Jesso Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 [font="verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif"][size="2"][color="#141414"]Howdy all.[/color][/size][/font] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]I have a PA speaker that is rated at 600watts RMS (at 4 ohms), but my power amp is only rated at 500watts (at 4 ohms)?[/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Is this asking for trouble? It seems like the power ratings are pretty close.... and I never run my amps into the red (or only very slightly if even at all) Shouldn't I be safe enough?[/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]I don't want to blow either amp or speaker obviously![/font][/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) [size=4][quote name='Jesso' timestamp='1410180517' post='2546827']...[color=#141414]Shouldn't I be safe enough?...[/color][/quote] Technically no problem here, the only worrying remark is that concerning "...[color=#141414][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][i]I never run my amps into the red (or only very slightly if even at all)[/i]...". Why would anyone run a PA into the red..? Not enough volume..? Venue too spacious for the equipment..? Over-loud disco night..? Whatever your equipment, it should be in adequation with the use it's put to. An amp running too hard will sound horrible, anyway, through clipping.[/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Your powermatching is OK, but think hard about how to be well clear of 'the red'.[/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Hope this helps.[/font][/color][/size] Edited September 8, 2014 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dincz Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 600W is the maximum power an amp should send to the cab. A bit like the speed rating on a tyre - you don't have to drive that fast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I like more room with the cab than that. 600w of what..?? You start moving the cones and 600w isn't that much.. I'd be happy if you said it was vox and higher frequencies only. A power rating by certain manufacturers is different than with others. RMS should be RMS, but I remain sceptical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesso Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1410192530' post='2546980'] I like more room with the cab than that. 600w of what..?? You start moving the cones and 600w isn't that much.. I'd be happy if you said it was vox and higher frequencies only. A power rating by certain manufacturers is different than with others. RMS should be RMS, but I remain sceptical [/quote] Sorry I should have been more specific. I have 2 self powered bins, each is 1000 watts. (dynacord Dlite Sub 315 is the model incase you're wondering). The speakers (600watts) that I am looking at buying would be only for frequencies above 100hz. They are a dynacord speaker called the TS 400. I've tried them with my bins and they sound fantastic, so I'm hoping that I can get a set safely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesso Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1410182170' post='2546859'] Technically no problem here, the only worrying remark is that concerning "...[color=#141414][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][i]I never run my amps into the red (or only very slightly if even at all)[/i]...". Why would anyone run a PA into the red..? Not enough volume..? Venue too spacious for the equipment..? Over-loud disco night..? Whatever your equipment, it should be in adequation with the use it's put to. An amp running too hard will sound horrible, anyway, through clipping.[/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Your powermatching is OK, but think hard about how to be well clear of 'the red'.[/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Hope this helps.[/font][/color] [/quote] I hear you. Running amps into the red for me has always been due to lack of volume. I think the clip light is for the sub only. I never clip during the band's set, or if I do it's only in very big venues. With my system, the subs always seem to give up before the tops.... i.e. I always have enough from my top, but sometimes the sub will clip. I can't hear any audible decline in sound quality. As soon as I can hear distortion I would back off, that's just horrible and I can't be having it at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 [quote name='Jesso' timestamp='1410209140' post='2547222'] Sorry I should have been more specific. I have 2 self powered bins, each is 1000 watts. (dynacord Dlite Sub 315 is the model incase you're wondering). The speakers (600watts) that I am looking at buying would be only for frequencies above 100hz. They are a dynacord speaker called the TS 400. I've tried them with my bins and they sound fantastic, so I'm hoping that I can get a set safely. [/quote] Looking at the spec on their site, they look very good, and should perform well with the subs you have. They seem to be very compatible. They'll always be someone to come up with a downside, but I can't see anything radically wrong with the idea. I say go for it. Any chance that the supplier could let you try out the whole system over a week or so..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesso Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1410209721' post='2547227'] Looking at the spec on their site, they look very good, and should perform well with the subs you have. They seem to be very compatible. They'll always be someone to come up with a downside, but I can't see anything radically wrong with the idea. I say go for it. Any chance that the supplier could let you try out the whole system over a week or so..? [/quote] No I don't think they'll let me borrow them, but I did get a good chance to A/B the system against a few others. It sounded very very good, with plenty of low end but no holes in the frequency response that I could hear. So long as they won't explode, I'm going to buy them. At the moment we have EV ZX3's which aren't bad, but compared to the TS400 they sound terrible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 [sharedmedia=core:attachments:167485] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 If the cabs are rated at 4Ω each & your amp runs a minimum of 4Ω then you can run 1 cab. Watts don't make decibels. It would be wise to read some of the info in the Amps & cabs section or visit either Bill Fitzmaurice's or Barefaced Bass's websites to gain a better understanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesso Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1410212265' post='2547268'] If the cabs are rated at 4Ω each & your amp runs a minimum of 4Ω then you can run 1 cab. Watts don't make decibels. It would be wise to read some of the info in the Amps & cabs section or visit either Bill Fitzmaurice's or Barefaced Bass's websites to gain a better understanding. [/quote] I've got 2 channels for my tops (per power sub) that will go as low as 4 ohms. I used to run 2 speakers (8 ohms each) from each output, so I know the amp is happy to run 4 ohm speakers. So long as I don't clip the hell out of my amps, I suppose the speakers should be happy enough with "only" 500 watts each. I'd like to buy the matching subs too.... but at the guts of 3 grand a side that's not going to be happening any time soon! Plus I'm pretty happy with our subs in terms of power. Thanks for the input everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 [quote name='Jesso' timestamp='1410213384' post='2547286'] I've got 2 channels for my tops (per power sub) that will go as low as 4 ohms. I used to run 2 speakers (8 ohms each) from each output, so I know the amp is happy to run 4 ohm speakers. So long as I don't clip the hell out of my amps, I suppose the speakers should be happy enough with "only" 500 watts each. I'd like to buy the matching subs too.... but at the guts of 3 grand a side that's not going to be happening any time soon! Plus I'm pretty happy with our subs in terms of power. Thanks for the input everyone. [/quote] If it's 4Ω per side, then there's nothing to worry about. As for the watts, there's nothing to concern yourself about there either. Just keep an ear for how it sounds. This might be of interest to you (skip the first post & the link)... http://basschat.co.uk/topic/244784-sharing-a-link-amps-speakers-watts-ohms/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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