C@meron Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 (edited) Hi I recently acquired a 15" Peavey bass speaker cab, Part no. suggests it is 4 ohm, with 35 oz. magnet, but it is marked 8 ohms; and meter test confirms it is 8 Ohms. One source tells me not to drive with more than 125 watt, but I rather fancy the TE Elf amp head, which delivers 130 watt at 8 ohms. Any suggestions as to who might have definitive answer as yo max wattage? Edited June 3, 2018 by C@meron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 Im no expert(!) but Im fairly sure you'd be ok with that and you would hear it peaking out (ie farting) before you came close to damaging it, but wait for the real experts shortly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 Where did you find the 125 watt rating from? Sounds like it’s been reconed too with the 4/8 ohm change. Peavey bass cabs with original speakers until fairly recently have been usually 350 Watts ( Black Widow speaker, BW on rear panel) or sometimes the old Sheffield speakers which I think were 250 watts. Both of these were featured in the same cab, and could handle the TE okay. Peavey did make lower wattage 15s ( used in cheaper PA cabs ) so the model number of the speaker chassis would be maybe the best way to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C@meron Posted June 3, 2018 Author Share Posted June 3, 2018 Thanks Casapete The advice re wattage was from Peavey, but they are baffled by the part no. being "15435 8 Oms" as15435 should be 4 ohm speaker, but it is definitely 8 ohms. As it is not in their current range, they do not seem to have any more info. I was wondering if it was manufactured in UK, but unfortunately UK plant has closed down. I was hoping some ex Peavey UK techie would have more info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 2 hours ago, C@meron said: ...the TE Elf amp head, which delivers 130 watt at 8 ohms... Any amp will only deliver its maximum wattage if driven at maximum volume with maximum signal. Do you often play 'full tilt' all the time..? If so, maybe it's not the rig for you. An amp delivering 130 watts into a speaker able to take 125 watts may not sound very good, either. The watts themselves are irrelevant, really; the sound of a speaker 'suffering' would normally be enough to suggest desisting. I'd say plug it in and listen; you'll soon know if it's compatible or not, and before any real damage is done. The specifications are one thing; listening is another, and is a much better test. Just my tuppence-worth; hope it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 59 minutes ago, C@meron said: Thanks Casapete The advice re wattage was from Peavey, but they are baffled by the part no. being "15435 8 Oms" as15435 should be 4 ohm speaker, but it is definitely 8 ohms. As it is not in their current range, they do not seem to have any more info. I was wondering if it was manufactured in UK, but unfortunately UK plant has closed down. I was hoping some ex Peavey UK techie would have more info? After a quick Google it seems that your speaker is a 'Sheffield' model, rated at 150 watts (should still handle your Elf though). They did them originally in 4 ohm versions as you say for use in single 15 bass bins (a long time ago!), but the later Sheffield 15's were designated PRO 1500 and were 8 ohms/250 watts. Wonder if yours has had a new basket fitted to later spec if that's feasible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 Play through it till it farts. Matron. Then back off a tad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 Yes it's an old Sheffield unit and there were various versions rated 150W and 250W, there's also a recone kit advertised which is 8 ohm. There's a moderately lively second hand market for Peavey drivers so you could probably pick up a cheap replacement if something went wrong. Frankly you've not got a lot to lose, you could probably get away with using your Elf for quite a while with no problems. If you are going to use it at home it'll make a lot of noise. If you are going out and gigging with a loud rock band then it's probably not going to last too long and you'll want a better speaker fairly quickly anyway. Matching amps and speakers isn't an exact science anyway. Play your 150w amp with clean tones and you're probably only averaging less than 10w anyway so it isn't going to overheat the speaker. Play with distortion and a lot of bass boost and you can probably blow quite a few speakers rated well above the amplifier power by over excursion at the lowest frequencies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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