Speaker connections and Impedance

[Norton]

What's the difference between the sound of 16,8 or 4 ohm cabinets?


I'll build a 2x12 stereo cabinet.Should I buy 8 or 16 ohm speakers?

[marcus]

With a 2x12 cabinet, you have limited options for hooking up the speakers. To get an 8 ohm impedance, you will need to do 2 16 ohm speakers in parallel. For a 4 ohm cabinet, 2 8 ohms in parallel. For a 16 ohm cabinet, 2 8 ohm speakers in series, etc. As for the sound, that will depend a lot on your amp and what other speakers/cabinets you are running, and their impedances. For example, if you are running two cabinets connected to the same amp, then the amp will either see these cabinets in parallel or in series depending on how they are connected.

I know this is vague, but if you give more specifics we may be able to help out more

[Norton]

Well, I'll get a Mesa Boogie 50/50 power amp.

I'll use the 2x12 as a stereo, one speaker per side.

I'll buy 2 of those Celestion clones on the eBay store.

I won't use another cabinet.Just the the 2x12.

I guess I'll put a mono,stereo switch on it.

That's all I can list for now.

[marcus]

That does change things! If you are going to run in stereo, then ignore the whole parallel/series thing. The amp will not see the speakers in either series or parallel, basically the two channels are independent. You could probably run either 16s or 8s no problem with that amp, but I am not familiar with it. If it has an impedance selector switch, I would say it probably doesn't make much of a difference whether you go with the 8 ohm or 16 ohm speakers. In this case, I would decide which to get based upon the configuration I wanted when running both speakers in mono.

[marcus]

I'll buy 2 of those Celestion clones on the eBay store.

I saw the thread on these, I was thinking about getting some myself. I just got some G12t-75s a little while ago that I thought was a good deal - I wish I had heard of these guys. Let us know how this turns out, these speakers have been getting great reviews

[Norton]

That does change things! If you are going to run in stereo, then ignore the whole parallel/series thing. The amp will not see the speakers in either series or parallel, basically the two channels are independent. You could probably run either 16s or 8s no problem with that amp, but I am not familiar with it. If it has an impedance selector switch, I would say it probably doesn't make much of a difference whether you go with the 8 ohm or 16 ohm speakers. In this case, I would decide which to get based upon the configuration I wanted when running both speakers in mono.

Yeah I know the dual channel thing. My only question is, does impedance make a difference in sound? And if so, which one's better


And I think I'll order them this week.We'll see.

[marcus]

Yeah I know the dual channel thing. My only question is, does impedance make a difference in sound? And if so, which one's better

The answer to these is: it depends and it depends I don't think it makes too much of a difference, especially if you have an impedance selector switch. Differences between speaker makes and brands seem to make much more of a difference than the impedance, YMMV.

Something to be aware of: some tube amps are not going to be capable of driving a 16 ohm load, but I am not sure about the 50/50. 8 ohm speakers are a pretty safe bet for most amps, though.

[Norton]

Alright, I'll get 2of the 8 ohms. Cabinet world,here I come

[GodOfRhythm]

You're going to have pretty much 0 influence of the stereo, you need two cabs which are a healthy distance from each other to start enjoying stereo effects. I love my 50/50.

Do you have the older model?

You're gonna be playing it on the LO mode (15watts per channel) constantly, or just on really low volume? On HI (50 per channel) mode and a decent volume you're going to be pushing those V30's pretty hard...

[Norton]

I don't have one at the moment poor me... ı'll buy one soon. And yes I'll use it on the lo-power mode at home.

[Robert Burns]

im getting a great stereo "field" with a VHT 4/12 for the left channel,
and 2 Crate 2/12 's for the right channel. About 7 feet apart
Running thru a VHT 2/90/2 Rack amp

[OnlineStageGear]

Yep, you will want to be on 1/2 power to get your tubes to saturate at at a decent level. You might want to consider the 20/20. I have the 20/20 and it has 4 and 8 outputs but the EL84's are a bit of a different animal tone-wise and the 50/50 has the same out's if I remember correctly.

[Norton]

Yep, you will want to be on 1/2 power to get your tubes to saturate at at a decent level. You might want to consider the 20/20. I have the 20/20 and it has 4 and 8 outputs but the EL84's are a bit of a different animal tone-wise and the 50/50 has the same out's if I remember correctly.

Well, the 20/20 goes for more, cause people want them. So, the 50/50 is cheaper!

And since it has the lo-power(15/15) switch, it can be used as a lower watt amp then the 20/20. So all the arrows point the 50/50 for me.