Janicke92 Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 So I had it all set up to get a new rig and yesterday my car decided to lollipop out on me and I had to pay a huge bill to get it repaired. I now only have a 2x12 cab and my HD500 and I've been reading around and found I can get a power amp to get a good signal from my HD500 to my cab, but mostly I see XLS1000 or so which put out 1000w of power so how is it that people can use this without blowing there speakers? Do they just crank the HD500 master and just leave the power amp at maybe 2? And if we're having a loud practice or playing shows how could I turn it up without blowing anything? I'm really looking for as much info as possible on this because now my dream rig is out of my reach and this is the only other thing I can do with having a brand new 2x12 sitting around collecting dust. I've been looking at an XLS, QSC, and my buddy at GC was looking around at his used stuff and saw an Altec Lansing 1210 and said it maybe awesome to try and only cost $60. Thanks for looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKenivel Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I had a Carvin dcm1000 running a 4x12. how much wattage you are getting is determined by the ohm rating of your cab. My cab was wired 8 Ohms so I couldn't draw 1000 wats while both channels were bridged. I recently had my eye on a crown XLS 1000 to replace the old heavy Carvin. But decided to get a wedge instead. but to answer your initial question, just don't turn it up so loud that you blow your cab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I now only have a 2x12 cab and my HD500 and I've been reading around and found I can get a power amp to get a good signal from my HD500 to my cab, but mostly I see XLS1000 or so which put out 1000w of power so how is it that people can use this without blowing there speakers? You don't have to worry. That amp (XLS1000) is 215 W per channel at 8 ohms. That is peak watts on a power transient, not steady watts. You can safely use it with your 2X12 cab and the HD500. You will probably get overload warning long before any damage. Is your cab wired for stereo? That way you can run one channel to each speaker. That's what I used to do with my 500, a Rocktron Velocity 300 amp and my 2X12. Sounded awesome. Bridged its 700 W at 8 ohms so you would need to be more careful. If your cab is 16 ohms mono then the amp rating drops to around 3-400 W. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palico Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 You don't have to worry. That amp (XLS1000) is 215 W per channel at 8 ohms. That is peak watts on a power transient, not steady watts. Always drives me crazy that PA power amp companies put out such huge numbers for their amps. Crown is usually pretty good about putting RMS figures instead of peak but they usually show it as bridged mono running at 2ohms (if stable) or 4ohm loads to list those numbers. Behringer (actually IMO not a bad amp) is the worst about the wattage numbers, hard to even find the RMS numbers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKenivel Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Yep, and to even get that full 1000w you'd need to have a 4ohm cab and bridge the two channels. Even if you do that, start quiet and work your way up to the volume you need. The rest is what we call headroom. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janicke92 Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 Is your cab wired for stereo? That way you can run one channel to each speaker. That's what I used to do with my 500, a Rocktron Velocity 300 amp and my 2X12. Sounded awesome. Thanks for the quick reply! My cab isn't wired to be stereo yet but I can rewire it without a problem. I was thinking this would be the best choice since I'll also have 2 different speakers. That is peak watts on a power transient, not steady watts. You can safely use it with your 2X12 cab and the HD500. You will probably get overload warning long before any damage. I have no idea what the first part means..but as far as an overload warning will that be on the power amp or will I just be able to hear it being pushed too hard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janicke92 Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 Yep, and to even get that full 1000w you'd need to have a 4ohm cab and bridge the two channels. Even if you do that, start quiet and work your way up to the volume you need. The rest is what we call headroom. Figured out how to quote like a pro now! So as of right now I have 2 Veteran 30's in my cab at 16 ohms each. if I were to get this (http://www.guitarcenter.com/QSC/GX3-Stereo-Power-Amplifier.gc) how exactly would I be setting up if I was running my cab stereo? Do I max out the master on the HD500 and then bring up the volume on the power amp to taste or would this result in me hurting something? Again I'm completely new to this area so if you could explain like I'm five it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKenivel Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I don't know anything about wiring cabs in stereo but I know that as far as the ohms go, it doesn't matter what the speakers say on them, but more how they're wired. As far as using a poweramp, I'd first see how loud it gets, put your Pods volume on 50% and poweramp volume on 0. Make some guitar noise and turn up the poweramp dial until it gets uncomfortably loud. If you max out the channel and it's not too loud for you, then turn up the pod more. You might be surprised and it won't be loud enough to damage anything at all, but at the same time, you might realize that you've got way more headroom than you need. If that's the case, then I'd keep my Pods master volume pretty high and set the poweramp to as loud as I need, that way I won't have to worry about something bumping the Pods master volume knob and causing damage 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I don't use an amp anymore. Direct to the pa. And I sound amazing. If I may offer some non-musical life advice ---- If you are cutting your finances so close to the edge, where a car repair means the difference between buying new gear or not, then you really shouldn't be buying new gear at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Figured out how to quote like a pro now! So as of right now I have 2 Veteran 30's in my cab at 16 ohms each. if I were to get this (http://www.guitarcenter.com/QSC/GX3-Stereo-Power-Amplifier.gc) how exactly would I be setting up if I was running my cab stereo? Do I max out the master on the HD500 and then bring up the volume on the power amp to taste or would this result in me hurting something? I wired mine very simply with a two jack plate and separate isolated wiring to each speaker. Then I just plug each channel to its own speaker. Totally up to you how you rewire if you choose to do so, just be sure you know what you are doing so as not to damage your gear. You should start with the amp at maybe a quarter and bring up the POD volume until you are just beginning to activate the clipping indicator on the amp when you hit a strong chord. The clipping should not be lighting up during normal play so if it is, lower the POD until it stops. Once that level is good then you can begin to raise the amp volume to the level you want. