Speaker Impedance Questions

[glpg80]

It's in the Slavic group, like Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Coatian, plus some others . . .

any links i can read up on with the groups? i have always wanted a larger picture linking english, german, etc as barbaric languages and then you have slavic groups as mentioned like Romanian, etc.

I took about 3 years of german but i could never understand the sentence structure or teach myself proper verbal communication, i can translate some simple sentences but nothing major. I respect anyone who can learn another language fluently, that takes practice and dedication. I've tried and failed, i feel as though i need to start over and learn the basics again.

 

[ronjhoser]

There is a difference. A higher impedance will also increase damping factor. This will mean more control over the cones, effectively making the amp/cab system sound tighter. There are a lot of variables in the equation when we are talking about multi driver cabinets, though. In most cases, 4 (or more) driver cabs have a combination of series (which results in a higher effective impedance load) and parallel (which results in a lower effective impedance load) connections in order to arrive at the final impedance that is desired. The parallel connection allows for superior damping. SO, if you wanted the absolute tightest possible sound from commonly available guitar speakers, a 16 ohm driver in a single driver cab would be best case scenario. There are ALWAYS trade offs, though. I won't bore you with the finer details of how proximity effect causes certain frequencies to be boosted in multi driver systems, thereby making 2 or 4 driver cabs have more apparent low frequency response. There is no simple answer if you are trying to figure out the "best" way...

Dude, you completely missed the guys original question...

I didn't miss it. If we're talking about tone strictly as frequency response, then the difference is negligible. But, come on... we're talking guitar amps, cork sniffing and wankery here. Tone is in at least two domains, frequency and time. The transient response is a function of impedance and does effect the sound of any type of sound reproduction system. SO, it will have an effect on the "TONE". When things sound "tight" or "loose"... that is transient response. That is very much a part of the tone.

Dude... you completely didn't understand the answer.

 

[ronjhoser]

Damping factor =/= QFC or quality factor of a cabinet whether its sealed or ported. Cabinets have tuned .707 or F stop frequencies which are controlled by tuning with ports or by sealed construction cu. ft. design. The speaker QSC =/= impedance. QSC is what comes into play with the cabinet design and the tuning of your guitar. but in no way is it referenced to impedance directly. Absolutely zero relation to impedance which is a vector force in the imaginary plane in relation to resistance. the phase angle relationship is what throws it as a vector because of the magnetic properties of how a transformer stores energy and act as a pole. impedance differences exist only for max power transfer when loads are matched. nothing more. nothing less. Completely different topic and un-related alltogether.

Glad you read the engineering text, but you have absolutely misunderstood how the theory is applied. Guitar cabs MAY be tuned as a system (cabinet and speakers together), but don't think for a minute that the Q is always (or possibly ever) going to be .707. This value is considered an "ideal" in CERTAIN applications to balance damping and frequency response. Problem with that theory is that a) guitar cabs aren't built for flat frequency response, and b) the second that you change any parts of the system (i.e. speaker swap... even the same model, but different impedance), the Q of the system changes. If you want to really understand what I was explaining, spend some hands on time with the MLSSA system and learn a bit about how the time domain response effects the sound of any system. Best wishes on your continued studies...

Have some fun playing your guitar along the way, though... because all of the theories and engineering go out the window the second that you plug in and get a sound that you are really stoked about. If guitar players were really engineering purists, we would never use vacuum tubes.

 

[garbagetruckdriver]

Yes the math can be overwhelming but I think this guy explains it best:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLDgQg6bq7o