wattage question about my ad 50?

[Bensnake]

Exactly the same situation if you put several same impedance but different power handling speakers into a single cab. If you bunged say 1 x 15W Celestion blue and 3 x 100W drivers into a 4 x 12 cab, the total rating would still only be 15 x 4 = 60W.

But if you put them in two different cabs (same impedance), say a 1x12 15W and a 3x12 100W each, the power handling will be 2x15W = 30W, right?

[kars0747]

Confusion grows. I have allmost bought a 16 ohm 30 watt speaker. Can i use the 8 ohm exit from my AMP for that one and then the other 8 ohm exit from my AMP to my 2x12 v30 cab ? If so dó i correctly understand that the two cabs together Can take 60 watt ? is that enough when i use the 50 watt setting ón my ad50 custom shop ?

[Bensnake]

Confusion grows. I have allmost bought a 16 ohm 30 watt speaker. Can i use the 8 ohm exit from my AMP for that one and then the other 8 ohm exit from my AMP to my 2x12 v30 cab ? If so dó i correctly understand that the two cabs together Can take 60 watt ? is that enough when i use the 50 watt setting ón my ad50 custom shop ?

YES! Right, Andy?

[a.hun]

Yes, yes and yes to the last three posts!


Andy.

[kars0747]

aaaaahhhh. Big sigh of relief

[Bensnake]

aaaaahhhh. Big sigh of relief

[kars0747]

Some claim that to run a 50 watt AMP you nede to have 75-100 watt at your disposal. Any thoughts ón this ? Can i feel safe running my ad50 with 60 watt?

[a.hun]

Depends on the speakers...

Yeah a 50W amp will normally be able to put out 50W running fairly cleanly. (There is no universal standard for amp power ratings, but often valve amps are rated at 5% distortion which still sounds fairly clean.)
When fully cranked into distortion - depending on the circuits and components - they can potentially put out anything up to about double that.

Just as there is no real universal standard for amp power output ratings, there also isn't one for speaker power handling. Some (Celestion!) are rated much more conservatively than others for power handing. Historically with Celestions you can generally hook up 50W worth of their speakers to a 50W rated valve amp and crank the snot out of it pretty safely. (Do not try this with old Marshall / Hiwatt 50 watters or similar amps which could put out far more clean than the rating suggests!) But otherwise with Celestions at or above the amp's power rating you'll normally be fine.

Do not try this with other speaker manufacturers though. They generally aren't so conservatively rated so you'll need more rated power handling to be safe. Then you are better going for 150 - 200% of the amps rating. (You can also do that with Celestions of course and be totally bomb proof.)

So it talking Celestions, 60W handling with your 50W amp is fine. If talking Eminences I'd go for more, and if talking Fanes I'd definitely want at least double the amp's rating myself.


Andy.

[kars0747]

Thanks Andy. Now I can safely buy a 16 ohm g12h 30 watt from 1971 !

[a.hun]

Thanks Andy. Now I can safely buy a 16 ohm g12h 30 watt from 1971 !

So that would go into a 1x12 cab, to run alongside your 16 ohm V.30 loaded 2x12 yeah? If so you should definitely grab that. Great all round speakers and perfect (IMO) to use with Oranges!


Andy.

[Orphin]

Do not try this with old Marshall / Hiwatt 50 watters or similar amps which could put out far more clean than the rating suggests!

Is this statement based on perception or measurements?

Back in the days when Orange was a new brand, they had a problem. The amps wasn't as loud as other brands (still an issue today if you ask me, though I would definitely not call it a "problem"), so they used (as Cliff Cooper himself claims) "signal generators, oscilloscopes and other measuring equipment" and measured an OR120 to 120 watts RMS. Then they measured a Marshall 100 watt (I guess a Superlead??) to 96 watts RMS. The Marshall sounded much louder the the Orange.

[a.hun]

Do not try this with old Marshall / Hiwatt 50 watters or similar amps which could put out far more clean than the rating suggests!

Is this statement based on perception or measurements?

Back in the days when Orange was a new brand, they had a problem. The amps wasn't as loud as other brands (still an issue today if you ask me, though I would definitely not call it a "problem"), so they used (as Cliff Cooper himself claims) "signal generators, oscilloscopes and other measuring equipment" and measured an OR120 to 120 watts RMS. Then they measured a Marshall 100 watt (I guess a Superlead??) to 96 watts RMS. The Marshall sounded much louder the the Orange.

Measurements!
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showpo ... stcount=13" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showpo ... stcount=18" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The same guy (JP) measured my own Hiwatt 100 at 135W before distortion. (1kHz signal from a signal generator, amp running into his standard dummy load.) In his experience you can get up to about 140W (clean) from things like old Superlead 100s and Hiwatt 100s with the right valves and bias setting. He also reckoned that my OR120 might just be edging the Hiwatt on the flat out power stakes, but I've never had it measured. Doesn't worry me. Sufficient is sufficient!


Andy.

[kars0747]

Yeah gonna go on top of my orange cab. I'm sure the v30's Will be heard at the buttom. And hopefully i Will like the g12h Sound more. But When the music is Loud i sometimes find i need those v30's to Cut through. I get the g12h this weekend and Will keep you updated

[kars0747]

Ok. Have tested my new g12h greenback from 1971 and it sounds great with my two vintage 30's Below. I can't stop smiling. Really pleased about this one. Thanks for all your help guys. Karsten