bassituation Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Hi, I have a little Laney RB2 combo amp which is 30 watts with a 10" speaker that needs replacing. If I replace the 10" speaker with a more powerful 10" speaker, say a 60 watt 10" speaker, does the amp then become 60 watts or is it not that simple, and would it damage the amp? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Nope its more about ohms and driver efficiency. Putting in a higher wattage speaker may in fact make it quieter as your amp could be (and probably is) too weedy to drive it fully. If your existing speaker is 8ohms then replacing it with a similarish 4ohm one should get you a bit more oomph. But at the end of the day a 30w amp is pretty much a 30w amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 No. You will only have a 30 watt amp no matter what you do, The speaker changes the power of the amp into sound and volume. if you change the speaker for one that is more sensitive you'll get more volume out of your amps 30 watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassituation Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 The only difference you can get is if the speaker is more efficient, as Chris says, but then there`s the issue of speakers are meant to match a specific size cab to get the best from them, so it really would be hit n miss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1389827792' post='2338511'] Nope its more about ohms and driver efficiency. Putting in a higher wattage speaker may in fact make it quieter as your amp could be (and probably is) too weedy to drive it fully. [/quote] Really? Surely that'd be entirely dependant on the efficiency, rather than the wattage rating per se? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 If I may ask another question here, if the OP were to fit a 40w speaker, it would be slightly less loud, but am I right that the amp is less likely to blow the speaker? If he wants more volume, as I understand it, he should buy a small cab to plug in, giving more 30w speakers, is this right? (This is an academic question - I doubt a 30w combo will have an o/put for a cab. Nor will he find a cab small enough for a 30w amp to drive it) Actually, the OP will do well to trade up and buy a 60 or 120w Roland Cube, or similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1389827792' post='2338511'] Nope its more about ohms and driver efficiency. Putting in a higher wattage speaker may in fact make it quieter as your amp could be (and probably is) too weedy to drive it fully. If your existing speaker is 8ohms then replacing it with a similarish 4ohm one should get you a bit more oomph. But at the end of the day a 30w amp is pretty much a 30w amp. [/quote] Hmm, I think you may risk frying something if you switch the speaker to 4ohms when it designed to run only with 8ohms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassituation Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 thanks for the replies, the reason I asked the question is because the little rb2 can take an extension cab and I did plug my 300 watt 4ohm 1x15 marshall cab into it and it sounded pretty good and loud, that's why i got thinking about the change in original speaker which is duff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1389871297' post='2338836'] If I may ask another question here, if the OP were to fit a 40w speaker, it would be slightly less loud, but am I right that the amp is less likely to blow the speaker? [/quote] Assuming similar tone & efficiency, why would a 40w driver be less loud than a 30W one ? (I doubt that a 30W amp has a 30W speaker...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Just get a new speaker off the internet. It won't matter that the speaker isn't optimised for your cab. The original probably wasn't either. IMO, adding an extension cab is the best way of getting a better tone out of your combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 [quote name='barkin' timestamp='1389874107' post='2338881'] Assuming similar tone & efficiency, why would a 40w driver be less loud than a 30W one ? (I doubt that a 30W amp has a 30W speaker...) [/quote] To answer your question: [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1389827792' post='2338511'] ... Putting in a higher wattage speaker may in fact make it quieter as your amp could be (and probably is) too weedy to drive it fully. If your existing speaker is 8ohms then replacing it with a similarish 4ohm one should get you a bit more oomph. But at the end of the day a 30w amp is pretty much a 30w amp. [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1389871924' post='2338845'] Hmm, I think you may risk frying something if you switch the speaker to 4ohms when it designed to run only with 8ohms? [/quote] True, if it is designed to run at 8ohms only but most guitar amps are happy to take either 8 and 4ohm loads. Any higher and then you may start to smell something nasty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1389874834' post='2338895'] To answer your question: [/quote] I've already replied to that, and it doesn't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1389876101' post='2338918'] True, if it is designed to run at 8ohms only but most guitar amps are happy to take either 8 and 4ohm loads. Any [b]lower[/b] and then you may start to smell something nasty. [/quote] Fixed for you. A quick look online reveals that the internal speaker is disconnected when the extension socket is used, so it's likely it's already fitted with a 4 ohm speaker. So the only way to get this amp louder is to use a more sensitive internal or extension speaker, and in the case of the extension cab something with 2 or more speakers is likely to do the job (although Laney don't gives any specs for the speaker fitted so it's impossible to work out how it fares in this department). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Musky' timestamp='1389894214' post='2339265'] A quick look online reveals that the internal speaker is disconnected when the extension socket is used, so it's likely it's already fitted with a 4 ohm speaker. [/quote] FWIW laney.co.uk says, for the current RB2: Speaker connections - 1 jack (8 Ohms) But the picture in the manual doesn't show a speaker connection for an external speaker... I found a manual online for an older version of the RB2, which does show an external speaker connection and also states that the internal speaker is disconnected when an external speaker is connected, and that the min. impedance is 4 Ohms. Edited January 16, 2014 by barkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 [quote name='Musky' timestamp='1389894214' post='2339265'] Fixed for you. ..... [/quote] Depends on your perspective I suppose. Talking about numbers then yes lower, but if you are talking about load on the amp then what I said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 [quote name='barkin' timestamp='1389874107' post='2338881'](I doubt that a 30W amp has a 30W speaker...)[/quote] It's quite possible; I had a Laney B something-or-other 30watt many years ago & I wasn't long in blowing the speaker. It was a Laney labelled homebrew speaker rated at 30watts at 8ohms. You don't get many extras at them prices. I replaced it with a Celestion 100w 10" (Celestion were very good at advising me over the phone whether it was suitable) & it was running well for years after it. My cousins kid is using it now. No extra volume obviously, but certainly no drop either & it held the bottom end much better than the original one did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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