Adding Speakon parallel to cab

[ampnation]

My favorite little MTX frankencabs will soon be acquiring upgraded subs and crossovers, hopefully with HF limiters and when I do this I would like to modify the back panel so I have both 1/4" and Speakon in parallel. Currently they only have 1/4" input so they can't be run in parallel. Where would I find diagrams for such. Photos or video would be helpful too but schematic at least. Also, I would prefer to swap out the existing back panel instead of retrofitting onto it, but if it is a lot less expensive to add jacks individually, that works for me.

[madmallard]

well, it'd be no different than wiring 2 TRS parallel.

You just get a Speakon that only has 2 leads in it.


Unless you mean have a Speakon with 4 leads in it in parallel?

[Paul O]

Remove the 1/4 jacks completely and install speakons in their place, 1/4 jacks were never designed for high power applications and have no business on a speaker.

[ampnation]

My favorite little MTX frankencabs will soon be acquiring upgraded subs and crossovers...

errr, woofers -- not subs, woofers. hehe
Thanks guys. I read an article online that explained it pretty well and understand what Paul is saying. I knew Speakon was better but since they came with just the single 1/4" (and I forgot to say earlier, binding posts) I've been using that. I'll be buying Speakon connectors to replace 1/4" where I can. Looks like I'll need to get out a jigsaw to modify the opening in the cab to perform the replacement.

[Paul O]

If the connector panel is large enough to mount two speakon connectors like these..
http://www.parts-express.com/images/item_standard/092-053_s.jpg
Get a 15/16 drill bit or a Greenlee SlugBuster to make holes for them.

http://images1.toolup.com/imdir/product/greenlee/large/77u-1.jpg

[ampnation]

Naw, the panel isn't big enough for that. I'll just add a dual Speakon jack plate and leave the current 1/4" and binding posts for fallbacks.

[Paul O]

Why not just remove the existing plate completely and install another with speakons in it's place, something like this will look cleaner if you have to enlarge the hole to make it fit.

http://www.parts-express.com/images/item_standard/260-110_s.jpg

[ampnation]

I might do that Paul. One more thing... if I decided to set it up for optional bi-amping in case I want to try that in the future, would that add a lot to the complexity or cost?

[mikes vintage service]

install a four pole speakon connector and only use two terminals in it to hook up full range at this time.
my idea of bi amping is having dedicated high and low amps with active crossovers before the amps and to by pass the crossover in the speakers cabinet. it would be necessary to connect the high speaker and the low drive directly to the speakon connector to achieve bi amping in this manner.
bi amping and leaving the passive crossover in the curcut seems counter productive to me.

[ampnation]

install a four pole speakon connector and only use two terminals in it to hook up full range at this time.
my idea of bi amping is having dedicated high and low amps with active crossovers before the amps and to by pass the crossover in the speakers cabinet. it would be necessary to connect the high speaker and the low drive directly to the speakon connector to achieve bi amping in this manner.
bi amping and leaving the passive crossover in the curcut seems counter productive to me.

The only reason to leave the passive crossover would be as a failsafe. If the active crossover failed I could switch to the internal passive crossover. And yes, bi-amping would involve a signal chain of mixer main out -> crossover(s) -> splitter(s) -> amps -> speakers. I like the idea of a single speaker cable carrying the signal for both. With 12 ga. and 4 conductors, that's gonna be a beastie cable.