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Thread: Hartke LS500

  1. #11
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    Alberta, Canada
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    The amp is likely wired in parallel, so either two, 8 ohm cabs in one output, or one 8 ohm cab in each output will still be 4 ohms and result in the maximum power. If you have two 8 ohm cabs in one output, you cannot add another cab to the amp, as the impedance will be too low (< 4 ohms). "IF" the amp was wired so that the cabs were connected in series, (not likely at all), they would create a 16 ohm load and a very low power output.

    So yes, if you have one 8 ohm cab in each plug that results in the 4 ohm minimum load that the amp can handle. If you daisy chain the cabs into a single output (amp-> cab 1-> cab 2) they will also create a 4 ohm load. Once you have reached the 4 ohm load, don't add any more cabs to the amp!

    How are you connecting the Sunn combo to the Hartke? Does the Sunn combo have an input that allows you to connect directly to the internal speaker, bypassing the amp? If so, then you could feed the Hartke signal from one of the outputs to the Sunn speaker, but the impedance of the Sunn speaker has to be considered when looking at your ohm load on the Hartke. What impedance is the speaker in the Sunn? Some combos are already 4 ohm to get the most out of the amp. If the Sunn has an 8 ohm speaker then you can only connect one more 8 ohm cab to the Hartke. If you double up two 8 ohm speakers, or a single 4 ohm cab on the remaining output, you would be running a 2.6 ohm load, (too low!) and that could damage the amp. If the Sunn does not have an input that goes directly to the speaker, you cannot drive the speaker that way.

    An alternative would be to use the Sunn as a slave amp, meaning you have the Sunn amp turned on and are using the signal from the Hartke as the input signal to the Sunn. To do this you have to take the signal from the preamp section of the Hartke. There appear to be only two options for accessing the preamp signal from the Hartke, either from the DI out, (which would be problematic because that output is an XLR connector, and also is a quite low level signal -10dB, optimised for a sound board input), or from the Effects Send on the back of the amp, which can feed an external amplifier that can accept a +4dB signal (this would appear to be the most likely route). Either of those signals would connect to the input of the Sunn. You would then use the Sunn amp volume to balance the volume between the two units.

    You can not take the powered, speaker out signal from the Hartke and feed it to the amp input in the Sunn. That signal would be way too powerful for the Sunn input.

    I have no idea why any lights should come on in the Sunn if it isn't plugged in and you are simply feeding the Hartke signal direct to the speaker itself. I have no idea what might happen if you fed the Sunn amp input with Hartke powere speaker output.

    If the Sunn does not have an input to its speaker that bypasses the amp, then you can't feed that speaker with a speaker out from the Hartke. You'd have to try to use the Sunn as a slave amp.
    ___________________________________
    Steinberger NXT5 EUB, MTD 535 Fretless, Tobias Killer B6, 72 Fender Precision
    Eden WT500, WTX1000N & WP100, QSC PL230
    Eden D410XLT, D410XST, 215, Fender Bassman 10

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Waialua, Hawaii
    Posts
    57

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    Right on. Thanks T! I wired an output jack on the Sunn combo myself so I could use it as an extension cabinet. I have used it that way in the past with a Beringer BX3000t amp head and it works just fine in that capacity. I left everything else connected so that might be why the overload and clipping lights come on. To reiterate, I use the Sunn (with a 4 ohm Peavey Scorpion speaker) as a cabinet only. I do not plug in or turn on the Sunn amp itself. Thanks again for the information.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    Alberta, Canada
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    Good,
    If you plug in the Sunn speaker (4 ohm) you can't add any more speakers to the Hartke, as it is already then seeing a 4 ohm load.

    Still puzzled as to where the electrical current comes from to light up the Sunn lights. Simply powering the speaker should not result in any power going back to the amp.

    The only way to add more cabs to the rig would be to run the Sunn as a slave amp and then you still have the 4 ohm capacity of the Hartke for more cabs (like 2, 8 ohm cabs!!! which would be noticeably louder than a single cab).

    Also don't know why you are not getting good volume out of a 500 watt rig, unless you were running too many speakers and were running too low an impedance for the amp.

    Not all speakers produce the same level of "loud" from the same power. Do you have any idea what the sensitivity of the speakers you are using?

    Sensitivity is generally measured as xx dB for 1 watt at 1 metre distance, which is a measure of the volume the speaker would create with 1 watt of power, measured at 1 metre distance. I am aware of cabs that range from sensitivity ratings from the low 90 dBs (or even lower) to well over 105 dB. My two Eden cabs are rated at 104 and 106 dB, so at the same power level, they are about twice as loud as a 90 dB cab.

    For comparison, the sensitivity ratings for Hartke Hybrid and XL cabs with the aluminium drivers run from 96 dB to a high of 99 dB. From what I can see, Peavey Scorpion, 4 ohm speakers run from 99 dB for the 10" drivers, to 100 dB for their 12" and 15" units.
    ___________________________________
    Steinberger NXT5 EUB, MTD 535 Fretless, Tobias Killer B6, 72 Fender Precision
    Eden WT500, WTX1000N & WP100, QSC PL230
    Eden D410XLT, D410XST, 215, Fender Bassman 10

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Waialua, Hawaii
    Posts
    57

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    I have been messing around with it at home and it sounds much better. The only thing I changed was the speaker cable. My gut feeling is that the speaker and cab and wiring (even though it is a single 4 ohm 1X15 speaker) is not compatible with this amp. A friend is bringing over a couple of 4X10 cabs to try out.

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