Speaker switch inside 2x10?

[teleguy#infinite]

First time poster and all that, I'm planning a 2x10 Princeton Reverb build and settled on a rajun Cajun plus a lil buddy, I figured they'd sound great together but I was wondering if it's possible to install a switch the the back of the cab to switch between both being on, or one or the other. If I did 16 ohm speakers, the amp would see an 8 ohm load with both connected and 16 ohm with just one. The amps got a 8 ohm output, would there be any risk of blowing the amp or speaker? Is this a dumb idea?

 

[MoBigBro]

Not a dumb idea at all. And, BTW, Welcome to TGP:
Since you are contemplating building this amp, and still planning, you can choose an Output Transformer with taps for both 8ohm and 16ohm output (or for 16ohm, 8ohm and 4ohm). More on this below.

I think the Ragin' Cajun - Lil' Buddy mix will be great, but I have not personally tried it. I like the RC well enough to have 3 of them and I have mixed them with the Copperhead, Ramrod, Red Fang Ceramic, G10 Greenback and Jensen C10R, but not the Lil' Buddy.

I am currently running a VHT 12/20 Head amp (Which has similarities to the Princeton Circuit) through a 2X10 cab with a Ragin' Cajun and a Red Fang Ceramic. I really think the RC- Lil' Buddy mix would be good with the Princeton circuit. A Princeton can be bright and the hemp cone, Lil' Buddy might be a perfect compliment to the Ragin Cajun in that case.

Here's a consideration: Right now in the Eminence stock catalog, the RC is available in 16ohm & 8ohm, but the Lil' Buddy is only listed stock in 8ohm. It used to be a $10 up-charge with Eminence Custom Shop to get a 16ohm version of an 8ohm speaker. I don't know if Eminence does that anymore. It's worth checking with them.

You might consider building your amp with a 16ohm-8ohm-4ohm OT to allow you to use 2) 8ohm speakers OR 2) 16ohm speakers at some point in the future. It's also possible that you might choose an OT supplier that will give you the confidence to run an 8ohm OT with a 16ohm speaker load without fear of blowing the OT.
I'm kind of obsessive about matching Amp Impedance with Speaker Resistance, but there are many very smart TGP posters that run a mis-match like this regularly.

Cheers,

MoBigBro

 

[gldtp99]

Hammond 1760E

BF Princeton Reverb OT with 4/8/16 ohm output taps:

https://www.tubesandmore.com/sites/default/files/associated_files/p-t1760e.pdf

 

[Madrok]

…wondering if it's possible to install a switch the the back of the cab to switch between both being on, or one or the other. If I did 16 ohm speakers, the amp would see an 8 ohm load with both connected and 16 ohm with just one.

Yes, there‘s a 3-way switch you could install…not quite sure which one. However, it’s a PITA, probably messy, and it wouldn’t switch between amp outputs anyway, only the speakers.

If this is just for experimentation, why not spend some time listening to each speaker separately, and together, by keeping the back removed enough to reach the speaker terminals, use terminal clips, and just disconnect one or another speaker, shorting/jumping the series connection, for a listen. Be careful with the wires and it’ll be fine. Keep the amp on the 8 ohm setting and don’t turn it up all the way. You can also just stick a pillow in front of one of the speakers, but it’s not quite the same.

 

[teleguy#infinite]

Thank you, all of you, I'm definitely gonna try that Hammond OT, I spent all this time thinking of switches when I realized it would prolly just be easier to wire the speakers to their own output jack and connect them to the amp with speaker cables, then just connect each one or both as needed.

 

[esowden]

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