Amp heads and amp cabs

[XLayaR]

Hey guys, I wanna get an Amp head and I have a few questions.

How do I match cabs? Do I match them by wattage? What I know is that if the cab has a lower wattge than the head, the cab will blow.

I'm asking this cos I don't wanna get the 4x12 cab but I'd rather get the 2x12 extension cab. The website did'nt state if it was for use with the head I was just wondering.

Here's a lowdown of the head and extension cab

Head:
110V
100W
4,8,16 ohm inpedence

extension cab(2x12):
120W power handling
8ohm

So can I just get the extension instead of the 4x12 cab?

On a seperate note, how many of you think its a bad idea to get an amp head and cab in a HDB?
Should I just get the combo?

 

[jskadiang]

Yeah you can get the 2x12". You don't have to get the matching cab. Just plug in with a speaker cable. And how big is the combo? 2x12" as well? Volume-wise it won't be much of a difference. It's just space and convenience vs cool looks and some sonic differences to you I guess.

 

[Kimmi]

what i've followed for cab and head would be.


the Ohms must match.
8ohm head to 8 ohm cab,ok.
4ohm head to 8ohm cab,ok.(underload)
16ohm head to 8 ohm cab...Booommzzz...bad idea.

what i understand ( may be wrong ). its ok to underload the cab. just don't overload or exceed the ohms of the cab.

however of late, the part whether must wattage of head and cab must also be followed? that i'm not too sure.

I think a head and cab is good.alot of options,i mean the next time,u can just get a head and pair with the 2x12. 2x12 are more than enough for home,studio and maybe even stage use.

 

[XLayaR]

The combo amp is a 2x12. I wanna get the amp head so I can bring out for gigs or stuff know. I'm also thinking of getting another amp which has wattage switching(10,45,90). Can right?

It's ok to underload the speakers right? No real damage?

 

[lightice]

It is not okay to overload speakers based on wattage.
It is also not okay to mismatch impedance as there will be potential damage to the OT of your amp.
If you can get proper matching, then just go with it. Now with amps having 4/8/16 ohm taps on the OT and speakers coming in 8 and 16ohm configs, I don't see why we'd want to mismatch the impedance.

TS - based on your amp specs, it's 100V operating power, you've a step down transformer?

If weight is an issue, get a 200W handling 1x12 cab @ 16ohms

 

[jskadiang]

You're running a 100W head into a 120W cab, it's fine!

 

[lightice]

Here's some info from the UG forums:
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=632385

and also
http://www.geofex.com/tubeampfaq/TUBEFAQ.htm#matchspkr

and
http://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=37029

For tube amps, it's opposite of what kimmi mentioned.
8ohm OT to 16ohm load is not as safe as 8ohm OT to 4ohm load.

But i won't do either as having a blown OT is a really crappy situation to be in.

 

[XLayaR]

Haha thanks for the help guys, pretty new to this cos I've never really considered getting heads and speakers.

lightice, why do I need a step down transformer?

 

[kahuna]

Haha thanks for the help guys, pretty new to this cos I've never really considered getting heads and speakers.

lightice, why do I need a step down transformer?

You need a stepdown transformer, because 110V is not local voltage, local voltage would be 240V, so you need a stepdown transformer to bring down the voltage from 240V to 110V, if you you will fry the amp.

$0.01 worth

 

[lightice]

Haha thanks for the help guys, pretty new to this cos I've never really considered getting heads and speakers.

lightice, why do I need a step down transformer?

What kahuna said, you need to get the voltage right.

A head and extension cab is exactly the same as a combo amp in operation.
Just that it's 2 separate items.

Open up your combo and have a look at the speakers, and think about what's going on in there. The same thing applies to a head/extension.
Just that the speakers are in another box.

I'm assuming this tread is about tube amps. Or at least amps with a tube poweramp section.

 

[XLayaR]

Hey just to hijack again, there' a European ver of the amp I want and its 220V. Will the 20V difference fry the amp?

 

[lightice]

Possibly, you might get red plating on the tubes.