wiring tube guitar amp speakers in SERIES.

[Manic]

Well guys, I been looking at different ways to hook up My two 8 ohm speakers in My 2x12 cab. Its an open back Tweed style Baltic birch. Anyway...

I been reading about series vs parallel wiring and besides the obvious impedance options I read that the sound is different. From what I gather parallel will sound tighter and have smoother top end. Series will be looser and more "raw", with more bite in the treble.

Another thing that could make a difference is running the speakers on the top(16 ohm) wind of My OT. I hear that's the best tap tone wise.

I have 4,8 and 16 taps on My OT.

Ive always wired My 2x12 cabs parallel. That would land them on the 4 ohm tap. I would like to try the top wind(16 ohm) on the OT by wiring the speakers in series.

So... I was wondering if anyone here likes there guitar amp speakers wired in series and why.

I'm going to eventually try it both ways series/paralell via a DPDT switch.

Right now I'm using the switch to toggle between either speaker. One of My speakers is a not so old Weber 12F150 50w(no dope). The other is a Weber Blue dog 30w(lite dope) ceramic mag. The BLue is about 2 years old.

I thought it would be fun to switch the speakers mid gig and see what I thought. After that Ill rewire it series/parallel and check that out.

I look forward to reading Your valued opinions.

Thanks

[tubesornothing]

From what I gather parallel will sound tighter and have smoother top end. Series will be looser and more "raw", with more bite in the treble.

When I have heard this comment I ask:  is the sound difference actually from connecting the speakers differently or because they are using a different tap on the OT?  No one can say for sure, unless they are willing to have two different OTs, which then changes the equation.  Since the test will always require two changes at once, it will always be impossible to tell if **just** connecting them parallel or series is the source of the tone change.

The guys at MM say try to use the highest output impedance, as it uses more windings in the OT and you get a better bass response.

This is one of those things you just have to try for yourself.  See what you like for your tone.

[Manic]

Right on.

I have seen it stated that the speakers interact with each other and with the amp differently when wired series or parallel.

I did indeed get the idea from Merc about the top wind. I believe that I have also read that some guys like their Marshall's on the top wind of the OT too.

I attached a schematic for series parallel speakers switch, if anyone else is interested in giving it a go.

[Manic]

When I have heard this comment I ask:  is the sound difference actually from connecting the speakers differently or because they are using a different tap on the OT?  No one can say for sure, unless they are willing to have two different OTs, which then changes the equation.  Since the test will always require two changes at once, it will always be impossible to tell if **just** connecting them parallel or series is the source of the tone change.

If You got 2 matching speaker at 4 ohm wired series that's 8 ohm. Another 2 speaker of the same kind as the 4 ohm, but at 16 ohms, wired parallel that's 8 ohms too.

A DPDT(might want to make it a make before break) switch at the 8 ohm output of the amp wired to change speaker sets. You get a reasonably fair A/B test between the difference in tone series and parallel.

That would take the OT pretty much out of the equation.

I suspect that the same speaker at different impedance's might sound different in and of themselves. 

Interesting stuff.

[tubesornothing]

Quality control between speakers is pretty good, so that should do it.

[jjasilli]

Why not try it both ways, and see if YOU notice a differnece.  You could wire a switch, or use spade attachments or alligator clips on the end of the speaker wires until you're ready to commit.

Personally I think use of the lower ohm tap produces a more saturated tone (which I prefer).  I think this is because it's the equivalent of using a smaller OT which is prone to saturate earlier than a larger one.  But, I can't prove this.

Operationally, the trouble with series wiring is that if one speaker blows, there will be no load on the amp.  This is mostly likely to happen when driving hard, which maximizes the possibility of damage to the amp.