fryer Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 (edited) I have an old Crate amp, producing around 350 w into my Epi 5.3 ohm cab. The cab can take 700 w. I am happy with the sound I get from these. Can I use a power amp with the Crate to provide more power, maybe by bi-amping ? Edited April 10, 2009 by fryer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 [quote name='fryer' post='459174' date='Apr 10 2009, 11:54 AM']I have an old Crate amp, producing around 350 w into my Epi 5.3 ohm cab. The cab can take 700 w.[/quote] The cab is thermally rated at 700W. The woofers will not be able to handle 350W in the lows without overexcursion so you already have as much power as you need to get full output. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 [quote name='fryer' post='459174' date='Apr 10 2009, 06:54 AM']I have an old Crate amp, producing around 350 w into my Epi 5.3 ohm cab. The cab can take 700 w. I am happy with the sound I get from these. Can I use a power amp with the Crate to provide more power, maybe by bi-amping ?[/quote] If you double your power into the same speaker you'll get an additional 3dB output, assuming the speaker can make use of said power. Chances are it can't; thermal power ratings only tell you how much power a speaker can accept without burning out, not how much it can use, which is on average 60% less than the thermal rating. If you add another identical speaker you'll get an additional 6dB output, assuming your amp can handle the halved impedance load. I doubt your Epi is 5.3 ohms impedance. It may have 5.3 ohms DC resistance, which isn't the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryer Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 The Epi cab is a UL 310, with 3 speakers, hence the odd 5.3 ohms. I was considering getting another identical cabinet - does this halve the impedance, or is it more complicated than this ? If half, this would present 2.65 ohms, which is too low for the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 [quote name='fryer' post='459313' date='Apr 10 2009, 02:16 PM']The Epi cab is a UL 310, with 3 speakers, hence the odd 5.3 ohms. I was considering getting another identical cabinet - does this halve the impedance, or is it more complicated than this ? If half, this would present 2.65 ohms, which is too low for the amp.[/quote] That's exactly what happens, unfortunately! Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.