Sunn Model 5 speakers

[bennorton]

Anyone know anything about these PA speakers that might be of use to me?

I picked up a pair of them for £20 this weekend and they are in great condition. Covers too.

I've attached an image of them below. I want to use them with my Sound City 120 or Orange AD30 head.


each speaker cab has 4x12" speakers and two tweeters.

On the rear are two inputs but neither are labelled nut it does say that each cab is rated at 100w and 8 ohms. Now... would you guys happen to know if i'm gonna be good to just split the 16ohm output of my orange into the two of these?

They really are beasts and i plan on restoring that hideous pink back to the standard white mount tomorrow morning.


Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer!

Cheers

[elbow]

Two 8 ohm cabs plugged straight into the amp (parallel) would leave you at 4 ohms, this much I can tell you.

I actually kind of like the color on the cab better than white.  Red would look better than pink, I think.

[EdBass]

Nice looking Sound City.
I can't imagine that those piezos will do you any good at all, I'd just run the 12's and see how it sounds. Probably more bottom heavy than a normal guitar 4 X 12, I would think.

[bennorton]

thanks for your help guys. Think the rule of thumb i was using was right then for running parallel.

Speaker A x Speaker B Ohms divided by Speaker A + Speaker B Ohms

in this case 8x8 (64) divided by 8+8 (16) = 4.

SO i guess my little Orange is out of the equation with these big buggers! it only handle 1x16 or 2x8.
The Sound City is selectable to 16/8/4.


Any clues as to how old these things might be? They're in fantastic condition except for a slightly funky 'garage' smell. 

[bigobassman]

I can help you with the time line for the red logo - the change from silver to red in approximately 1976/77.  You can also look at one or more of the speakers and check the manufacture date to get an idea on age that way.  There are web sites that have speaker info, or post info here and I, or someone elso here, will help you with that.   BTW - I have a Model 2 cab that is about half of your Model 5, 2-10s and a horn.  I put tilt back legs on it and have used it as a monitor for about 8 years.

[HRobert]

The Model 5's were a compressed version of the old Sunn 412 SR column speakers of the early 70's.  Get rid of the piezos they're too tinny adn sometime pick up errant raido station signals.  Two 8 ohm speakers into an amp equals a final load of 4 ohms...so let that beautifyl Sound City amp crank.

[Isaac]

If you want to run them with the Orange, make a series cable. Two 8 ohm cabinets in series equals 16 ohms.

[bennorton]

I can help you with the time line for the red logo - the change from silver to red in approximately 1976/77.  You can also look at one or more of the speakers and check the manufacture date to get an idea on age that way.  There are web sites that have speaker info, or post info here and I, or someone elso here, will help you with that.   BTW - I have a Model 2 cab that is about half of your Model 5, 2-10s and a horn.  I put tilt back legs on it and have used it as a monitor for about 8 years.

Great stuff! Thanks for your help guys!

Bassman... do you know what the input layout is on these model speakers? I'm assuming of course that yours is probably the same as mine. When you look at the back of the speaker, you get this view:


I'm i right in saying both inputs are the same? not a case that you have to use one specific for input say and the other is your - out for running a series?

Cheers!

[bigobassman]

bennorton - Mine is not quite the same, pretty much as I jestured about being half of yours.  Mine is 16 ohms @ 50 watts.  Generally speaking, without labels or markings to the contrary, the jacks originally were the same.  Enjoy, and keep the Sunn shining. 

[bennorton]

That's cool... if you can steer me in the right directions as to what the inputs are that would be awesome.

[bigobassman]

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you.  I, unfortunately, lost my mother on the 17th.  I think you're maybe asking about inputs concerning parallel, series and ohms etc.  I'm no expert, but based upon your label pic, you can use one input to run to your amp and the other input can be not used, or run to another cab.  This is when it gets a little tricky.  You have to know what your amps ohm rating is and the ohm rating of the other cab and see that the numbers "add up" properly.  As I said, I'm so expert, but I think an example would be if  your amp can run down to 4ohms and you run both of your 8ohm Sunn cabs to it, they together become a 4ohm load on your amp and your right on the load your amp can safely handle.  When in doubt, you'll probably want to consult the experts on the ohm/cab/amp formulas.  Hope this helps a little.

[bennorton]

So sorry to hear about your mother... deepest condolences my friend.

Thanks for your reply though... i think it's going to be a case of suck it and see!