Advice on mixing cabs with different ohmage

[silverfoxnik]

Hello Basschat Folks, 

 

Seeking your advice please...

 

I currently have 3 amps that comfortably run down to 2 ohms.

 

So, I'm thinking it'd be good to add another Vanderkley cab to my existing Vanderkley 1156 4 ohm cab.

 

It's not that I want more volume per se, it's just that I would like more choice for gigs and be able to use different cabs, or combination of cabs, in different settings. 

 

There's a few 210s around for sale at the moment - though more of those are 8 ohms cabs.

 

There's also some 4 ohm cabs (210s and 1156) available. 

 

So.. my Luddite's question is, would I be better off buying a 4 ohm cab to pair with my existing 4 ohm cab, or would an 8 ohm cab pair up OK? 

 

Thanks in advance for your help.. 

 

Cheers 

 

Nik 

 

[lownote]

I'm not grown up enough to answer your question I'm afraid. But what I have found to my cost is that the difference between 4 ohms and 8 ohms is very little in oomphs. However, the difference between 2 cabs and 1 cab in trouser flaps is huge and may be mission critical. Thus in my youth I eschewed 2 x 8ohm cabs in favour of 1x4 ohm cab, and now find this to be totally wronginacious.

Edited June 29, 2022 by lownote

[silverfoxnik]

14 minutes ago, lownote said:

I'm not grown up enough to answer your question I'm afraid. But what I have found to my cost is that the difference between 4 ohms and 8 ohms is very little in oomphs. However, the difference between 2 cabs and 1 cab in trouser flaps is huge and may be mission critical.

Thanks... 

 

Must admit, I do like a bit of trouser flappage where bass is concerned.. 😁

[Reggaebass]

1 minute ago, silverfoxnik said:

Thanks... 

 

Must admit, I do like a bit of trouser flappage where bass is concerned.. 😁

Somethings wrong if there’s no trouser flapping nik 😁

[BigRedX]

I haven't worn trousers with enough spare material to flap since 1977...

[Woodinblack]

The answer to all these things is, as always, it depends.

 

If you have a 2x10 that is made of 2 10" speakers that are 8r in parallel, that would make a 4r cab. If you then added another 10" speaker that was 8r externally, then the whole lot would balance nicely, as you would effectively be running 3x10 for a nice 2 2/3 r cab.

 

However, if you decided to to add an 8r cab which is a 2x10, so maybe 2 4r in series or 2 16r in parallle, you have to be aware that your second cab is only getting half the power of your first cab, and if they are as efficient as each other (and all other things are constant), it probably isn't going to bring as much as you want to the party.

[BigRedX]

Just get two identical cabs.

 

Mixing different cabs is of no benefit to anyone other than the person standing in the "sweet spot". Everyone else will experience a different (probably worse) sound to varying degrees.

 

If you are relying on your rig to provide bass guitar sound for the whole venue, that means the sound and volume of the bass will be different depending on where in the audience you are stood.

 

If the bass goes through the PA then your cabs make zero contribution to what the audience hears.

[ezbass]

Calling @Bill Fitzmaurice

[Merton]

Hey Nik,

If your amps can run to 2 ohms and you like the sound of a single 1156, get another one. You can then take one or two cabs to the gig as necessary and not have any concerns about cab mismatching etc.

Keep it simple

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

1 hour ago, ezbass said:

Calling @Bill Fitzmaurice

First, ohmage is what you pay to The Ox. Speakers have impedance.

Not only should you not use cabs with different impedance, you shouldn't mix cabs at all, with one exception, that being when they are loaded with identical drivers wired so that each driver receives the same power. For instance, that could be an 8 ohm 110 along with a 210, the 210 drivers wired parallel for 4 ohms. You'd have to be sure that your amp would handle the resulting 2.7 ohm load. Still, the best route is to use two identical speakers.

[ezbass]

45 minutes ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

First, ohmage is what you pay to The Ox. Speakers have impedance.

Not only should you not use cabs with different impedance, you shouldn't mix cabs at all, with one exception, that being when they are loaded with identical drivers wired so that each driver receives the same power. For instance, that could be an 8 ohm 110 along with a 210, the 210 drivers wired parallel for 4 ohms. You'd have to be sure that your amp would handle the resulting 2.7 ohm load. Still, the best route is to use two identical speakers.

I know that phrase grinds your gears.  
 

As ever, we are grateful for your expertise and advice in these matters; thank you.

[chris_b]

4 hours ago, silverfoxnik said:

There's a few 210s around for sale at the moment - though more of those are 8 ohms cabs.

 

There's also some 4 ohm cabs (210s and 1156) available. 

 

So.. my Luddite's question is, would I be better off buying a 4 ohm cab to pair with my existing 4 ohm cab, or would an 8 ohm cab pair up OK?

 

Hi Nik, adding an 8 ohm cab to your 4 ohm cab would need 2.67 ohms from your amps, so that's good. The power would be split 66% to the 15 and 33% to the new cab. I'd check with Vanderkley, they could advise if their 210's are designed to work with their 15's. I believe their 112's and 210's were designed that way.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

 I'd check with Vanderkley, they could advise if their 210's are designed to work with their 15's. I believe their 112's and 210's were designed that way.

I've seen that claim made, but in order for it to be true the speakers must have nearly identical phase response and displacement limited power handling. That's rare even when they're the same size, let alone different sizes. Besides, if you asked a speaker manufacturer to provide you with that data the only response would be a different sound entirely, that being crickets. 🙄

[silverfoxnik]

Hi Folks, 

 

Thanks for all your input, advice and comments.

 

Based on all your feedback, I'm going to look at adding another 4 ohm 1156 to what I have already, which won't be a problem as I really like the sound of the cab. 

 

My neighbours are going to hate me (even more than they do now)... 😁

 

Oh, and thanks for the very funny 'Ohmage is what you pay to The Ok' comment @Bill Fitzmaurice - that really made me chuckle! 😂