Ohm my

[Some Bozo]

Hokey dokey. I've got a marshall 2x12 with two 16 ohm speakers that I want to make switchable between running on two separate 16 ohm inputs or run in parallel to 8 ohms off one input. My plan is to wire the speakers separately to two sockets but have a couple of other wires strung between the + on each speaker , and between the - on each speaker that go to a switch that will break the connection when I want separate speakers. What I'm wondering is: do I have to break the connection on both the speaker-to-speaker wires ? I'm assuming no because the current won't flow into the speaker if there's no where for it to go and it won't affect the circuit ?

[mahtone]

Not quite...

The hot input will go to both speakers if you wire the plusses together regardless of whether you break the negative link. If you have two amps plugged in, the signal will then go through both speakers to ground via the amp, so this is still a paralell circuit of 8ohms.

With both amps going into both jacks, you have two amps expecting 16 ohms driving one 8ohm circuit. Your speakers will be suffering...

I would break the positive to positive link and leave the grounds hooked up. To be safe, I would break both to ensure the amps don't start to mess with each other's grounding, especially if there's a big power difference between the two and the power supply isn't so steady.

[robnobcorncob]

Ohmmmm Ohmmmm Ohmmmm Ohmmmm

[ant]

You only need to disconnect one of the wires either -ve or +ve , you could do what your saying with 2 jacks, no switch required.

[mahtone]

If you widen the circuit to include both amps, you really need to disconnect the positive speaker tabs. Otherwise both speakers have common positives (hot input) and common negatives (ground) and are therefore in parallel. Disconnecting the negative link in the cab only doesn't change the common grounding as they

Remember: the cold terminals of the amp output jacks are hooked directly to ground, so if you have two amps plugged into that cab it doesn't matter if you have a negative link or not - both speakers are still in the circuit.

[mahtone]

If you widen the circuit to include both amps, you really need to disconnect the positive speaker tabs. Otherwise both speakers have common positives (hot input) and common negatives (ground) and are therefore in parallel. Disconnecting the negative link in the cab only doesn't change the common grounding as they

Remember: the cold terminals of the amp output jacks are hooked directly to ground, so if you have two amps plugged into that cab it doesn't matter if you have a negative link or not - both speakers are still connected directly to ground.

[ant]

Sorry I dont understand, I cant see a problem, the cold terminals will share earth through the power cords of each amp anyway.

If you disconnect the -ve tab on a speaker from the jack it is essentially floating and will not work as only the +ve end is in the circuit.

[mahtone]

Sorry I dont understand, I cant see a problem, the cold terminals will share earth through the power cords of each amp anyway.

If you disconnect the -ve tab on a speaker from the jack it is essentially floating and will not work as only the +ve end is in the circuit.

He's not talking about disconnecting the speakers from the jack. He's talking about connecting/disconnecting them from each other. Under what he's talking about, they would both still be hooked up to their respective jacks at all times.

[Some Bozo]

I think some poeple missed the bit where I said "8 ohms off one input". I'm not planning to have two amps plugged in when it's in 8 ohms, just when it's two separate speakers. I'm assuming when it is in parallel off one socket the unplugged other socket is also not going to affect the circuit since there's nowhere for the current to go.

[mahtone]

I read your first entry as "I'm going to connect the positives permanently and add a switch to break the negative to negative link"...a well placed comma or two would have helped.

I think I may have mis-interpreted this and made it more complicated than it probably required.

If that was what you were going to do, then that would mean that you would accidently put the circuit into an 8ohm paralell by plugging in the second amp even if you had broken the negative link with the switch.

If you were asking between "switch breaks positive link only" and "switch breaks both links" then either should work.

[Some Bozo]

Ahhh I see, when I wrote "...that go to a switch " you assumed I was writing in a rastafarian accent and it was actually a singular not a plural...

Welcome to jamaiiica, have a niaaace dayyyy

[mahtone]

Yeah, you just have that vibe that says 'I have this white guy in a hood as an avatar, but really I'm on the run from a jamacan cartel'

Or something.

Anyway. when you blow up your speakers I'll be all like 'whaat dat foool smookin maaan'

[Some Bozo]

Yeah, you just have that vibe that says 'I have this white guy in a hood as an avatar, but really I'm on the run from a jamacan cartel'

Or something.

Anyway. when you blow up your speakers I'll be all like 'whaat dat foool smookin maaan'

Hemp speakers. http://www.hempacoustics.com/buzz.php When dem blow up, it's aaaallllllll goooooooood

[mahtone]

Yeah, you just have that vibe that says 'I have this white guy in a hood as an avatar, but really I'm on the run from a jamacan cartel'

Or something.

Anyway. when you blow up your speakers I'll be all like 'whaat dat foool smookin maaan'

Hemp speakers. http://www.hempacoustics.com/buzz.php When dem blow up, it's aaaallllllll goooooooood

BWAHAHAHAHAA

You have got to be sh*tting me!

Stoners...is there anything they can't do? I bet they've unknowingly cured cancer several times and just forgotten to write it down so they could remember in the morning!

[Ironbird13]

i wrote it down, but it was on the rizla paper that i used for the morning puff