Wiring a Peavey 410TVX to 2-ohms?

[ben604]

Hello, I've got a 410TVX 8-ohm cab and I want to wire it to 2 ohms to use with my Ampeg SVT-II-Pro head. I know i've got to wire it parallel but I'm a bit nervous doing it without advice!! Does the tweeter make any difference? Any advice would be appreciated!!

Cheers,
Ben.

[Mr. Foxen]

What are you hoping to achieve by doing this? Getting 'all of the watts' out of your head likely won't make you any louder. It will also mean you won't be able to use a second cab, and a second cab is the way to get more loud.

[ben604]

I've got an Ampeg SVT-II-Pro and no money, the head wont run at 8-ohms and I cant afford another cab till January at the earliest.

[Dubs]

[quote name='ben604' post='346163' date='Dec 5 2008, 09:45 AM']...I cant afford another cab till January at the earliest.[/quote]

I think you might have your answer there. The SVTII-Pro will give you 300W @ 2 or 4ohms, no more, no less, so effectively you'd be wasting your time. It's a great head though and I wish I had an excuse to use one

[bassbloke]

[quote name='ben604' post='346163' date='Dec 5 2008, 09:45 AM']I've got an Ampeg SVT-II-Pro and no money, the head wont run at 8-ohms and I cant afford another cab till January at the earliest.[/quote]

Not so. A head with a 4 Ohm minimum load can't run at any less than 4 Ohms without causing damage. There's nothing to stop it running at 8 or even 16 POhms - you'll just get less output.

I would advise against re-wiring a cab for 2 Ohms. Even if your amp supports 2 Ohms,you are running it at the very limit of it's ability and I reckon you'll shorten the life of the valves and output transformer.

[Musky]

[quote name='bassbloke' post='347400' date='Dec 6 2008, 06:35 PM']Not so. A head with a 4 Ohm minimum load can't run at any less than 4 Ohms without causing damage. There's nothing to stop it running at 8 or even 16 POhms - you'll just get less output.

I would advise against re-wiring a cab for 2 Ohms. Even if your amp supports 2 Ohms,you are running it at the very limit of it's ability and I reckon you'll shorten the life of the valves and output transformer.[/quote]

Not true AFAIK.

It's a valve amp, and the tap should always be matched to the speakers impedance. Running it at a much higher impedance is not a great idea. As benwhite suggests, it will always give 300w at 4 or 2 ohms - that's what the output transformer is for.

[bass_ferret]

And you can't use the cab with the head unless you rewire the cab. Presume its 8 ohm speakers speakers that are paired in seiries and the pairs wired in parallel. So what you need to do is rewire the pairs in parallel so you get your 2 ohms. There is some info on the basschat wiki about wiring drivers.

Never understood why Ampeg dont have a 8 ohm tap. To make you buy their cabs I suppose. IIRC my old Hiwatt had 4, 8 and 16.

[ben604]

Thanks for the input guys, I did rewire the cab to 2-ohms and it worked fine (at my first ever gig...!, although it didnt have the oompf I'd hoped for/expected... I think I'll rewire it back and buy another cheap 8-ohm 410 or 15 or sell it and save some pennies for a 410HLF/810e.