PRS 4x12

[FJ4]

Hi Everyone!

Does anybody know if the PRS 4x12 Cabinet is 8 Ohm or 16 Ohm?

Thanks!

 

[Kynlore]

I'd like to know too. Sweetwater site lists it as 8 but the picture shows it as 16.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PRSStCab412

 

[Rider1260]

If there is no switching like a Marshall Cab it would most likely be 16 ohm
Marshall's with the switching run 4 ohm and 16 ohm mono and 8 ohm stereo
My 2x12 PRS DB Stealth cab is 8 ohm

 

[László]

If it says 16 ohms on the back of the cab, it's 16.

My DG cab is an 8 ohm 2x12, my PRS 1x12 Stealth cab is 16 ohms, so they're not all 8 ohm cabs.

 

[FJ4]

Hi again everyone.

I recieved a response from customer service today, the PRS 4x12 is a 16 Ohm rated cabinet.

 

[vchizzle]

That kinda bums me out a bit. In general, I've preferred the way my amps sound running at 8 ohms. I've wanted a PRS 4x12, but that makes me more apprehensive. I guess I shouldn't knock it without trying it. Just makes it tougher to buy without trying...which is near impossible since almost nobody stocks them.

 

[László]

That kinda bums me out a bit. In general, I've preferred the way my amps sound running at 8 ohms. I've wanted a PRS 4x12, but that makes me more apprehensive. I guess I shouldn't knock it without trying it. Just makes it tougher to buy without trying...which is near impossible since almost nobody stocks them.

Some folks say that a 16 ohm speaker has more high end because of the number of winds of wire on the voice coil, so the frequency balance is a tiny bit different, maybe that's what you're hearing on 16 ohm 4x12s (a 16 ohm 4x12 will usually have four 16 ohm speakers paired in parallel, isn't this right? Someone please correct me if I'm wrong).

In any case, it may not be the amp itself that sounds different (though that's possible, too), it may be that the frequency balance of an 8 ohm cab is more to your liking because the speakers are 8 ohm speakers.

Then too, part of it's the cab design, the speakers inside, and so many other factors that come into play.

 

[vchizzle]

Could be, Les. That's just my past experience. I had 2 cabs of the same build once. 1 was 8 ohm, the other 16. For whatever reason I preferred the 8 ohm cab. Like I said, I've never run the Archon into a 16 ohm cab, so I suppose I shouldn't jump to conclusions.

 

[shinksma]

As far as I know, the speakers aren't manufactured differently (different # of winds on coil) for whether they are going into a 2x12 vs 4x12 cabinet.

My understanding of cabs with 2 speakers (e.g. 2x12) is they are usually (!) a pair of 16 ohm speakers wired in parallel, resulting in 8 ohms.

The cabs with 4 speakers (e.g. 4x12) are two pairs of speakers, each 16 ohms, where each pair is wired in parallel within the pair (so each pair is 8 ohms), but the pairs are then placed in series, resulting in 16 ohms.

N = Number of speakers
w = individual speaker impedance (assuming all the same)
W = total "system" impedance

Parallel:
W = w/N

Series:
W= w*N

So a 4x12 cabinet of 4 16-ohm speakers is:

W = (16 / 2) * 2 = 16 ohms

 

[László]

As far as I know, the speakers aren't manufactured differently (different # of winds on coil) for whether they are going into a 2x12 vs 4x12 cabinet.

No they're not, based on the cabinet they're going into.

However, 8 ohm speakers and 16 ohm speakers are manufactured with different numbers of wire winds on the voice coil. That's how speakers are made with different impedances.

 

[shinksma]

No they're not, based on the cabinet they're going into.

However, 8 ohm speakers and 16 ohm speakers are manufactured with different numbers of wire winds on the voice coil. That's how speakers are made with different impedances.

Oh yeah, I agree. I was just pointing out the math to get to the various impedance values you typically see in different cabinets using the same basic speaker. Which is important when it comes to impedance-matching your amp!