Newbie help with amp / speakers

[richukuk]

Hi all,

I've just bought an Ashdown ABM 500w head and an ABM 210H 300w speaker.
I want to get a second cab. If I get (another Adhdown) 15" deep speaker cab, does it matter what wattage it must be min / max if it goes with the existing one I have?
I can see there are Mag cabs at 250w and ABM at 300w. Would it matter if I paired a Mag 250w with an ABM 300w speaker?
And finally - is the wattage the only difference between the Mag and ABM speakers? i.e. if I get cheaper Mag 15" cab will I really notice the difference (non pro use for rock music pubs, parties etc) in volume / sound quality?

Thanks for any help unravelling the mystery of speaker wattage and how it all fits together

[lowhand_mike]

welcome

you'll be fine adding another speaker cab at around 300w, what you have to be careful of is the ohm rating, ashdown cabs are normally rated at 8ohm, and your ABM head will run 500w at 4ohm, and about 300w at 8hm.
If you pair two 8ohm cabs together to your head their combined ohm rating will be 4ohm thus getting the full 500w.

the ABM cabs are better made than the mag ones and i beleive the drivers are a little better, ABM cabs are made from plywood and mags from chipboard. will you notice any difference? possibly but your audiences wont
ive been using a Mag 4x10 for about 7 years now and its great

hope that makes sense, just never run two 4 ohm cabs together into your head as that will make the ohm rating 2ohm and would blow up your amp (or something like that)

Edited September 8, 2016 by lowhand_mike

[richukuk]

Thanks, this really helps

[Guest bassman7755]

Using two cabs with a modest power rating mismatch is fine TBH so I wouldn't let that be the deciding factor.