Are 2 Hartke 410XLs in parallel the same as one 810XL?

[alternativejoe]

I play through a Hartke LH500 (which is 500W at 4 Ohms and 350W at 8 Ohms) through a 410XL cab (which is 8 Ohms and a maximum of 400W), therefore, the amp is only running at 350W and there's no chance of blowing the amp/cab

Now, if I decided to get another 410XL and put it in parallel with the other one, which would reduce the resistance to 4 Ohms across both cabs, does this mean that

a) 500W are going into each cab and they're likely to blow

OR

250W are going into each cab and it's safe.

If it's option b, is it exactly the same as buying an 810XL which is a single cabinet with a maximum of 800W at 4 Ohms?

Would really like to know before I go shelling out for an 810XL, cheers.

Edited November 4, 2010 by alternativejoe

[Dood]

Are 2 Hartke 410XLs in parallel the same as one 810XL?

Yes, they use the same speakers in both. Two cabs together will give you a 4 Ohm load and a total handling of 800W RMS. - to be honest, you'd be fine throwing the power of an LH1000 at the two cabinets with no fear of blowing them, if you are careful. Those XLs are pretty resilient - and don't forget, just because you have a 500W amp - it's not constantly running at that wattage - you'll only peak every now and then.

[Dood]

p.s - yes to option b. 250W going to each cab, more or less.

[icastle]

[quote name='alternativejoe' post='1012566' date='Nov 4 2010, 09:00 PM']I play through a Hartke LH500 (which is 500W at 4 Ohms and 350W at 8 Ohms) through a 410XL cab (which is 8 Ohms and a maximum of 400W), therefore, the amp is only running at 350W and there's no chance of blowing the amp/cab

Now, if I decided to get another 410XL and put it in parallel with the other one, which would reduce the resistance to 4 Ohms across both cabs, does this mean that

a) 500W are going into each cab and they're likely to blow

OR

250W are going into each cab and it's safe.

If it's option b, is it exactly the same as buying an 810XL which is a single cabinet with a maximum of 800W at 4 Ohms?

Would really like to know before I go shelling out for an 810XL, cheers.[/quote]

IMO the other advantages to using a pair of 410XL cabs instead of an 810XL is that you have:

a) Resilience - less chance of total failure if you are splitting the work over two seperate bits of hardware.
Scalability - you can take a small rig out or a bigger one if you need to.
c) Portability - it's a damn sight easier to move a couple of sideboards than a wardrobe
d) Illility - ok, I made that one up but you'll reduce the time off work for back problems and hernias

[Dood]

[quote name='icastle' post='1015954' date='Nov 8 2010, 04:06 AM']d) [b] Illility [/b] - ok, I made that one up but you'll reduce the time off work for back problems and hernias [/quote]


Brilliant!

[icastle]

[quote name='dood' post='1016347' date='Nov 8 2010, 01:46 PM'] Brilliant![/quote]

I was trying to get Senility in there as well but lost track of what I was doing half way through...