4x10", how?

[Nostra Cinic]

So I've decided to build my own bass cab instead of bying a very expensive Ampeg.
This would be my first build so maybe I should go with a 4x10" instead of 8x10" (considering it would cut the cost in half too).
I'm thinking of Electro Harmonix 50W speakers ($45 each) but how do they work with a 450W head? Is the cab supposed to add up to 450 or more watts so it can handle the head or what?
Those speakers are 8ohm but the head (behringer) is 8ohm with one cab and 4ohm with two, so would that work if I run the head with both the soon-to-be-cab and my Behrigner 600W 1x15" cab?

cheers and thanks in advance!

[Mouthurst]

Nostra-The speakers total should add up at LEAST to the RMS power of the amp- If You want the cleanest tone possible then you should take it higher.

Other things to consider are weight and size.

8 tens in a 600 watt cab you'd need 75 watt speakers, it would be heavy.
4 120 watters will not be light. For me A 100 watt Fender twin reverb w 2 ceramic 50 watt speakers is barely managable with wheels.
I hate it...Oh the back....Nowadays I use 1 x 12's w neodyns and daisey chain them.
Good luck.

WM

[Steve Conner]

A 100 watt Twin is a pretty hefty lump.

I play bass and live in a 4th floor apartment with no lift, so I like speakers I can carry up stairs I started out with a Hartke 2x15" that was only about 75lbs, but real hard to move due to the bulky shape. I just got one of the old Trace Elliot green carpet 2x10"s and it's a lot easier.

If I were building a cabinet, I wouldn't worry too much about the wattage of speakers, it's really just a ballpark thing. If your amp is capable of putting out more watts than your speakers can take, just don't turn it up too far. As long as you don't go hooking a Peavey Kilobass head to a 2x12" with Celestion Blues, or expecting a Champ to flap your pant legs when connected to a car subwoofer cabinet...

[stokes]

Got to disagree with you on the speaker wattage issue,Steve.Amps are rated to be x amount of watts before clipping.Four 50watt speakers are only capable of handling 200watts,if you use a 450watt head you will no doubt blow them.I would look for speakers that will handle well over the max output of the head.Saying not to turn the amp up too much,leaves you no safety margin.You play with a loud drummer and you are going to turn it up,I dont see any reason to need 450watts,but if the amp is capable of putting it out your speakers should be rated to take it,sooner or later curiosity is gonna win out and you are going to turn it up full bore just to see.

[David Schwab]

If it's a solid state head, they usually run at a lower wattage, depending on the impedance load. So if it's 450 watts at 4 ohms, it might be 225 at 8 ohms.

That's how I've managed to use smaller cabs with hight output heads.

Then you have something like my Trace Elliot combo. It's rated at 150 watts, but that's with the extension cab. So the internal Celestion 10" speaker (yes, just one 10) is running at a (lower) wattage that it can handle.

Check to see what the output on your amp is at various speaker load impedances.

Are those EH speakers for bass? I had a GK 800RB rig with 1X18 for the low amp, and 2X12 for the highs. The 12's where Celestion vintage 12's, rated at 30 Watts each. The high frequency amp in the GK is 100 Watts. It worked fine, but the speakers where on the gritty side for bass. But you might be going for a dirty tone. Otherwise look for bass speakers with a higher power rating.