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25w speaker with a 20W amp?

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  • 25w speaker with a 20W amp?

    I have a Peavey 6505MH and, even before lockdown, I was only playing at low volumes in my house (with a lot of gain though). When I was in a band, and if I ever join another, I would be using the amps and speakers at the rehearsal studio and gear provided by any pubs, as we did before.

    So I currently have a 2x12 Marshall 1936 cabinet with a Greenback and a G12T-75 and that combination sounds great IMO, but it's still a bit of big cabinet for what I need in my little study room. I am looking at getting a cheap 1 x 12 cab and putting my Greenback in it, but I just realised that speaker is only rated at 25W. I understand that, for a 20W amp you're supposed to use a speaker with some headroom like 40-50W.
    But, honestly, I am never cranking this thing, and generally use it on the 5W or even 1W setting so....
    Will it really matter if I use the 25 Greenback with my 20W amp at high gain, low volume (generally VERY low volume)?
    I don't use this setup for anything other than jamming by myself to Maiden, Slayer etc - if I ever record I have Amplitube with a few packs and go straight into that, which I love.

    I know I could use the G12T-75 but I don't like that speaker so much - it pairs very well with the Greenback because they both have strengths but on their own I MUCH prefer the Greenback as the G12T-75 is harsh, brittle and not very nice at all!
    Last edited by Wolfshead; 12-10-2020, 02:03 PM.
    My website - https://stevenamckay.com/

    My gear - Gibson- Les Pauls - 2 x Classic (sunburst and ebony), Slash Standard, DC Special Tribute, SG Standard, Explorer, Flying V. 1980 Hamer Sunburst.
    MIM Fender Strat. MIK Squier Tele. Jackson JDR94, Kelly, Concert Bass. Fender acoustic. Mandolin.
    Spark Mini, Marshall DSL20HR, 1912.

  • #2
    If your speaker is 25 watts and your amp is 20, there shouldn't be problems. Speaker wattage ratings are based on tests done with with an amp of that rating.

    (At least that's what the manufacturer of your speaker says: https://celestion.com/speakerworld/g..._need_to_know!.)
    Last edited by GuitarStv; 12-10-2020, 02:15 PM.
    Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

    Originally posted by Douglas Adams
    This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by GuitarStv View Post
      If your speaker is 25 watts and your amp is 20, there shouldn't be problems. Speaker wattage ratings are based on tests done with with an amp of that rating.
      That's what I thought, but then I read a load of posts on various forums saying the 20W rating for an amp is CLEAN. Once you start pushing the gain and adding OD pedals and so on then the output rises dramatically. I mean I'm quite sure I'd be in no danger of blowing the speaker playing my amp the way I do, but.....there's always a worry something won't be right!
      My website - https://stevenamckay.com/

      My gear - Gibson- Les Pauls - 2 x Classic (sunburst and ebony), Slash Standard, DC Special Tribute, SG Standard, Explorer, Flying V. 1980 Hamer Sunburst.
      MIM Fender Strat. MIK Squier Tele. Jackson JDR94, Kelly, Concert Bass. Fender acoustic. Mandolin.
      Spark Mini, Marshall DSL20HR, 1912.

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      • #4
        I've used an Eminence C.Rex (rated for 50 watts) with a 40 watt amp at gig volumes for years with no problems. I don't crank the bass on my amp, or do lots of chugga chugga with square wave distortion though.

        When in doubt, check with the manufacturer. Celestion says 60 watt speaker if fine for a 60 watt amp. Jensen says if you use their speakers you need twice the cab rating as the amp. :P
        Join me in the fight against muscular atrophy!

        Originally posted by Douglas Adams
        This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

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        • #5
          Won't be a technical issue at all as long as the speaker impedance matches the output transformer correctly -but if the amp manufacturer wattage rating for output power if not accurate or is not an RMS rating (solid state amps use to often quote output power as the peak rating -Peavey used to do that for example) it could be more or less power than you are expecting.

