Bass cab output power: 250W RMS @ 4 ohms / 150W RMS @ 8 ohm?

danjohnson

danjohnson

Aug 31, 2016
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#1
So I recently got a Little Mark 250 Black Line and now I am looking for a cab to use with the head. Mostly I will use it for bedroom practice and rehearsals in small rooms. What has me confused is the change in wattage at different ohms because I do not know if I should get a 4ohm cab, an 8ohm cab or one that can be switchable. Does the change in ohms, leading to lower wattage will make my amp less loud?
For example if I get a 300W 8ohm cab, does that mean that my amp will run at 150W as stated in the output power, therefore be at lower volumes?
Similarly if I get a 300W 4ohm cab, does that mean that the amp will be louder because it is running at 250w?
 
#3
Get an 8 ohm cab. Take your amp to the store and try it with some cabs until you find one that sounds good to you. Your amp actually operates across a range of 0.01 watts to 150 watts into an 8 ohm cab. That's how amps work. The most important thing for you right now is to get a cab that sounds good to you. Don't worry about science.
 
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#4
danjohnson said:
So I recently got a Little Mark 250 Black Line and now I am looking for a cab to use with the head. Mostly I will use it for bedroom practice and rehearsals in small rooms. What has me confused is the change in wattage at different ohms because I do not know if I should get a 4ohm cab, an 8ohm cab or one that can be switchable. Does the change in ohms, leading to lower wattage will make my amp less loud?
For example if I get a 300W 8ohm cab, does that mean that my amp will run at 150W as stated in the output power, therefore be at lower volumes?
Similarly if I get a 300W 4ohm cab, does that mean that the amp will be louder because it is running at 250w?
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Get a 2x12" 4 ohm cab as that should do everything you need it for. Yes your amp will have 250watts available.
 
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#5
Mingo Sanders said:
Get an 8 ohm cab. Take your amp to the store and try it with some cabs until you find one that sounds good to you. Your amp actually operates across a range of 0.01 watts to 150 watts into an 8 ohm cab. That's how amps work. The most important thing for you right now is to get a cab that sounds good to you. Don't worry about science.
Click to expand...

I am worried about volume. There is a Hartke cab that is only 4hms and another that is switchable from 4 to 8 but is $100 more. Ideally I would like to have the two wattage options if they do affect volume, that way I would use lower volumes at home and more at rehearsals, that is if the increase in wattage leads to more volume
 
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#6
danjohnson said:
I am worried about volume. There is a Hartke cab that is only 4hms and another that is switchable from 4 to 8 but is $100 more. Ideally I would like to have the two wattage options if they do affect volume, that way I would use lower volumes at home and more at rehearsals, that is if the increase in wattage leads to more volume
Click to expand...
Get the 8 ohm cab. Trust me. Trust the other poster who just told you the same thing. It's far more important to get something that sounds good to you.

Here's a tool for you: Crown Audio - Professional Power Amplifiers

250 watts is exactly 2.2 dB louder than 150 watts. Start with an 8 ohm cab. If you get to the day that you really need more volume, add a second 8 ohm cab. It's an extremely common setup because it works so well. For now, focus on sounding good, not sounding loud. Enjoy!
 
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#7
danjohnson said:
I am worried about volume. There is a Hartke cab that is only 4hms and another that is switchable from 4 to 8 but is $100 more. Ideally I would like to have the two wattage options if they do affect volume, that way I would use lower volumes at home and more at rehearsals, that is if the increase in wattage leads to more volume
Click to expand...

Doesn't your amp have a volume knob? Save the $100.
 
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#9
An 8 ohm cabinet will give you the most flexibility, you can add another 8 ohm cabinet later for a more significant increase in volume. When you have a lower powered amp like this, it will be beneficial to buy a cabinet with higher than average sensitivity as well.

My experience testing switchable impedance cabinets is that you pay a penalty in sensitivity... the very thing that you need most.
 
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#10
It can depend on the SPL rating of the cab you are considering. A single 112 cab won't be much louder at 4Ω than it is at 8Ω, (in case the switchable cab you're considering is the Hartke hydrive 112) but a 4Ω 212 or 410 cab will be much louder because of more speaker area, and it will also be able to handle more power later, should you decide to upgrade.
 
#11
danjohnson said:
Yeah but what I am looking to avoid, and I don't know if it would happen, is that the amp is too loud for my bedroom and I would need to have the volume always between 0-1 because anything else would be too loud.
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You really need to take your bass and your amp and connect it all up to a cab and test it out. You will be just fine starting with a high quality single 8 ohm cab. If you'll allow me, I'll recommend a single 12" or a 2 x 10", but you need to try some on your own until you find something that sounds good to you.
 
#15
danjohnson said:
Yeah but what I am looking to avoid, and I don't know if it would happen, is that the amp is too loud for my bedroom and I would need to have the volume always between 0-1 because anything else would be too loud.
Click to expand...

You've got a volume control on the bass, and input gain and master volume on the amp. Use them and you'll be fine.
 
#20
I have
A 250 watt tube head and 8ohm 1x15 cab that is use at home still only have the master at around 2-3 and it’s Uber loud if I turn it up past that if I need more volume I’ll add another 8ohm 1x15 no matter what it seams to me if u want it to not be to loud st home ur master volume is still going to be between 1-3 no matter if u go 8ohm or 4 so get the 8ohm and when u need to push more air live u can add another cab
 
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