I'm shopping for a new bass rig and I think I might go for a head/cab instead of a combo. So now you know this is going to be a question about ohms right? :lol: Well, it's actually about Watts :wink: There is a ton of information on the Internet about this stuff and I've read a lot about it, but I"m confused about one thing.
I'm thinking about buying a Hartke 2500:
http://www.zzounds.com/item--HTK2500
It says - Power: 250 watts at 4 ohms, 180 watts at 8 ohms.
So my question is, if I buy a cab that handles 200 watts at 8 ohms like this one:
http://www.zzounds.com/item--HTK210XL
It will handle the Hartke 2500 just fine because at 8 ohms the amp only puts out 180 watts.
But can I add another cab that handles 200 watts at 8 ohms, or will I have to get rid of the first one and buy two that handle more than 250 watts each?
In other words, is it the sum of the two cabs (200+200=400)>(250) or does each have to handle greater than 250 alone?
You're exactly right about the power ratings of the speakers adding up. The ohmage is different. If the cabs are wired in parallel, two 8 ohm speakers will give you 4 ohms. If you were to wire them in series, you'd have 16 ohms.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
It is the sum . The power being sent to the two eight ohm cabinets will be divided equally to each cabinet which present a 4 ohm load to the amplifier (wired parallel) . Each speaker would essentially be getting 125 watts from the amp so you have some headroom , which is a good thing .
If I claim to be a wise man , it surely means that I don't know .
And remember that you can usually overpower a speaker cabinet. A 100W cabinet can connect to a 150W or more amp (except for keyboard/organ use). This is because of the dynamics of live music.
Thanks for the helpful information!
Dave
