Sunn SB160 Speaker Ohms?

[Newbie-Doo]

I picked up an ooooold Sunn SB160 Bass amp and the speaker had been switched out for an old peavey 15".   When the volume is up about half way, the speaker starts to distorts so I was thinking of replacing it with something new.  Only problem is I can't figure out what the ohms of the speaker should be.  The old Peavey doesn't have any markings on it.       I'm thinking this may be a late 60's or early 70's amp.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[pickinatit]

http://sunn.ampage.org/sdp/index.php?topic=4178.0;wap2

You have to scroll down pretty far to find the SB-160
To the 1985  Catalogue - maybe your amp isn't near as old as you think it is ?
This says it's a 60 watt combo 1x15
Unfortunately, it doesn't say how many ohms the speaker/amp is.

If there is a jack for it accepting an extension/external speaker,
I would place a bet on it being 8 ohms with an extra 8 ohm speaker making it a 4 ohm load.  But that is a TOTAL GUESS. 

Sorry,  pretty useless post, huh?  HaHa

[loudthud]

The original speaker was part number 81-0558, an 80 watt 8 ohm speaker. The extention jack connects the extention speaker IN SERIES with the internal speaker so it's impedance doesn't really matter except that it reduces the power the internal power amp can produce.

[Newbie-Doo]

The original speaker was part number 81-0558, an 80 watt 8 ohm speaker. The extention jack connects the extention speaker IN SERIES with the internal speaker so it's impedance doesn't really matter except that it reduces the power the internal power amp can produce.

Wow, thanks man.   

Since you seem to be knowledgeable...what is the difference between "in series" and not in series?

[Newbie-Doo]

http://sunn.ampage.org/sdp/index.php?topic=4178.0;wap2

You have to scroll down pretty far to find the SB-160
To the 1985  Catalogue - maybe your amp isn't near as old as you think it is ?
This says it's a 60 watt combo 1x15
Unfortunately, it doesn't say how many ohms the speaker/amp is.

If there is a jack for it accepting an extension/external speaker,
I would place a bet on it being 8 ohms with an extra 8 ohm speaker making it a 4 ohm load.  But that is a TOTAL GUESS. 

Sorry,  pretty useless post, huh?  HaHa

Not at all.  I appreciate your help.

The reason I thought it was older is because compared to some amps I saw that were from the 70's, it looked kind of bare-bones and "primitive" in comparison.  Not a looker by any means.  Maybe it's just a cheap amp?  haha  I'll have to post up some pics.

[CLD]

LT, your storehouse of knowledge continues to amaze me! The above post made me wonder whether you could tell me about a speaker part number 81-0011, an Eminence 15" speaker made in August or September of 1972. It has a small magnet (see photo) but is identified as a bass transducer.  If you have a handy reference, I'd appreciate it (as it would save me pulling the speaker out of my Studio Bass, which I bet looks pretty darned similar). Thanks!

I picked this up cheap on Ebay and bought it as much for the dust cap as anything.

[loudthud]

A couple of years back I bought a bunch of Sunn schematics on Ebay that included other info on some models like parts lists and PCB layouts of some boards. A lot of info comes from the 1978 Master Parts list which lists speakers and the amps/cabinets they were used in. The info I have on the Studio Bass doesn't list the speaker. Yours looks like an AlNiCo magnet type. I got one in a Sonaro cabinet but I don't know if it's original. They were popular in some applications about the same time as the 54 oz ceramic magnet type that are more common. Music Man used a similar speaker in their 115RH cabinets and Traynor used them in the Bass Mate and the YT-15 2x15 cabinet. Really not bad speakers but somewhat limited on power.

[CLD]

Thanks for checking, LT. I'll pull the speaker in my Studio Bass and let you know what I find.

[Newbie-Doo]

Here's a few pics of my amp.  I'm really surprised that it might be from 1985.  It looks ancient to me.