 14 ga cable comes in at 0.03 ohms, so from the standpoint of load it's adequate to .3 ohms, let alone 2 ohms. The only advocates of silly large/expensive cables are those who sell them, and those who believe the hype spouted by them.
 
#99
funkboy5 said:
Can someone address the heat generated w/ a 2ohm load versus 4 and 8 ohm loads? Thanks
Click to expand...
Within wire of adequate gauge for the current load, inconsequential. Within both the output stage devices and the power supply of a SS amp, considerable, as current draw doubles with each halving of load impedance. For this reason running any SS amp at full output and minimum load rating will probably shorten the amp's service life. But you also get an additional 6dB of audio output from the same voltage output if you go from one to two identical cabs, and that added sensitivity can mean running the amp with less power output, reducing the strain on the amp. So the simple answer is that there is no simple answer, every case is unique.
 

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