Power sharing with number of speakers

[ped]

I had trouble with the title, can you tell?

 

Just a random question really, thought I'd ask as someone asked me.

 

Say I have a combo with 1x12" speaker. If I get an extension speaker of the same make with 2x12" speakers, will the power be shared equally between the speakers or will the combo (1x12) basically be louder?

[Lozz196]

Assuming it’s a 4ohm at full power with an 8ohm speaker in it, if you connect an 8ohm 2x12 to it you’ll get equal power to each cab, so each speaker in the 2x12 will get half of what the one in the combo gets.

 

So 400 watts, 1x12 in combo gets 200 watts, each 12 in the 2x12 gets 100 watts.

[ped]

Thanks yeah I thought so 👍🏼👍🏼

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

5 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

So 400 watts, 1x12 in combo gets 200 watts, each 12 in the 2x12 gets 100 watts.

True, but there's a lot more to it than the power to each driver, depending on the frequency response and sensitivity of the 2x12 versus the 1x12. The right way to do it is to get a 1x12 extension that uses the same driver with the same enclosure configuration.

[Lozz196]

Definitely, what I`ve found over my years of playing, be it on bass or guitar, is that if you have a set-up that you like the sound of, adding in another of the same cab is just silly-grin inducing, it takes the sound you liked and just makes it immense.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Agreed. By the same token if you don't like the sound of what you have don't try to improve on it by adding another cab. Start off with something you do like.

[Jack]

22 hours ago, ped said:

I had trouble with the title, can you tell?

 

Just a random question really, thought I'd ask as someone asked me.

 

Say I have a combo with 1x12" speaker. If I get an extension speaker of the same make with 2x12" speakers, will the power be shared equally between the speakers or will the combo (1x12) basically be louder?

Yeah. The speakers don't know which cabinet they're in, it's just the wiring of the circuit that matters.