URGENT: Parallel cab help.

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URGENT: Parallel cab help.

Hey guys,

I have urgent help needed: I have two cabinets where it says PARALLEL CONNECTION, which I understand. But the problem is, my guitar head has 16 and 8 ohm outputs and the 2 cabs have 8 ohm parallel inputs on them. Now my question is, can I have a splitter like the Palmer CAB M Splitter and connect my head separately to these cabs via the splitter; my guitar head's 8 ohm utput ---> splitter, then from the splitter 2 separate outputs to each cab? Maybe this is a stoooopid question but want to make sure before I blow anything up...

Cheers!

Pushead

Which head and which cabinets? Just a single 16 ohm output and 2 8 ohm outputs?

I hate giving advice on this without reading the info from the amp maker on how they calculate/distribute the load and how the speaker company calculates their parallel load (they may say 8 ohm parallel, but does that mean with a second speaker does it become 4 ohm?)

Andrew W.

Hey Pushead,

I own two Vox BC108 where it says in the manual if connected parallel then the ohm ends up being 4 (they only have parallel connections at the back of the cabs so no other option there). My head is a Laney IRT15 where you have either 8 or 16 ohm output.

I was thinking of buying the Peavey Piranha mini head where the minimum ohm is 4 unless another option is available for the Laney head.

Pushead

Yeah, that amp can't run the two cabinets without the Palmer splitter. But it looks like that splitter, run in series, would work out well for you. You can connect the 16 ohm out of the head and run your two Vox cabs at 8ohm in series.

Andrew W.

Yeah the splitter looks great, might buy it. But just to make sure, if I connect my head to the Series input, then my two Vox BC108 (cab 1 and 2 on the splitter) then it truly will be in series even though my cabs have parallel inputs? I know, stooopid but just don't want to plug it in and BOOM there went my cabs...  

jt76

I don't know the technical specs for the laney or the cabs.

 

This is only generilzed effects of ohms loads.

 

Cabinet ohms

Higher number = more speaker resistance to the amp.

 

Higher than rated can cook your amp. Way to low is the equivalent of an amp with no load, and this can cause damage to the amp also.

 

Many amp manufacturers rate at 8 ohms and anything in the 4 to 16 ohm range is safe for that output.  Message laney customer support and they should be able to advise on this.

 

On the cabinet size. 

The higher ohms rating reduces the effectiveness per watt.  Your amp will sound quieter and may start to get hot.

Your amp will reach tube distortion faster.

 

While lower ohms will yield much more volume Per watt. 

Your amp will sound louder, it will be much louder before you reach tube distortion and speaker distortion will be easier to acheive.  You risk damaging the speakers if the watts rating is similar on the cabinet and amp but the cabinet is lower ohms.  Especially at high volume.  Most speaker ratings are the clean rating before peaker distortion though.

 

 

 

Many attenuators can also adjust ohms load.

As well as a few cabinet routers.

Pushead
Andrew W. wrote:

 I know, stooopid but just don't want to plug it in and BOOM there went my cabs...  

Well, maybe it'll make you feel better to know that it won't be the cabs that blow up, it would be the amp.

That probably didn't help...

Based on what you've listed and the Palmer site says, you should be good to go using the series input on the Palmer from the 16 ohm out on the head.

Andrew W.

Oh.. ”alrighty then!”.  yeah it'll be safe, I will buy the splitter and go with that.  cheers for the help

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