Speaker Questions

[NickCormier]

Hello, Im going to make my own 2x12 amp.. so I bought a 2x12 cab, Thats taken care of. Now I just need speakers..

Im running basically a PA system, so I don't want any colouring of my sound thru the speakers, and I also am on a budget.. Heres my current set up

Guitar > Pod XT Live > Behringer A500 (pure poweramp, no effects) > this 2x12 cab

So, I am looking for what kinda speakers I should buy that would be best for me, in terms of money/effectiveness..

My A500 says "4ohm minimum on Stereo - 233watt, and 8ohm minimum on Mono - 500watt..." So I know I am going to need two 8ohm speakers to wire in series or paralell to achieve the 4ohm minimum for Stereo.. So I know two 8 ohm speakers..

I was looking on ebay, and saw some PA/car speakers, they normally have like.. "200 watts program / 450 watts peak"... now since when im doing stereo, the maximum output will be 233watts, Will that mean that these speakers will be too much for my PA? Or does it not matter how much watts the speakers can take, and wont damage my PA?

This is what im talking about, not saying these exact speakers, but would 2 of these wired in series or paralell be ok for my PA? or will it damage it because the wattage is way higher than my PA?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/12-inch-Sub-Woofer-Driv...1QQcmdZViewItem

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

OR say if these were 8ohms, could I put two of these in my cab and run it thru the PA without damaging it?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/LEGACY-12-SUBWOOFER-SPE...1QQcmdZViewItem

They say like 1000watts.. would that kill my PA?

[NickCormier]

Hmm I have a better idea now..

What if I got 2 speakers, both 8 ohms... but one was a car speaker, 200watt rms, and the other was just a normal guitar speaker, used and cheap.. but still working. This way, I could use them parralell, to equal 4ohms, and I would get maximum wattage since the car speaker is giving off 200w rms, and the other one is still doing decent. Would this just make one side alot louder? or would they be roughly the same

the speaker im thinking of getting is this, I was thinking of getting two, but it is kinda expensive (well not realy, but I know I can find cheaper, cause with the shipping it goes well over 100 heh)

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt...A%3AIT&rd=1

Edited August 15, 2006 by NickCormier

[NickCormier]

Anyone have any idea if more wattage in speakers will damage my PA? since my PA only wants 233w per channel, and im planning on getting speakers that will do above that?

[Mike Sulzer]

Wattage in speakers refers in some way to how much power they can handle. As long as your amp sees the right impedance and the speaker is not damaged, it does not know how much power they can handle.

Anyone have any idea if more wattage in speakers will damage my PA? since my PA only wants 233w per channel, and im planning on getting speakers that will do above that?

[NickCormier]

Ok thanks, One more question for ya if you don't mind, If I had a 200 watt speaker on the left of my 2x12, and a lower (30) on the right.. would the left side of the cabinet be louder? Or does that even make sense? hehe.. Thanks

[Mike Sulzer]

Your two speakers probably have different efficiencies; so one would sound louder than the other. But I could not say which one.

Ok thanks, One more question for ya if you don't mind, If I had a 200 watt speaker on the left of my 2x12, and a lower (30) on the right.. would the left side of the cabinet be louder? Or does that even make sense? hehe.. Thanks

[suicidecustom]

first, use 2 identicle speakers,

second, that car speaker is a subwoofer, not designed to handle a fullrange signal, only sub freq.

[guitar2005]

first, use 2 identicle speakers,

second, that car speaker is a subwoofer, not designed to handle a fullrange signal, only sub freq.

Who cares? He's using Behringer and LIne 6 gear. I wouldn't invest too much in speakers... but getting a full range cab would help. I'd suggest getting some Yamaha PA speakers - they're good quality, sound good and are relatively cheap.

[MidwestGitarz]

Even though your using a power amp, the output is still all over the frequency range for the guitar. Regular PA cabs/equip are geared for fully mixed & leveled sound output. So I think you are still going to want to get guitar speakers, those are made for the large spikes produced from your amplified setup. One place you can look that I have found to be very informative on speaker design, construction, wiring, and so on is...

CLICK HERE

I plan to build a slant 4x12 Marshall style cab, and have reviewed this site extensively. I'm sure it can help. One other thing, your POD is stereo capable. Might want to take advantage of that, a whole new range of sounds can be had using stereo. If you don't mind I would suggest some Eminence speakers for the cab.

Here is a page of 12" guitar speaks, SPEAKER LINK.

Here is a Eminence Speaker Replacement Guide form the same site, it would help you match up an Emin to another type of speaker. GUIDE LINK

I would suggest the modeling type speaker or a legend style. Also, on the shavano info it shows you how to calculate the amount of power for the way the speakers are wired. Choose how you will wire them first, then from that you can see which power rated speakers to pick.

One other rule I go by is to keep the total power below what MAX watts the amp can produce. You can drive the speaker almost to their full potential, of course you may not be able to max the amp without blowing something.

Good Luck

Edited August 20, 2006 by MidwestGitarz

[Maiden69]

One of the guitar speakers I was considering to buy was the Eminence Legend, according to Eminence they are perfect to use in guitar modeler set ups, because they add almost no coloration to the sound they produce.

Here is a chart of the other lines that they offer the patriot and the red coats.

http://eminence.com/pdf/tone_guide.pdf

On the issue of using different speaker I wouldn't advise on doing so. There are many factors that will make it sound like complete crap, and I realy don't have the time to repost about this! But one I will tell you is that the 30W speaker will break up, clip and burn before the 200w even start to move, and just to say that the 200w is a car sub, the sound from it will be awful to begin with. For guitar you need full range (not really but at least a speaker in the 80hz to 5khz range) a sub usable range is pretty much between 20hz-200hz, any thing above will make it clip...(this is why car audio uses a low pass X-over that cuts(or reduces) the frekz above 180hz).

I would even try the Carvin 12's, they sometimes have them on sale for $20 each.

Go ahead and build the cab, use 1 speaker and save for 2 good ones along the way, you won't regret to! I started buying cheap stuff and at the end I always have to go and buy the good ones. by then you have spent twice what you would if you had bought a nice set to beging with.