          I would double check the speaker mfg for each speaker you ever select first and follow their guidance

          but the ratio of speaker distortion is really where you will see this ratio of output power to handling power -you are essentially giving your speaker headroom by feeding it with less total power than the speaker is rated for -which is great if the tone is what you like -but if you want your speakers to be on the edge and adding distortion it might not be what you want. Example -I run a 100W JCM with 4 a 1960a TV 25 Watt Greeback cab often -adding in pedals to pump the gain over unity and turn the power all the way up and there will be transients that could blow the speakers -but I never run the amp at 100% and at 80 or 90% it's totally hairy and sounds awesome.

          And even if you had a 25W amp and a 20W speaker -are you really even going to run your amp at 11 (100% + ) probably not even close I would guess.
          Last edited by NegativeEase; 12-10-2020, 03:06 PM.
          “For me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts.” Yvonne Chouinard

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Wolfshead View Post

            That's what I thought, but then I read a load of posts on various forums saying the 20W rating for an amp is CLEAN. Once you start pushing the gain and adding OD pedals and so on then the output rises dramatically. I mean I'm quite sure I'd be in no danger of blowing the speaker playing my amp the way I do, but.....there's always a worry something won't be right!
            Output ratings on amps refer to the amp's power section being clean; overdrive channels and pedals don't count. The power section on my 100W Marshall stays clean until the master volume is on about 5; above that the power section itself starts to distort. The 100W rating is with the clean power section and the amp on 5, though it continues getting louder until the master is on 8 or so. Actual maximum wattage is more like 120W and can be as high as 140W.

            TL;DR as long as you're not cranking your amp on its highest power setting, you don't need to worry about blowing a speaker at the same power rating.
            Originally posted by crusty philtrum
            And that's probably because most people with electric guitars seem more interested in their own performance rather than the effect on the listener ... in fact i don't think many people who own electric guitars even give a poop about the effect on a listener. Which is why many people play electric guitars but very very few of them are actually musicians.

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            • #7
              i had a 50w jcm800 marshall that, when turned full up, put out 75w+ on paper. granted it was a pair of 6550s and the voltages were cranked up but still. i also blew a 50w cannabis rex in a 22w fender deluxe reverb. granted, again, it was juiced up a little but still stock output tranny. eminence did replace it for free fyi, great to deal with.

              if you are playing a nmv amp clean, then a 20w speaker is fine for a 20w amp. if you have a mv and have both volumes at or below half, youre fine with matching wattages. if you are running a 50w amp really hard, then i wouldnt use 50w of speaker.

              EDIT tl;dr what he said

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              • #8
                The answer is: It depends.

                Yes, your amp can ruin that speaker. And yes, you can use that speaker for that amp without ruining the speaker.

                Just because your amp is "rated" at a certain power output doesn't mean that it can't, at times, put out more power than the rating. And just because your speaker is "rated" at a certain power handling figure doesn't mean that it is rated there at every frequency your amp can deliver.

                You have to use common sense and your ears. When using an amp and speaker that are that close in ratings, don't use extreme settings, and always be monitoring the sound for signs of potential speaker damage. You don't want the amp turned up all that high. You don't want that much distortion – even if you are getting it from outboard pedals and your amp itself isn't turned up that high. And you want a relatively balanced e.q., and especially one that is not tilted dramatically toward the low end. Most musical instrument speakers handle low frequencies much worse than they handle mids and high end. And it's much harder to hear when lows start stressing your speaker, as opposed to mids and highs.

                The bottom line is that if you want to be able to do whatever you want with your tone without worrying about or monitoring for speaker damage, then you do indeed need to use a grossly overrated cab for your amp. If, OTOH, you don't need extreme settings (very high output from the amp, tons of distortion, a heavily "tilted" e.q., etc.), and you don't mind keeping a close ear on your sound for signs of the speaker struggling, then you can use a lower rated cab.

                Last edited by ItsaBass; 12-10-2020, 05:16 PM.
                Originally posted by LesStrat
                Yogi Berra was correct.
                Originally posted by JOLLY
                I do a few chord things, some crappy lead stuff, and then some rhythm stuff.

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