Vox AC15HW1 Ohm / "Internal" Speaker Load Question

[GreenTea]

Good morning! Can any of you worthy elves share if the 16 ohm internal stock speaker in the Vox AC15HW1 can be swapped for an 8 ohm speaker and configured by the physical ohm switch on the back of the amp to equal the new 8 ohm speaker I'd like to install?

I see the 8/16 ohm physical switch on the back of the amp and am wondering if this switch also affects the internal hardwired speaker.

For example, I already have an 8 ohm alnico ASW (Austin Speaker Works) “Absolute” speaker. I’d really like to rip the stock 16 ohm greenie out and replace it with the 8 ohm ASW.

Knowing that I “could” swap and install the 8 ohm ASW speaker for the stock 16 ohm greenback, my specific question is this: does the 8/16 ohm switch on the back of the amp also affect the amp’s internal speaker or does it just control the external speaker load?

To say it another way, if I set the amp’s physical ohm setting switch to 8 ohms, will that be healthier for the amp in general or does the amp’s ohm switch solely affect the external speaker outputs and the amp’s internal ohm setting would remain configured for 16 ohms for the internal speaker despite the switch setting?

I could just get a 16 ohm blue, but trying to avoid unnecessary costs if possible.

Cheerfully signed, Blixem (a friend of Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen)

 

[misa]

The 8/16 ohm switch on the amp changes the transformer winding used on all the speaker jacks. So yes, changing the switch to 8 ohm will change what the speaker connected to the internal speaker jack sees from 16 to 8 ohm.

 

[WhoJamFan]

Please post your findings with that speaker, curious how that's gonna sound in comparison to a Blue as I've got the same amp in the head version.

 

[Trebor Renkluaf]

I have an ASW retoned Alnico Blue in my AC15H1TV and LOVE IT!

 

[Kostas]

The switch affects only connections with external cabinets so you can run a cab together (in parallel) with the internal speaker or run the amp only with an external cab without the internal speaker. See page 7 of the manual.

If you want to put an 8ohm speaker, set the switch at 8ohm and run a cable from the speaker to the output named "external". This output disconnects the internal speaker so the amp will see the speaker as an extension cab.

 

[GreenTea]

Wow a goldmine of information! Thank each of you for the extremely helpful & positive contributions. Rock steady.

 

[mlj_gear]

The switch affects only connections with external cabinets so you can run a cab together (in parallel) with the internal speaker or run the amp only with an external cab without the internal speaker. See page 7 of the manual.

If you want to put an 8ohm speaker, set the switch at 8ohm and run a cable from the speaker to the output named "external". This output disconnects the internal speaker so the amp will see the speaker as an extension cab.

Based on the manual, it sure looks like the OP could just hook the 8-ohm speaker up to the internal speaker wires and set the impedance switch to 8-ohms. It's not the case that the switch only affects connections with external cabinets. It should be set to the total load (which would be 8 ohms if the internal speaker was 8-ohms and no external cabs were attached).

Just keep in mind that you probably don't want to use the EXTENSION SP jack if you have an 8-ohm speaker mounted internally. (You'd probably be fine running an 8-ohm speaker internally and an 8-ohm speaker off of the EXTENSION SP jack for a total load of 4-ohms with the switch on the 8-ohm setting, but it's not guaranteed, and the amp won't provide its full output that way.)

 

[MissoulaGriz]

This is the way I interpret the manual as well. I think this is the safest say to go.

Based on the manual, it sure looks like the OP could just hook the 8-ohm speaker up to the internal speaker wires and set the impedance switch to 8-ohms. It's not the case that the switch only affects connections with external cabinets. It should be set to the total load (which would be 8 ohms if the internal speaker was 8-ohms and no external cabs were attached).

Just keep in mind that you probably don't want to use the EXTENSION SP jack if you have an 8-ohm speaker mounted internally. (You'd probably be fine running an 8-ohm speaker internally and an 8-ohm speaker off of the EXTENSION SP jack for a total load of 4-ohms with the switch on the 8-ohm setting, but it's not guaranteed, and the amp won't provide its full output that way.)

 

[Ilduce]

The way I see it is like this. Does the internal speaker cut off when a external cab is hooked up? If it does shut off the internal speaker, put the 8 ohm speaker in the combo and run it off the external speaker output with the ohms switch set to 8 ohms. If the internal speaker stays on when you hook up a external cab the put the 8 ohm speaker in the combo and run it off the internal speaker connection and set the switch to 8 ohms. Hope this makes sense!

 

[GreenTea]

Makes complete sense. Thanks a million for taking the time to break this down. Very useful!!

 

[misa]

The switch affects only connections with external cabinets so you can run a cab together (in parallel) with the internal speaker or run the amp only with an external cab without the internal speaker. See page 7 of the manual.

If you want to put an 8ohm speaker, set the switch at 8ohm and run a cable from the speaker to the output named "external". This output disconnects the internal speaker so the amp will see the speaker as an extension cab.

FYI - this is wrong

 

[mlj_gear]

The way I see it is like this. Does the internal speaker cut off when a external cab is hooked up? If it does shut off the internal speaker, put the 8 ohm speaker in the combo and run it off the external speaker output with the ohms switch set to 8 ohms. If the internal speaker stays on when you hook up a external cab the put the 8 ohm speaker in the combo and run it off the internal speaker connection and set the switch to 8 ohms. Hope this makes sense!

This amp has two external speaker jacks, one which is in parallel with the internal speaker wires, and one which bypasses the internal speaker wires when something is plugged into it. One could disconnect the internal speaker wires and connect the newly-mounted 8-ohm speaker to either external jack, but there's really no reason whatsoever to do so when you can use the internal wires (unless you're just dying to use a 1/4" to quick-connect speaker cable that you just happen to have laying around).

 

[Ilduce]

This amp has two external speaker jacks, one which is in parallel with the internal speaker wires, and one which bypasses the internal speaker wires when something is plugged into it. One could disconnect the internal speaker wires and connect the newly-mounted 8-ohm speaker to either external jack, but there's really no reason whatsoever to do so when you can use the internal wires (unless you're just dying to use a 1/4" to quick-connect speaker cable that you just happen to have laying around).

That's interesting, different from most amps. I can definitely see how it can be confusing on how to figure out how to set the ohms. I guess that it's nice to be able to run a external cab either by itself or with the internal speaker.

 

[Kostas]

I have a spare 8ohm speaker too so it's cool if I'm wrong. You can read the manual here (pages 7-8) and see what you get from it. Notice the AC15 & AC30 outputs work in a different way.
http://www.voxamps.com/uploads/SupportPage_Downloads/AC15_30HW_V212HWX_OM_EFGS2.pdf
Or email Vox directly.