HarryCooter
Active member
I just want you all to know, if you have the need for such a switcher, you're a dick..... and I'm extremely jealous.
MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
That is one of the limitations of these switchers. If you do come across scenarios where there will be a mismatch you'll need to figure out how you want to deal with it. For instance, if you have 2 heads; one at 8 ohms and the other at 16, and a 16 ohm cab. Or as you mentioned using a switcher capable of running 2 cabs at once.
There are a couple of ways to approach this depending on which scenario you're dealing with...
1. Deal with reaching behind the amp to flick a switch and change impedance.
2. Have your setup where everything is on the same ohms no matter what.
2a. All amps and cabs are the same ohms and only use 1 cab at a time.
2b. Select only the combinations where ohms will be matched.
2c. Use amps with one jack that can automatically do 8-16 ohms
3. Use an impedance matcher like a Webber Z-Matcher or an attenuator that has impedance select like the Fryette Power Station.
4. Controversial, but not worry about the mismatch as long as it's no more than one step in either direction; 8 to 16 or 16 to 8.
4a. Several reputable sources such as Mr. Steven Fryette say there are no issues with a 1 step mismatch.
For me personally, all of my amps and cabs are able to be setup with no ohm mismatches and I have no need to run 2 cabs at once since everything I have is a 412. My switcher is an 8x8 deluxe so can select only one cab at a time anyway. If I did come to a mismatch in general I wouldn't worry about it and just roll with it. Or if I did have a concern use my power station to compensate.
Yes, there are a lot of cables involved in the switching setup. But if you think about how much money you have invested in amps and cabs to the point you need a switcher then the little bit of extra investment in cables will be negligible.
Just put some good thought into what you want to accomplish with the set up and how best to do it. Do you need to run both cabs at once or will you always be doing that? you may need to make and be okay with a compromise or two. If you need some help with that let us know what you have. I'm sure several can chime in to help you figure out the best way to work with everything.
MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
Just think there are a couple of people here that could use several of these switchers, LOL!
ZEEGLER
Well-known member
I was just looking at the 4 X 4 model, and it looks to me like there's still the issue of matching impedances of cabs. In this case, the KHE switchers are the better option because they match impedances for you if I remember correctly.
MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
The KHE allows you to activate 2 cabs at once in parallel, but does not match the impedances for you. You still need to work out the impedance matching yourself.
What it does do as a protection feature is prevent you from running an amp with no load connected. It locks you out from selecting a cab slot if nothing is connected or prevents you from activating the amp is no load is activated. I'm not sure if any of the DeLisle units or other switchers have this feature.
C
Cap217
Active member
The way the Delisle reads there is always a load present in the box. Thats a nice feature.
MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
That's true for all switches. There's always a load present for unused amps and the selected amp is routed to the selected speaker cab. But it doesn't elaborate much on what happens to the amp if you select a cab position that has nothing connected to it. Does it see the dummy load or is it routed to the no load.
The KHE has built in digital circuitry to prevent an amp from ever seeing no load. Not sure if that feature is on other switchers or not.
P
Panhead5
Well-known member
Ampete goes the Fryette route where the ohm mismatch is nothing to worry about. I have to admit I don't ever run my amps with no load but I don't give the impedances a second thought with an amp switcher . If you worried about it why would you have a switcher because you would be behind the amp changing the impedance and that would be work if you have alot of amps.
MikeytheG
Active member
Thats a sick deal.. Im debating grabbing one myself. I had a kahayan 8x4 midi... and that thing was awesome. Its worth the money to get something like this if you have a bunch of heads and different speaker cabs... But it always felt like I was leaving 1 or 2 heads or cabs out... finally I can get it all up at once.
RedB4Black
Well-known member
That mismatching for multiple cabs is an issue if all your cabs are at different ohms. In my setup, all my cabs are 16 ohms... so I use the 8 ohm out on the amps. When using 2 cabs, everything is at 8 ohms. When using one cab, it uses a generally safe mismatch going from 8 ohm amp into a 16 ohm cab. I mostly play 2 cab at once anyway.
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