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Would these cabs be underpowered?

B

bluebyrd

Jun 12, 2000
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#1
Hi All. I have an Avatar CB115H, and was thinking of getting either another one or an Avatar 2x10. To power these, either alone or both at once, I was thinking either a Peavey Firebass II or Max 700 (475@4, 700@2) or Bam head (350@4, 500@2). My question is with two cabs, would they be underpowered with either of these heads? Would these heads do damage to the cabs by not driving them with enough watts? The cabs would probably be able to handle at least 1000 watts together, as the 1x15 is rated at 600 watts, and the 2x10 I'm not sure, but I think it's around 700 watts or so. If I run both cabs thru the Max 700 or Bam head, is that enough amp to drive these cabs? thanks for you patience......
 
#2
Yeah, if it only (not only, but you know) puts out 475 watts at 4 ohms... Will those both be 8 ohm cabs?? Because if they are the head will "only" put out about probably 300 watts (??) on each side, and if each cab handles 600-700, if you maxed out your amp, it would be bad for the speakers. It could damage them.
If they are both 4 ohms, and can handle 2 ohms each that would be fine. But only if they can handle 2 ohmes on each cab... If not I wouldn't really reccomend it...
 
#4
You heard right! The Peavey heads were designed to handle 2 ohms load and they sound better that way (My experience from a Nitrobass head)

BTW, try both heads out before you buy. i'll bet the bam sounds better and has more usefull features.

BTW part II, The Avatar B210 is amazing!

Good luck,

Matt
 
#5
Either setup will work fine. :) Contrary to popular belief, there isn't any minimum amount of power needed to drive certain cabs. The ratings on cabs are the maximum amount of power they can safely handle, not a reccommendation for amp power. If the combination of amp and cabs is loud enough for your purposes without driving the amp into audible distortion and it sounds good to you it's all good.:bassist:

In my experience, Peavey amps will happily drive 2 Ohm loads no problem.
 
#6
Originally posted by Mark Reccord
Either setup will work fine. :) Contrary to popular belief, there isn't any minimum amount of power needed to drive certain cabs. The ratings on cabs are the maximum amount of power they can safely handle, not a reccommendation for amp power. If the combination of amp and cabs is loud enough for your purposes without driving the amp into audible distortion and it sounds good to you it's all good.:bassist:

In my experience, Peavey amps will happily drive 2 Ohm loads no problem.
Click to expand...

That's right - the only thing is not to turn up too far if you aren't getting enough volume.
 
#7
Originally posted by Bruce Lindfield


That's right - the only thing is not to turn up too far if you aren't getting enough volume.
Click to expand...

Yup, it's always best to recognize the limits of your equipment, and act accordingly to not cause damage. If your setup isn't loud enough, get a better setup.

Slightly off-topic:

Say, you want to drive 150 mph on the German freeway, because you want to keep up with your guitarist, who drives a 70 hp motorcycle. But all you have is a 70 hp Volkswagen Lupo. Don't expect the Lupo to survive constant full trottle. You would need a car with, say, 200 hp to keep up with a 70 hp motorcycle.

(Funny how many technical issues can be made understandable by comparing them to cars)
 

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