Speakers, Cabs and OHMS

H

HarleyRider

New member
I've got a Behringer PMX-2000 powered mixer that Im gonna sell. Ive also got a small 50 Watt PA amp that I will use instead of the PMX-2000.

This small amp has a 1/4" jack for a 4 ohm load ONLY. I have an 8ohm cabinet I'd like to use. Here are my questions:

1) I can connect the 8 ohm cab to the 4 ohm without causing damage to the amp right? It's just gonna drop from 50watts to about 40 watts?

2) Can I get an 8 ohm dummy load (is there such a thing?) that I could use a 1/4" Y-Splitter from the amp speaker output to the 8 ohm cab and the 8 ohm dummy load to get the equivalent of a 4 ohm load so I get full wattage?

Your thoughts and knowledge is appreciated. Thanks in advance guys.
 
8 ohm dummy loads do exist. i bought one capable of 100 watts from parts express and modded the lead wires for a 1/4" jack.

i use it on my guitar amp when i record with a direct box. that way i can push the power amp section without shattering windows.
 
PartsExpress

I found them on the net...thanks. For $13 plus shipping its a whole lot cheaper than a second cabinet right now!
 
HarleyRider said:
I found them on the net...thanks. For $13 plus shipping its a whole lot cheaper than a second cabinet right now!
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you are going to accomplish. A parallel dummy load will make your cabinet less loud than if you didn't use it.
 
A 50 watt pa amp? What the hell are you going to do with that? If it is a solid state amp running a higher impedance should be alright. If it is a tube amp, use the dummy load.
 
?

Should I just run the 8ohm cab on the 4 ohm output? I thought if I put an 8 ohm dummy load in parallel with the 8 ohm cab I'd get more volume because the load would be 4ohms rather than 8.
 
The dummy load will soak up some of the power, so it will be quieter. I have never seen a solid state amp that will only do 4 ohms. I've seen where they didn't want you to go below 4 ohms.
Don't worry so much about the 'half the impedance is twice the wattage' thing. There are other things that even out the outcome to make the wattage gain useless.
 
Thanks

I guess Ill just plug the 8 ohm cab into the PA and use it that way...I wont worry about get it down to 4 ohms. Simpler, cheaper....I like that..thanks guys! :)
 
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