will my 4x10 hold up to 120 watts?

[micahlives]

I have a small Peavey collection and recently had the mad idea to swap my deuce (2x12) and classic (4x10) in their respective cabinets. mainly just to see what it sounds like but for weight reduction and fun of course. but my question is will the speakers in a 50 watt amp hold up to a 120 watt amp or am I crazy?
the reason I think this might work is that they're all oem eminence speakers and might be the same across all amps, so if y'all can decipher the codes it might tell the wattage rating.
here's both amps:

the speaker from the classic:

annnd the speaker from the deuce:

it's a wild idea right now I just want to see if it might be crazy enough to work. thanks!

 

[Chud]

The codes are for speaker size (10/12), ohms (8/16), and magnet size (20oz/38oz). The 12's are 80w speakers, and I "think" the 10's are 25w speakers. The 12's would hold up no problem with the Classic, but I think you'd run the risk of blowing the 10's with the Deuce.

 

[ficelles]

What @Chud said... one option though is to rewire the 4x10 to 8 ohms (assuming it isn't already) which would throttle the Deuce to 90 watts according to the manual. Still a bit close, but safer.

Those photos really took me back to the 80s, I used Peavey gear for years.

 

[micahlives]

thank you! thats exactly what I was looking for. I don't really want to run the risk of blowing all the speakers so I'll probably just run with what I have. I'm pretty sure the classic's speakers were waterlogged at some point but it's still running strong! maybe if the stock speakers wear out I can get some higher power ones and put the deuce in.

Ficelles, I'm pretty sure the classic is already wired at 8 ohms, but how would that attenuate the deuce? also I'm glad you enjoyed the pics, the old Peavey is always fun to work with, and cheap too.

 

[NoTeleBob]

If you double the Ohm ratings on the speakers then you effectively cut the amplifier output power in half. That's assuming that the amplifier is happy running add those home ratings.

You could do the swap as a test to see if you like the sound. Just run a cable from one to the other. But I wouldn't take the volume up very high on the overpowered one and I wouldn't consider it for anything but a test.

 

[ficelles]

Ficelles, I'm pretty sure the classic is already wired at 8 ohms, but how would that attenuate the deuce? also I'm glad you enjoyed the pics, the old Peavey is always fun to work with, and cheap too.

I took it from the manual here https://assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/deuce.pdf but that may be for a different version of the Deuce...

 

[Chud]

thank you! thats exactly what I was looking for. I don't really want to run the risk of blowing all the speakers so I'll probably just run with what I have. I'm pretty sure the classic's speakers were waterlogged at some point but it's still running strong! maybe if the stock speakers wear out I can get some higher power ones and put the deuce in.

Ficelles, I'm pretty sure the classic is already wired at 8 ohms, but how would that attenuate the deuce? also I'm glad you enjoyed the pics, the old Peavey is always fun to work with, and cheap too.

I took it from the manual here https://assets.peavey.com/literature/manuals/deuce.pdf but that may be for a different version of the Deuce...

Yep, two 8ohm speakers are either 16 or 4 ohms total depending on whether series or parallel, and I'm pretty sure the stock wiring is parallel @4 ohms for both amps.

 

[micahlives]

If you double the Ohm ratings on the speakers then you effectively cut the amplifier output power in half. That's assuming that the amplifier is happy running add those home ratings.

You could do the swap as a test to see if you like the sound. Just run a cable from one to the other. But I wouldn't take the volume up very high on the overpowered one and I wouldn't consider it for anything but a test.

I did not know that about the ohms but that's a good idea. I still don't want to risk blowing it up, but I may try a tone test to see if it would be worth it.

 

[micahlives]

Yep, two 8ohm speakers are either 16 or 4 ohms total depending on whether series or parallel, and I'm pretty sure the stock wiring is parallel @4 ohms for both amps.

both amps have an 8 ohm out as their main out, so how would it be wired then and how would that affect wattage load?

 

[ficelles]

both amps have an 8 ohm out as their main out, so how would it be wired then and how would that affect wattage load?

If that's the Deuce, it means it's running at 8 ohms / 90 watts into the combo's speakers but you can add an external 8 ohm cab in parallel giving a total load of 4 ohms so getting the full 120 watts.

[Edit] I just realised that's the Classic, the 50 watts gives it away Deuce output is 120 watts into 4 or 2 ohms so it's full 120 into the combo speakers, or into the combo speakers plus an external 4 ohm cab. But only 90 into 8 ohms.

 

[schmee]

Those 10's are pretty 'loose' speakers to start with IIRC. You can certainly play that with moderate volume, but really using 100 watts at volume could easily blow a speaker.

 

[Chud]

From the Peavey Forum where the 8ohm main jack into the 4ohm wired speakers on the Classic/Deuce/Mace is discussed. Apparently a deliberate mismatch choice by Peavey in what is typically considered "the wrong direction" because it made the amps sound better.

 

[micahlives]

From the Peavey Forum where the 8ohm main jack into the 4ohm wired speakers on the Classic/Deuce/Mace is discussed. Apparently a deliberate mismatch choice by Peavey in what is typically considered "the wrong direction" because it made the amps sound better.

View attachment 1063391 View attachment 1063392

now that is really interesting. Hartley Peavey does so much weird stuff but I appreciate it. I definitely like how it sounds.

I think my final conclusion is to not do the switch but thank you all for the great information

 

[Wally]

Mismatching to the low side….4 ohm load on an 8 ohm OT….puts the stress on the primary side of the OT…mostly on the power tubes. It is safer this way than to mismatch to the high side in a tube output amp.
The interesting question is what happens if one runs another 4 ohm load in the extension speaker output Jack for a total load of 2 ohms…which might be very much unsafe???

 

[ficelles]

Mismatching to the low side….4 ohm load on an 8 ohm OT….puts the stress on the primary side of the OT…mostly on the power tubes. It is safer this way than to mismatch to the high side in a tube output amp.
The interesting question is what happens if one runs another 4 ohm load in the extension speaker output Jack for a total load of 2 ohms…which might be very much unsafe???

The Peavey Deuce is good down to 2 ohms according to the manual, the Classic only down to 4.

 

[W.L.Weller]

The codes are for speaker size (10/12), ohms (8/16), and magnet size (20oz/38oz).

FWIW, this is a 10" speaker but it's not 2 or 22 ohms. Maybe a 22oz magnet and the 6 means 16 ohms?

 

[Chud]

I View attachment 1068835

FWIW, this is a 10" speaker but it's not 2 or 22 ohms. Maybe a 22oz magnet and the 6 means 16 ohms?

That’s likely a speaker made by Eminence for an amp manufacturer to their OEM specs vs Peavey’s use of an existing Eminence speaker, thus the difference in codes. In this case the 226 is probably the model number assigned to that speaker and amp mfr, and doesn’t help in deciphering anything about the speaker unfortunately. A lot of people have had success emailing Tony Lucas at Eminence. He may be able to at least give you basic characteristics of it.

 

[Wally]

lot of people have had success emailing Tony Lucas at Eminence. He may be able to at least give you basic characteristics of it.

Anthony Lucas no longer works for Eminence, but I am sure they have someone who has filled that position. eminence will not disclose numbers and specifics for OEM speakers. They will point to a current production speaker that has similar sonics and efficiency rating.

 

[W.L.Weller]

Eminence replied to my email (in 9 minutes!), but their specifications database only goes back to 1989. Still blown away by the promptness of the response.