Stereo Cabinet Questions

[ProgCorey]

Hey guys,

This has probably been brought up hundreds of times before, but I can't seem to find a specific enough answer (well, one assuring me whether I'm going to spend my $1k on the right product or not) to help me out.

I'm looking at getting two 2x12 cabs for my on stage rig, for the reason of a fatter, better separated stereo effect, as being the only guitarist in a metal band can come off sounding less full then what you want at times.

In my rig my poweramp is a Crown XLS1000 that gives the option for a stereo output at 8 ohms.

If I'm running into two separate 2x12 cabs, what is the ideal impedence for each cab? Or at least a combination that would work? Does getting two mono running 8ohm cabs work out to be correct, or do I need two running at 4ohm mono?

Thanks!

- Corey

 

[MrPowers]

To run 2 cabs at 8ohms you would need 2 mono cabs with an impedance of 16ohms each.

 

[Floppystrings]

Stereo power amps are basically two power amps in the same box, so you would wanna use 8ohms for each cab for in a stereo setup if the cabs are 8ohms mono.

Right?

 

[ProgCorey]

Thanks for the responses guys!

So would I be better going for two 16 ohm mono cabs then or two 8 ohm mono cabs?
If both work what would give me the best results in terms of power?

Just by looking at different cabs, it seems like it's more common to find 16ohm 2x12 cabs.

 

[GizmoGardens]

Stereo power amps are basically two power amps in the same box, so you would wanna use 8ohms for each cab for in a stereo setup if the cabs are 8ohms mono.

Right?

Exactly. Two separate, identical amplifiers in one box.

Thanks for the responses guys!

So would I be better going for two 16 ohm mono cabs then or two 8 ohm mono cabs?
If both work what would give me the best results in terms of power?

Just by looking at different cabs, it seems like it's more common to find 16ohm 2x12 cabs.

Technically, you'll get more power out if you run into a lower load impedance, but I'd bet that the difference won't be night and day. My advice would be to not worry about power so much and focus on getting cabs/speakers that you really like. You don't even need to match the impedances since, like floppystrings said, you've got two separate amps in that box. You could have one 16 ohm cabinet and one 8 ohm cabinet hanging off each of the outputs and each amp will do its own thing. In that case you might just have to turn up the drive a little bit more on one side or the other to compensate for volume difference.

 

[VBCheeseGrater]

Get the two 8ohm cabs. Stereo at 8ohms is 8ohms each side, they are two separate amps so it's not a parallel/series situation. Like Gizmo said with SS power amps lower ohms = more power. Most will do 4ohms for each side, typically outputting the most power this way. If you get 2x16 ohms cabs, your power amp will be operating at minimal power, so go 8 ohms each at most, if not 4 ohms each if your cabs can handle the power.

 

[ProgCorey]

Alright awesome, that's definitely answered my question, thanks guys, looks like preferably 8 ohms is the way to go, cheers!