Some Speaker Questions

[TeaForTwo]

I have some questions; Yes, I'm doing lots of other research, and I am hoping for some answers here as well....Thank you, greatly....I have some tube amp heads, and will be getting a few more....Is there really any difference in wiring two 12" speakers in parrallel vs series tonewise ?? I have the chance to get four 16 ohm speakers...Of course I can't wire two for 32 ohms..I can wire them for 8 ohms parallel (two speakers)....This will leave me with two 16 ohm speakers...I'm thinking two seperate one 12" 16 ohm cabs...Is there really a difference in volume, and/or tone 16 ohm vs an 8 ohm cab ??
And, if I have two 16 ohm cabs, if I can hook them up to an amp, will that make an 8 ohm load for the tube amp ??? Thanks greatly for your answers....
The speakers are two Hellatone60L 16 ohms, and two G12H at 16 ohms each..
Cost; about $75.00 each used.......

 

[TeaForTwo]

Oh snap !!! I just saw the speaker sticky thread above.....
Still, feel free to help with answers....Thank you, Damian.....

 

[onioner]

Yes. There really is a difference. If you can hear the same set up back to back series and parallel, you'll hear a difference. That said, don't get too hung up on it. Certainly shouldn't be the deciding factor in buying speakers. Don't think there's much difference in volume though.

If you go from amp to one speaker cab w/ a 16 Ohm speaker, then daisychain to another speaker cab w/ a 16 Ohm speaker, yes, you'll have an 8Ohm load. Daisychaining is really just connecting speakers in parallel.

 

[TeaForTwo]

Thank you Onioner....Can you describe the tone/sound difference ??
I'll be using these cabs for recording....Maybe "live" at some point.....

 

[onioner]

Thank you Onioner....Can you describe the tone/sound difference ??

Hah, not really. I've only experienced it myself a little. I think I prefer parallel, but that's only based on one cab that I've been able to try both. Just seemed a bit more alive. You'll have to find more experienced folks than myself to give any useful critique. Mostly I just do whatever gets the load I'm looking for...

 

[TeaForTwo]

Thank you Onioner.....Hmmm...It's been years since I wired my own cabs...
I'll continue my research...And, I guess I'll go ahead and TRY to reserve the
four 16 ohm speakers....

 

[classic]

5 or 6 years ago I had the same problem ...

I had a cab for 2x12 and knew that I wanted the Weber Blue Dogs.
So I bought a pair of 16 Ohms each from Weber USA ... but wasn't very happy with the tone.
At the end of the day ... I've purchased another two Blues with 8 Ohms each ... and sold the 16s very quickly, because ...

... I had finally found my sweet tone I was looking for!

 

[TeaForTwo]

5 or 6 years ago I had the same problem ...

I had a cab for 2x12 and knew that I wanted the Weber Blue Dogs.
So I bought a pair of 16 Ohms each from Weber USA ... but wasn't very happy with the tone.
At the end of the day ... I've purchased another two Blues with 8 Ohms each ... and sold the 16s very quickly, because ...

... I had finally found my sweet tone I was looking for!

Thanks greatly.....I only record these days..so, quality is key.....
I should probably go with 8 ohm speakers, both for 1X12 cabs and a 2X12 cab...Also, EV still makes their powerful neutral sounding guitar speaker,
and....I really should consider Weber OR Celestion ALNICOs.....Hmmm....

 

[hipofutura]

EV still makes their powerful neutral sounding guitar speaker, and....I really should consider Weber OR Celestion ALNICOs.....Hmmm....

As for guitar speaker systems, I'm generally not a fan of speaker neutrality. The high power JBL, Altec, EV type speakers were designed to produce max volume for live performances. And for the most part they were important in years past before we had hi-powered PA systems

Speakers and cabs that are properly matched to the amp can enhance the voicing and significantly improve the final tone. That's why mic'ing a cab can sound so much better than just connecting the amp directly to a mixer.

There's a whole world of dynamics available for the curious and designers.

Now in the world of hifi speakers systems it's an entirely different thing.