ohm question

[BRAILLE]

I'm about to wire two cabs, one of them is a 2x10 and the other a 2x15. All of the speakers are 8 ohms.

My original plan was to run both cabs together at 4 ohms into a concert bass. After purchasing the speakers I realized this is not possible (whoops).

So I was wondering what other possibilities there are... i could run both together at 16 ohm to equal 8 ohms but i'm afraid that wouldn't be powerful enough. i was also thinking about wiring one cab 4 ohms and the other 16 ohms, can anyone help me determine what ohm this would equal to? any suggestions?

[Isaac]

The original Concert Bass (black and silver face) was rated at 150W@4ohms. Running one 4 ohm and one 16 ohm cabinet might work, with its total load of 3.2 ohms, but I wouldn't count on it. Besides, the 16ohm cabinet would be getting only 37 watts. Not worth risking your amp over.

The second generation Concert series (black face with red knobs) was supposedly rated at 200W@2ohms. Joe Arthur says he wouldn't trust them at a real 2ohm load, and I trust his judgment on this. However, they'd probably be okay at 3.2 ohms.

If you wire both cabinets for 16ohms and run them both, you'll get 80 watts out, IIRC. The difference between 80W and 150W is only 2.7dB, which will probably be more than made up for by the second cabinet. That's the way I'd go. You could also add another 8 ohm or two more 16ohm cabinets later, if you feel the need.