8 ohm and 16 ohm cabs - Safe mismatch

[pmonk]

I have a bunch of mixed-matched cabs sitting unused

I have two 1x12 cabs: one 8 ohm and one 16 ohm

I also have two 1x10 cabs: one 8 ohm and one 16 ohm

The 1x12 16 ohm cab allows me to daisy chain connecting the 1x10 16 ohm cab giving me a 8 ohm impendence

If I wire the two 8 ohm cabs in series or use a cab link in series so the two 8 ohm cabs now read 16 ohms, combining the the four speakers will result in a impendence if 5.33 ohm.

This appears to be a safe mismatch if the amp head is set at 4 ohms?

Thoughts if this is worth it or just stick with the current two 8 ohm cab load.

 

[el84ster]

Not sure what you’re going for but yeah you’ll be fine 5.33 for 4 ohm amp.

 

[pmonk]

Not sure what you’re going for but yeah you’ll be fine 5.33 for 4 ohm amp.

Just have a bunch of cabs with different speakers gathering dust and thought it would be cool to create a mini wall of sound but not worth damaging my amp head.

 

[DarrellV]

The impedance will work for the amp as stated, but you are going to have a noticeable volume difference between the two sets of cabs.

May not be a problem for you, but it won't be a 'solid' wall of sound. It will be lumpy.

the 8 ohm combo will be roughly twice as loud as the 16 ohm pair.

And that's not accounting for the efficiency of each speaker (db's per watt). I am assuming they are all different makes. That's going to affect the perceived loudness of each cab too.

 

[pmonk]

The impedance will work for the amp as stated, but you are going to have a noticeable volume difference between the two sets of cabs.

May not be a problem for you, but it won't be a 'solid' wall of sound. It will be lumpy.

the 8 ohm combo will be roughly twice as loud as the 16 ohm pair.

And that's not accounting for the efficiency of each speaker (db's per watt). I am assuming they are all different makes. That's going to affect the perceived loudness of each cab too.

Funny, running all four sounded great but running the two daisy chained 16 ohm cabs stacked paired with the 8 ohm 1x10 was far superior

 

[DarrellV]

Funny, running all four sounded great but running the two daisy chained 16 ohm cabs stacked paired with the 8 ohm 1x10 was far superior

Well, that makes sense!

Your amp is set to 4 ohms..... the 2 X 16 cabs parallel make 8 ohms

A single 8 ohm cab in parallel with the other 16 ohm pair into your amp make a perfect 4 for your amp to drive.

Amp juice is being delivered equally to all 3 speakers and the amp is at optimum impedance for max energy transfer.

Everybody's happy!

The thing with impedance matching to an amp is more than just about the amp's safety (which of course is important), there is also a compromise in sound fidelity when the impedance is not properly matched.

Energy is wasted through heat losses in the amp and this affects not just the watts you hear (loudness) but also the quality of the sound to a degree.

Glad your liking it, and your amp is safe, that's the main thing!