1x12 vs 2x8 and Perceived volume

Astral Traveler

Astral Traveler

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I'm very tempted to get a second cabinet for my little Vox MV50. I have one already, it's very cute, a little 1x8 that fits on the desk and can take 25 watts, which is what the amp is capable of putting out at 8 ohms. The thing is that it has an extra jack on the back, so it's made for connecting in parallel to another one. I'd then get 2x8 and the full 50 watts at 4 ohms. The other option is running it into my 1x12 with a celestion gold but that only gives me 25 watts, although through a larger speaker moving more air.

What do you think, volume wise, 50 watts through 2x8 or 25 watts through 1x12. Which would be louder? The 1x8 is more than enough for home use and it sounds surprisingly good but I'm thinking for future band use. Another 1x8 would cost me $80 new.
 
I played through a 4x8 cab one time. It was incredible how much air it moved. Are you looking for louder or just different. It's easy enough to try the 1x12 and see what it sounds like.
 
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What sensitivity specs for each?
3 dB more sensitivity is like having twice as much power.
If the Celestion 1x12 has 3 dB more sensitivity than the 8 then it technically outputs as if it had twice the power.
Looks like a 12" Celestion Gold has 100 dB sensitivity which is pretty high. The vox 1x8 looks like it has a no name cheap 8 incher so my guess would be it was no where near that sensitive. Plus just more oomph with the 12.
 
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Kerry Brown said:
I played through a 4x8 cab one time. It was incredible how much air it moved. Are you looking for louder or just different. It's easy enough to try the 1x12 and see what it sounds like.
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Neither really, I was hoping the 2x8's would be loud enough for a small gig. They are really small and sweet and easy to haul around. Two separate cabinets also offer some options on how to direct them.

Jethro Rocker said:
What sensitivity specs for each?
3 dB more sensitivity is like having twice as much power.
If the Celestion 1x12 has 3 dB more sensitivity than the 8 then it technically outputs as if it had twice the power.
Looks like a 12" Celestion Gold has 100 dB sensitivity which is pretty high. The vox 1x8 looks like it has a no name cheap 8 incher so my guess would be it was no where near that sensitive. Plus just more oomph with the 12.
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I have no idea about the sensitivity of the little no-name speakers, the Celestion is about as efficient as they get. Both the 1x8 and the Celestion sound good but the 1x12 is of course much louder. It's hard to tell what 2x8 would sound like and I guess room projection will make a difference too.

Another celestion gold to make a 2x12 would be loud enough for sure but is both heavy and expensive.
 
Astral Traveler said:
Neither really, I was hoping the 2x8's would be loud enough for a small gig. They are really small and sweet and easy to haul around. Two separate cabinets also offer some options on how to direct them.



I have no idea about the sensitivity of the little no-name speakers, the Celestion is about as efficient as they get. Both the 1x8 and the Celestion sound good but the 1x12 is of course much louder. It's hard to tell what 2x8 would sound like and I guess room projection will make a difference too.

Another celestion gold to make a 2x12 would be loud enough for sure but is both heavy and expensive.
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Maybe try testing each. A second 1x8 should add 3 dB to the mix. So if 1x12 is more than 3dB louder at like 3 to 5 feet, stay with the 12.
 
Astral Traveler said:
I'm very tempted to get a second cabinet for my little Vox MV50. I have one already, it's very cute, a little 1x8 that fits on the desk and can take 25 watts, which is what the amp is capable of putting out at 8 ohms. The thing is that it has an extra jack on the back, so it's made for connecting in parallel to another one. I'd then get 2x8 and the full 50 watts at 4 ohms. The other option is running it into my 1x12 with a celestion gold but that only gives me 25 watts, although through a larger speaker moving more air.

What do you think, volume wise, 50 watts through 2x8 or 25 watts through 1x12. Which would be louder? The 1x8 is more than enough for home use and it sounds surprisingly good but I'm thinking for future band use. Another 1x8 would cost me $80 new.
Click to expand...

12" is going to have much better mid range and bass. Especially if it is a proper ported cabinet.
Speaker efficiency loudness varies quite a lot depending on which speaker....
A 12" EVM is one of the most efficient, with 102 Db on a one watt input.
And so it pays to research the specs of the speaker efficiency and cabinet to know what loudness you can expect.
 
Amp Mad Scientist said:
12" is going to have much better mid range and bass. Especially if it is a proper ported cabinet.
Speaker efficiency loudness varies quite a lot depending on which speaker....
A 12" EVM is one of the most efficient, with 102 Db on a one watt input.
And so it pays to research the specs of the speaker efficiency and cabinet to know what loudness you can expect.
Click to expand...
Not knowing the efficiency of that little 8 inch, I think @Astral Traveler has to test it. Give you a good idea.
 
2 X 8" speakers will move a larger wave front of air than a single 8" speaker, but this doesn't equate to more volume. The actual volume of a speaker is dependent on
1) the "sensitivity" which is sound pressure (in db) in respect to the power input (watts) at a given distance, usually expressed as ??db/1 watt/1 meter.
2) the "efficiency" which is the ratio of; energy dispersed by the cone (in all directions), to the power applied.
It is commonly thought that a speaker with 3db higher sensitivity than another speaker will be twice as loud, but this only holds true if both speakers have the same "efficiency". Cheers
 
The 1x12 is definitely louder than the 1x8, no surprise there. If I connect both cabs in parallell to utilize all 50 watts I pretty much only hear the 1x12. Again, no surprise. It would be nice if there were more 8" speaker options available on the market.
 
Astral Traveler said:
Yes but I thinkb3db isn't perceived as twice as loud by the human ear. You roughly have to triple the power, for us to think it's twice ad loud. Silly ears...
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Same sort of thing with output power in watts of amplifiers, where with all being equal with the speakers, it takes an increase of at least 10 times the wattage for our ears to perceive a doubling of volume. Cheers
 
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