About Impedance and Power Handling

About Impedance

Before you hook up your speaker cabinet, be sure that you understand a little about impedance. Impedance is the electronic load that the speaker puts on the power amplifier and is measured in Ohms. Too much of a load (indicated by lower impedance number) can damage your amplifier, while too small a load (indicated by lower impedance number) will not draw enough power from your amplifier.

Here is the tricky, yet simple rule of impedance: When two speakers are wired in "Parallel", the total system impedance is cut in half and when two speakers are wired in “Series”, the total impedance is the sum of the speakers individual impedance.

The HX410 and HX115 impedance (many audio guys use the made up word “ohmage”, however the correct term is impedance) is 8 Ohms. So, when two HX410's or HX115’s are connected together in parallel, the total impedance is 4 Ohms. The impedance of your speaker has an effect on your amplifier. In general, the lower the impedance, the more power your amplifier will put out.

About Power Handling

There is a lot of heated discussion around power handling. Is it better to over power a cabinet, or is dangerous to under power a speaker? While it is certain that the debate will continue far into the future, the fact is that both are true. If you are using an amplifier with a lot of power, you can damage your speaker by running the amp to the maximum and pushing the speaker beyond it physical limits When using too little power, there a tendency to push the amplifier into overload, which will generate enough distortion to burn the voice coil. The most important point to consider is how the power is used in order to ensure the speaker is presented with a clean signal. Be sure that you amplifier is producing a good clean signal. If your amp has a on-board compressor or limiter, we recommend you use it to protect the speaker. If the sound is getting distorted you’re probably starting to damage the speaker.

The good news is that Hartke Hydrive cabinets are really efficient and they run well with amplifiers that have lower power. Plus, each model carries an extremely high power handling rating, making them ideal with more powerful heads. The Hydrive cabinets will work well with the Hartke HA3500, HA5500, LH 500 and LH1000, and of course the Hartke Kilo. Again, remember, be nice to your speaker and keep the signal clean.

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