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillBee Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 There are a bunch of decent cab wiring websites so do some searching. Basically, speakers in series add ohms while is parallel get reduced. Two 8 ohm speakers in series go to 16 ohms (8 + 8) while the same 2 in parallel go to 4 ohms (8/2). There are a lot of different ways but those are the most basic to get to terms with. BTW (I know you know already) use a speaker cable for the head to cab not a guitar cable. \m/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janicke92 Posted February 4, 2016 Author Share Posted February 4, 2016 There are a bunch of decent cab wiring websites so do some searching. Basically, speakers in series add ohms while is parallel get reduced. Two 8 ohm speakers in series go to 16 ohms (8 + 8) while the same 2 in parallel go to 4 ohms (8/2). There are a lot of different ways but those are the most basic to get to terms with. BTW (I know you know already) use a speaker cable for the head to cab not a guitar cable. I wired mine very simply with a two jack plate and separate isolated wiring to each speaker. Then I just plug each channel to its own speaker. Totally up to you how you rewire if you choose to do so, just be sure you know what you are doing so as not to damage your gear. This is how my cab is wired right now. I'm guessing this is parallel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 This is how my cab is wired right now. I'm guessing this is parallel? yep, if you want stereo you would just separate and isolate one jack to one speaker. Realize this isn't going to sound magical. It will however, allow your stereo sigal to have some degree of separation and clarity. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janicke92 Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 yep, if you want stereo you would just separate and isolate one jack to one speaker. Realize this isn't going to sound magical. It will however, allow your stereo sigal to have some degree of separation and clarity. Awesome! You actually answered my original question earlier but thanks for the extra help! And just to make sure I would only be using 1 chord from the amp to the cab even though my HD500 will be going in stereo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 And just to make sure I would only be using 1 chord from the amp to the cab even though my HD500 will be going in stereo? no, you will need 2 cords. One from the left channel out to the left speaker and one from the right channel out to the right speaker. Each speaker is wired to its own jack. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Would he also need 2 amps? (I missed if his amp can run two separate channels). One amp for the left, one amp for the right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Do I max out the master on the HD500 and then bring up the volume on the power amp to taste or would this result in me hurting something? Again, I start with - I don't use an amp. So, your situation may be different. I like to have 'consistent' sound. Here's what I do when determining where the Pod's master volume should be: The master volume does not change the mp3 volume. The volume of the Mp3 jack is completely independent. I plug in my mp3 player. I set the volume (on the mp3 player) to the same level every time. I have a song that I use every time. I set my Pod to the same patch every time. I play guitar (I would like to use the same guitar every time, but it is not possible) while the song is playing. I turn the Pod's master volume to where my guitar volume matches the mp3 volume. That may not answer the question for what you want, but it is how I set my Master Volume. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janicke92 Posted February 5, 2016 Author Share Posted February 5, 2016 no, you will need 2 cords. One from the left channel out to the left speaker and one from the right channel out to the right speaker. Each speaker is wired to its own jack. OK just to clarify.. I'm staying with the current wiring in my cab I take 2 1/4 or XLR from the HD500 to the Power Amp Then I take 2 speaker cables from the Power amp to the cab Right..? Or the way my cab is wired would I only need 1 cord going to the cab? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 OK just to clarify.. I'm staying with the current wiring in my cab I take 2 1/4 or XLR from the HD500 to the Power Amp Then I take 2 speaker cables from the Power amp to the cab Right..? Or the way my cab is wired would I only need 1 cord going to the cab? if you are keeping your cab wired in mono then there is no need to buy a stereo amp! But if you do then it will only be one cable from amp to cab. Probably the amp says to use one side for mono or you can bridge it for pure mono. Read and heed the user manual. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janicke92 Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 if you are keeping your cab wired in mono then there is no need to buy a stereo amp! But if you do then it will only be one cable from amp to cab. Probably the amp says to use one side for mono or you can bridge it for pure mono. Read and heed the user manual. Yea I found that out the hard way yesterday. Haha. Now I'm looking at the Rocktron Velocity 300. I read the manual and it seems the way I would be running it would be 300W (bridged mono 8ohms) to a 125W cab (2x12, parallel, with an 8 ohms load) So I'm just gonna try not to blow up my brand new speakers. I know the thread is getting kinda long but you said you owned one will it give me any indication before my speakers blow? Or is that just on the XLS1000? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 I know the thread is getting kinda long but you said you owned one will it give me any indication before my speakers blow? Or is that just on the XLS1000? None of them will really give you an indication before they blow but frankly, I doubt either of them will blow them anyways. Like I said, the 300W is not a steady output, just a peak output. That amp cannot do 300W steady (RMS) and that is what generates the heat that blows your speakers. Set your levels the way I posted earlier and you will be fine. Either amp will work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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