4X10 Cab advice

[muthafunk]

Hi folks!

I currenctly have Trace Elliot AH300-12 Head with 115 and 210 Trace Elliot Cabs both 8 Ohms and rated 250 watts each

the output of the amp is 300 Watt into 4 Ohms (2 cabs in parallel) and 150 Watt into 8 Ohms if I use only one cab.

I don't like 2X10, 1X15 combination and I'm looking for a suitable 4X10 cab, but I'm not sure about the amp power capacity. Some people say that I may blow the amp if I connect some very powerful cab and try to use the head on full, some say that the sound will be better if I use 800W-4 Ohms cabs with my 300W head, because even on full volume I wouldn't be able to overload the speakers.


So the options are the following:

1) 800W 4X10 cab 8 Ohms (Gallien-Krueger 410RBH8)
2) 800W 4X10 cab 4 Ohms (Gallien-Krueger 410RBH4)
3) 400W 4X10 cab 8 Ohms (Ampeg B410HE)
4) 500W 4X10 cab 4 Ohms (Ampeg SVT-410HLF)


Which one do you think will be the best?

Thanks a lot in advance!

Here in Eastern Europe we don't have any chances to get our hands on quality equipment. I would just take my amp into the store and try it out with different cabs if I was in the States, but here in Belarus they simply don't have anything except crappy 15w combos. If you want to get a decent cab you would have to order it prepaid, and probably you may receive it in half a year if you get lucky.

I like Gallien-Krueger but they are a little bit pricey here. For example 410RBH will cost you $900 in the States, but I would have to pay around $1500 minimum, maybe even $1800. Ampegs are cheaper but I heard recently that they started assembling them in China, and it just freaks me out. Any other options are welcome of course, not just these 2 brands

 

[robobass13]

check out avatarspeakers.com dave makes some nice cabs.

 

[muthafunk]

check out avatarspeakers.com dave makes some nice cabs.

thanx a lot for the link! nice prices and options

 

[AnthonyD]

Another plug for Avatar... I have an assortment - their 2x10 and 4x10 cabs ROCK!


Do a search on the whole wattage / amp / speaker thing.

There are a few engineering types that have explained it far better than I can.

 

[mynan]

Some people say that I may blow the amp if I connect some very powerful cab and try to use the head on full, some say that the sound will be better if I use 800W-4 Ohms cabs with my 300W head, because even on full volume I wouldn't be able to overload the speakers.

I don't agree with either of these opinions. Amps blow cabs. Cabs do not blow amps. You want to be able to get your amp wattage as close to your cab wattage as possible. If you aren't putting enough power to your cabs, you may get good tone, but it will lack punch.

I would say that your best bet, based on the cabs that you have listed, would be either of the Ampegs because you are within 150w to 200w of the cabs wattage.

 

[Dr Stankface]

If you can find one, check out an Ernie Ball Audiophile HD-410. I played the GK Neo cabs and sold them off to fund more Ernie Ball cabs.

In the words of fellow southerner Travis, it's KILLER!

 

[AnthonyD]

As long as you stay at or above your amps rated load, your amp is safe regardless of the cabinets power handling rating...

You can generally go for and amp with 2x-3x the speakers rated power handling. For instance, a 1200w amp with a 300w cabinet.

You'll do more damage to a given speaker driving with an overloaded amp (e.g. 300w amp at full volume) than you would with with an amp running more conservatively (e.g. 1,200w amp at 50% volume).

Smarter people than I - feel free to chime in...

 

[robobass13]

and you can do more damage to a speaker under powering than over powering. I have ran an SVT 4 PRO head 1200wats through an 800watt 4ohm avatar cab with no problems what so ever. and always remember the lower the ohm rating on a speaker, the less resistance there is on the speaker.

 

[MrMusashi]

clipping (which happens when the amp doesnt have more power to give) is more destroying for the cab than too much power.. square pulses will be seen as a dc voltage if you do it for prolonged periods. what happens when you put dc through a voice coil is that you heat it up and that heat will melt the laquer keeping the coil from short circuiting. you can see it as discoloration of the laquer.. it turns brownish, and sometimes you even can see that it has been running downwards.

if you like motown sound the ampeg vlf cabinet will be a good selection. big enough cabinet to give some bottom

MrM

 

[robobass13]

I agree with the science, but you can't count out the avatar speakers, they are one of the best values on the market.

 

[strummer]

I agree with the science, but you can't count out the avatar speakers, they are one of the best values on the market.

He's in Belarus, not a lot of Avatar cabs there, and shipping from the states, no I don't think so.
The simple answer to the question would be to go with either the 4 ohm GK or the 410 HLF. Both are good cabs, and they'll get the job done quite nicely. For mystelf, I would get the Ampeg over the GK, but as I said both of them are fine.

 

[petruccirocks02]

If you can find one, check out an Ernie Ball Audiophile HD-410. I played the GK Neo cabs and sold them off to fund more Ernie Ball cabs.

In the words of fellow southerner Travis, it's KILLER!

Its funny that Stanky brought that up, because I actually have an HD-410 for sale. Stanky and a few others here can probably tell you that they're great cabs and they sound awesome. Mine is 8 ohms, and can handle 700 watts. PM me if you're interested. Sorry if that seemed like I was trying to hijack the thread, thats not what I meant to do, but I figured I would help you out since Stanky brought up the HD-410.

-Phil

 

[Aussie Mark]

Anthony, robo and MrM covered it nicely. Headroom is the key to matching amps and cabinets. Of the cabs you've listed, the Ampeg HLF is the only cab remotely close to being a decent fit with that amp.

 

[Kristopher]

I'm replacing my Ampeg 410HLF with a GK 410RBX. The Ampeg sounds muddy to me, and it's freaking 110 pounds and difficult to move around (back wheels only, and the cab is so short it's uncomfortable to lean back and push). Plus that tolex covering tears really easy. You and I may have a huge difference in what we think is a good bass sound, though. I turn off the tweeter on the Ampeg cab and I don't slap or use a pick.

Good luck.

 

[muthafunk]

Thanx for suggestions to all of you!

petruccirocks02 thanks for proposal, but it's not possible for me to order and ship large item from the States. If I was in the States at the moment, there would be no such thread on the forum

Dealers here have very limited options concerning cabs, especially bass cabs.

As I understood, it doesn't really make sanse for me in this case to buy a cab three times as powerfull as the amp, but maybe 8 Ohms - 400 watts will be much better than my 8 Ohms - 250 Watts.

We'll see...I just found out that one of my mates bought 4X10 Ampeg recently but I don't know which model. I'll take my amp and try it out on the weekend.