Speaker cab wireing ?

[SIXX]

I have a Marshall AVT50H head that I want to run into a 4X12 slant cabinet. The head says 4ohm minimum & the speakers are 16ohm each, 2 Vin30s & 2 G12T75s. So should I wire the cab/speakers in series or parallel ? I dont want to hurt the head or the speakers. Any help would be great. Thanks, SIXX

[aleclee]

Re: Speaker cab wireing ?

all in parallel will yield a 4 ohm load

[SIXX]

Re: Speaker cab wireing ?

Thank you Aleclee. The guy at Guitar Center said series, so im just checking all my options, better safe than sorry. I would rather take the word of real musicians than the one of a guy at GC trying to make a sale that could care less about your needs. Thanks.

[SIXX]

Re: Speaker cab wireing ?

Anybody else got a openion or suggestion ?

[aleclee]

Re: Speaker cab wireing ?

Anybody else got a openion or suggestion ?

FWIW, rewiring the speakers in parallel will change the tone a bit, esp with a tube amp. To be honest, I don't recall if it'll make it brighter or darker but it will change due to the change in the damping factor of the circuit.

[Davey]

Re: Speaker cab wireing ?

yep.

it should be in paralel, for a 4 ohm load.

[ErikH]

Re: Speaker cab wireing ?

Keep in mind the amps says "4 ohm minimum". That doesn't mean it "has" to be 4 ohms. That's just the lowest recommended impedance. You can leave it as is, wired series/parallel for 16 ohms, and be fine.

[Farkus]

Re: Speaker cab wireing ?

Keep in mind the amps says "4 ohm minimum". That doesn't mean it "has" to be 4 ohms. That's just the lowest recommended impedance. You can leave it as is, wired series/parallel for 16 ohms, and be fine.

I've always heard conflicting things about this so I just do my best to match things exactly to avoid amp damage.

But for the sake of argument, let's say I have an amp which is designed to 'see' 4 ohms. As long as the speakers/cabs that I'm using are 16, 8 or 4 (total) ohms I'm okay?

[ErikH]

Re: Speaker cab wireing ?

I've always heard conflicting things about this so I just do my best to match things exactly to avoid amp damage.

But for the sake of argument, let's say I have an amp which is designed to 'see' 4 ohms. As long as the speakers/cabs that I'm using are 16, 8 or 4 (total) ohms I'm okay?

If your amp was designed to 'see' 4 ohms and 'only' 4 ohms, then match it closely as possible. I wouldn't go any higher than 8 ohms if I had to. But the difference is when an amp says 'minimum', which means 'don't go any lower than this'. SS and hybrid amps usually have the 'minimum' thing going on and tube amps are absolute. But match when/if you can.

[aleclee]

Re: Speaker cab wireing ?

I've always heard conflicting things about this so I just do my best to match things exactly to avoid amp damage.

But for the sake of argument, let's say I have an amp which is designed to 'see' 4 ohms. As long as the speakers/cabs that I'm using are 16, 8 or 4 (total) ohms I'm okay?

Depends on whether the amp is tube or SS. A SS amp is fine as long as the load is >= to its minimum. If you run a load that's less than the minimum, you're liable to fry the output transistors.

Most (but not all) tube amps are cool with a 2:1 impedance mismatch in either direction. If the load is too high, it stresses the transformer. Too low and it stresses the power tubes. Either way, most amps can handle a 2:1 mismatch either way. That means that you probably won't damage an 8 ohm tube amp with either a 4 or 16 ohm load. With the 4 ohm case you describe, you're probably cool going with an 8 ohm load but not a 16.

[SIXX]

Re: Speaker cab wireing ?

Thanks for all the good info guys, and yes the head is SS. If need be I can allways take the speakers back to GC and get them in 8ohm if needed.