Wiring 4x12- series or parallel at jack and what gauge wire?

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guitup too

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I received some more speakers this week and want to install them an rewire my 4x12.
Three of the speakers are 1970's G12M25 55hz blackbacks and one 1999 G12m25 75hz greenback. All are 8 ohm so I am going for a totol impedance of 8 ohms.
Is 16 or 14 gauge wire sufficient? What would sound best, wired paralled at the jack/series at the speakers or series at the jack/parallel at the speakers? Would this even make any difference in the sound?
Thanks in advance.
 
I always parallel mine at the speakers, but some do it opposite and parallel at the jack. With certain speaker combinations, there probably is some difference to be heard in terms of response - especially with different wattage speakers in the combination. I've never taken the time to test the differences. Me, I use 18 gauge lamp cord.

Steve
 
lamp cord is what I would use... btw, it's what Fischer of Trainwreck amps fame used for speaker cables!

Pete
 
listen to what these 2 guys said....spot on.

i do have a question though, but, i dont want to get a "preamp tube shield" thread going......so, i'd like to try n avoid that.

Steve, you said it may make a difference if the wiring was at the speakers or the jack depending on the mix, etc.

can we discuss? i have NO clue as to whether it would or wouldn't. but i'd like to find out the ins and outs and whys and whats.
 
Here's another question I would love to have info on:
Why do some companies (Mesa Boogie) twist the speaker wires
while others let them run parallel to each other?
 
Attenuation. Best is to run two pair twisted clockwise each, then twist them together counterclockwise. Low attenuation and low noise.
 
yeti":uswmjlcn said:
listen to what these 2 guys said....spot on.

i do have a question though, but, i dont want to get a "preamp tube shield" thread going......so, i'd like to try n avoid that.

Steve, you said it may make a difference if the wiring was at the speakers or the jack depending on the mix, etc.

can we discuss? i have NO clue as to whether it would or wouldn't. but i'd like to find out the ins and outs and whys and whats.
Click to expand...

You can wire up a Parallel/Series connection, which is 2 parallel circuits combined in series. Or, you can wire it up as a Series/Parallel connection, which is 2 series circuits combined in parallel.

It's probably 6 to 1 and a half-dozen of the other. If you are mixing two different wattage speakers in a 4x12, it may be of some small difference. I don't know, as I haven't tried it out and I doubt I could tell the difference anyway. Some audiophiles may be able to though.

One thing that can be said though, is on a Parallel/Series connection, if you drop a speaker due to failure, the resulting load in ohms will increase by half your speaker rating (16 ohm cab will increase to 24 ohm). On the other hand, in a Series/Parallel connection, if you lose a speaker, the resulting load will decrease by 1/4 of one speaker's rating (16 ohm cab will drop to 12 ohm). Short term, I doubt either is a large issue, but the first case isn't too good for the OT and in the second case, this isn't good for tubes, the PT or OT.

Steve
 
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