Peavey Max 115 Combo

[Stealth]

I have one of these it's a great litte box. Here's the quandary it got the same amp as the head 300w into 8ohms 500w into 4ohms. So if the combo is putting out 300w I assume an 8ohm driver. So why no ext speaker socket ? Can I just wire one in parallel ?

[Sparky Mark]

Don't assume anything. Which version of this combo do you have? I have just Googled the user manual for your description and it gives the output as 60 watts RMS into 4 ohms. It could be there is no extension outlet because the internal speaker is 4 ohms to get the maximum from the amplifier.
It may also be because the amplifier section will overheat if you add an extension speaker.

[Stealth]

Its this one

https://peavey.com/products/index.cfm/item/659/118121

300w 8 Ohm

Here is what looks to be the identical head.

https://peavey.com/products/index.cfm/item/659/118756

300w 8ohm 500w 8ohm

[Sparky Mark]

Looking at the separate head first;the power requirement printed below the mains supply inlet says 160 watts and the photos appear to show a cooling fan ventilation aperture. The combo states 74 watts and doesn't appear to have any ventilation slots for either passive or forced (fan) cooling. I would guess therefore that the same power section can work fine at 8 ohms 300 watts without being fan cooled but when running at 4 ohms 500 watts needs a fan to avoid overheating.

[markstuk]

how do you get 300W RMS out when it's only getting 74W in? Which is what the high res picture shows...

Edited September 29, 2016 by markstuk

[markstuk]

https://assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/MaxCombos_manual.pdf interestingly the 60W "old" version shows a power draw of 75W :-)

[Stealth]

Weird cant help but think that they missed a trick there it would be a great gigging amp with another cab. Then again at the price i could just buy another one ! Probably cheaper than a cab

[Sparky Mark]

Quite a lot of combos are aimed at smaller applications such as practice, small venues etc and competitive price points. If Peavey had designed the fan plus venting plus output socket into your combo it would probably have made it uncompetitive within its target market. Whilst most will only use this as a stand alone combo they wouldn't need that or want to pay the extra. Peavey have been around a long time and know the market well.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Sparky Mark