Using a 2x12 setup with 8ohm spkrs what's going to sound better (if there is a difference) parallel to run at 4 ohms or series to run at 16? I would be matching the impedance selector to 4 or 16 as required...
I read somewhere that parallel is the better setup since series can cause losses or loss of highs, etc.. but is that practical or just theory?
It depends somewhat on how the multiple taps on the transformer are wound, but correctly-matched higher impedance will generally sound better (in the sense of extended high and low frequency response). My understanding is that it's because there's a smaller primary:secondary turns ratio on the transformer to go from 8k (or whatever) down to 16 than to 4.
I've tested this with a couple different amps and speakers and every time the (correctly-matched) higher impedance tap sounded better. That said, it was a fairly small difference and a well designed transformer should make that difference even smaller. It's also more "vintage correct" to parallel your speakers, if you care about such things.
Good questions, so many things to think about. I'm sure i have read that if your thinking of fidelity,then the higher impedance would sound better,but for guitar or hi-fi?
And what i had read about it, it would be really high. No transformers are made like this,and no speakers either. Or it would cost way too much to be feasable to us it.
One might ask Eric johnson, he thinks the 8 ohm sounds best,and wires cabs for 8 ohms.
As was brought up, the feedback tap,or if you change the values in the feedback circuit to reflect the change.
Questions brought up about speaker cable,i use vacuum cleaner cord.
Good gauge,2 conductor,and the coating is ribbed, so at a gig, in the dark, i can tell if i grab aspeaker cable, or a guitar cable. I've made so many over the years. If you want to use it in a cab for wiring. just strip the coating,and use the wire. You hear all kinds of things,from gold contacts to monster cable etc..
So, other things to think about, what about if your amp has a switch,what wire does that use to put the sound to the speaker jack. The wire,and contact.. Usually that wire is much smaller than what is used for the speaker cable. I like to make cables long enough to reach with a little slack.
I think the question was about what sounded best. Some wire a 2x12 for 16 ohm using 2 8 ohm speakers, like Vox. problem is lose a speaker lose the load. others wire the speakers 2x8 ohm to be 4 ohm,like most fender amps.
Also, the 3db thing is mostly for volume,can you hear or feel a change in useing different taps of an output transformer. Some of this may have been more for people using a 4x12 cab at 16,and changing the impeadence on the amp, and yes you'll hear a difference,or should.
On a marshall amp, not the safest thing to try though. As for matching the cab and impeadence,and hearing a change or feel different playing,yes... but is it better or best, that would depend on who you ask. Maybe someone could do a sound experiment with good test equipment and see if it showed up. Sometimes it not just about the sound,or if some test would show a change in the sound,but how the amp reacts to your playing.
Same thing can be said with power cables.
Most all my cabs are 8 ohm,and use 8 ohm tap.
On the hifi transformer like vintage radiospares 18W or early JTM radiospares you will hear differences in the highs and middle. Interplay of distributed capacitance and reactance over broadband or simply like ZP said the primary is rolled with secondary like cake roll.
On the classic plexi drake 784-139 0T/dagnall 0Tyou will hear nothing cause there is no interleaving, or you can hear something if it's mismatch of misfortunate use of tiny secondary gauge (which leads to heating and wreck if you use wrong tap)or ouch 16 tap ratio.
Nothing fancy there you can see secondaries in one row
But Drake of yesteryear is very tidy job.
seems nothing can beat new HW hiwatt (I think Mark posted this)
People on the net swears that HW has all the sound of the hiwatt of yesteryear with original partridges which never looked inside like this ''something''
yet anyway people ask which tap sounds... after this experience the answer is obvious:
Who cares
I just had my 18watt open this weeked to revisit the tone stack and change a few things - and I found I didn't have 16ohm spkrs in parallel - I have 8 ohm spkrs in parallel and I have it hooked up to the 4ohm tap. GDS does say the 16ohm tap sounds marginally better, but after making the changes I wanted to the tone stack I was giving it a good test and I love it. So its going to stay this way unless someone says I'm really missing something. I didn't add a bright cap as I use this 'cranked' and I thing bright caps affect the sound more when volume is lower.
I changed the tone stack for more treble as I found it lacking treble on the TMB channel and also I read that the heyboer has a 'hump' around 200 and some adjust the tonestack to help. These are really great sounding amps.
As far as my project I just started (50W Marshall MV), I still think I like speakers wired parallel, so I'm going to hook up the 2x12 for 4 ohms and try that. I am putting in the impedence selector on this one so I can experiment, but the 2x12 cab I got is closed back so its not just 'quick' change to test the final setup...too much fun
(I think Mark posted this)
