Whats the deal with the different ohmage THD hotplates?

[Young Angus]

Is it just so you can match up the right one with the right amp output resistance or speaker cab resistance, or are there different rated hotplates which actually do different things to tone?

One reason i ask is that gearjoneser just recommended in another thread that i look into a 16ohm hotplate for my komet...so why specifically a 16ohm one?

[JfromHouston]

Re: Whats the deal with the different ohmage THD hotplates?

Yes, the different ohm ratings are for different outputs. What ohms are your cabs? If you are using a 16 ohm cab - hooked to your 16 ohm output - get a 16 ohm hotplate. If 8, use 8. There is no difference in tone from one to another. Keep in mind if your komet is 16 and your engl is 8 you can't use the same hotplate for both. Well technically you can but it may damage the hotplate.

[some_dude]

Re: Whats the deal with the different ohmage THD hotplates?

The different ohm Hotplate's have tone controls that are optimized for that impedance.

You can safely mismatch a Hotplate 2:1 in either direction. The instuctions it comes with tells you how to mis-match a low impedance amp tap and Hotplate with a high impedance cab, or a low impedance amp tap with a high impedance Hotplate and cab. It doesn't show you how to mis-match the other direction for liability reasons, but THD told me it was reasonable safe to do so. Mis-matching lessens the effectiveness of the tone controls.

As for why 16ohm; what's the impedance of your amp and cab?

[Young Angus]

Re: Whats the deal with the different ohmage THD hotplates?

Well both my ENGL and Komet have 4, 8 and 16 ohm output options...and the cab is 8ohm mono input and 16 stereo. So i run 8ohm outputs on both into my 8ohm box.

Hence i would get an 8ohm hotplate yes?

So howcome jonesy recommended a 16ohm hotplate?

[mrid]

Re: Whats the deal with the different ohmage THD hotplates?

and the cab is 8ohm mono input and 16 stereo.

I think you've got that backwards. 16 ohm mono, 8 ohm stereo.

[Young Angus]

Re: Whats the deal with the different ohmage THD hotplates?

http://www.engl-amps.com/engl-amps/amps/cabinets/default.htm

Nope, thats what it is.