.............8..............16.......... Rythm: 1:50 -------- 4:27 + lead: 2:00 -------- 4:38 Single: 2:21 -------- 4:58 Quad : 2:28 -------- 5:04 Solo :: 2:53 --------- 5:30 There... Give it a lot of likes so this will get on top! Hope this helps people :)
:D Great comparison btw! Really helped me a lot to deceide which speakers to get! I think i'll get the 8ohm version becouse it is less harsh sounding but still holds an impressive amount of gain!
8 ohm mix rhythm: 3:23 16 ohm mix rhythm: 6:01 8 ohm mix with lead: 3:35 16 ohm mix with lead: 6:13 There are things you can do to mitigate the differences... Kinda... Like.. Amp eq, post eq, and you can also try running the ohms switch a spot below or above whatever the cab is rated at (typically on a 16 ohm cab, you can only run a spot below, since I've never seen a guitar amp with a 32 ohms setting 😂. Changing the ohms will mess a bit with power efficiency of the amp, making it slightly louder or quieter, but it can narrow the differences between the speakers in terms of "scooped-Ness." Here is an article from Hughes & Kettner describing how it works: blog.hughes-and-kettner.com/ohm-cooking-101-understanding-amps-speakers-and-impedance/
Actually short term memory considered it would have been more helpful to shoot each part of the video to pair the comparisons .... 16 ohm rhythm vs 8 ohm rhythm, 16 ohm solo vs 8 ohm solo etc... it gives more of a real time comparison in more of a real time feel.... Thanks for taking the time to do the video though...
Ya but its hard to hit the right time for each part to compare. Why would you do it this way. Was it any easier for you? After all the work to do all this and it be a waist of time seems alittle dumb.
Hard to compare them when you play them so far apart, the ideal testing would have been few seconds on 8 hms, and few seconds on 16 hms and can appreciate the tone differences better, in my opinion.
I read an interview with a Celestion engineer, and he said that they go great lengths in trying to make the 8ohm versions sound exactly like the 16ohm. From his choice of words it seemed they consider the 16ohm as target. I imported the sound of this video in audacity. The following operations were needed to make the 8ohm sound very close to the 16ohm: - attenuation of 2.5dB - shelving boost that starts at 3kHz, and reaches full 6dB amplification at 4kHz. There is still some honking left in the midrange around 1kHz, that makes the 8ohm slightly mid heavy. Really interesting comparison video, I wish there was more for greenbacks etc.
I liked the 8ohm instrumentally but in the mix with the vocals it somewhat becomes mush as it seems everything is trying to occupy the same space. The 16ohms shined when his vocals were in the mix. Vocal Mix - 8 ohms at 03:36 & 16 ohms at 06:14
The impedance has a different influence if you are using a tube or solid state amplifier - and if the speaker manufacturer hasn't compensated for the higher damping (lower qt factor) of the 16 ohm speaker. With a solid state amp the lower impedance will cause a fuller bottom end but the bass will loose precision (higher qt factor = less damping). On a tube amp it pretty much depends on the output transformer design/dimensions/quality which varies significantly from amp to amp. From the reliability perspective tube amp transformers might be happier with a lower impedance (e.g. 8 ohm, so far supported) where solid state amps are operating with less stress on a higher impedance (e.g. 16 ohm). If two speakers are operated in series the inductance of the voice coils gets added where in a parallel operation the inductance gets lower. The inductance of the voice coil(s) represents a low-pass filter which influences the upper mid and high frequency transmission.
But my quick analysis would be: The 8 ohm sound a bit darker, a little more loose and having more lows/low mids.Which is good would be good for a primarily rhythm guitar player, or stoner rock, sludge, doom, etc etc The 16 ohm is a bit brighter, tighter and having more highs/high mids. Which is good for more of a lead player, which could turn his tone/volume knobs down to 7 or so for rhythm to try and match the tone of the 8 ohms and then when he wanted to boost his volume/tone, turn them to 10. Genre wise they'd be better for death metal, thrash, djent, etc etc.
It would help a lot if you posted timestamps in the description so the listener had the ability to directly switch over from 8 ohm (type of tracking) to 16 ohm (same type of tracking) or pair the clips so that the 16 ohm comes directly after the 8 ohm. Otherwise our ears will not remember the sound of the 8 when listening to the 16.
+kor Nea I had another look, I updated the description with timestamps......3 months ago. You're agreeing with someone without actually going and looking for yourself
Wow, I didn't expect that much of a difference! Personally I don't find the v30 sound the most pleasing for me, but this was still very helpful as I preferred the 8 ohm speaker. So thank you! And I also think that it would be easier to compare if the parts were paired, but with time stamps it isn't a problem. Great videos, keep it up!
@@adamsteelproducer I would like to hear the same with UK v30s (not the brand specific marshall nor mesa branded ones) the V30 that were UK before they were made in China. Because i've never noticed this much difference on the UK v30s i've had, but I might be mistaken.
I liked the idea of the video, but long sound clips are not comparable to most of us. More than about 5 seconds between clips and ear memory fades. An 'A/B rocking back and forth would be far superior in my opinion. But thank you for the work you put in
"We find out by comparing a Celestion Vintage 30 8 ohm against a 16 ohm version (with the amp set to match)" So the 8 ohm speaker is connected to the 8 ohm tap and the 16 ohm speaker is connected to the 16 ohm tap, correct?
The natural compression from 8ohms makes everything sound more even across the spectrum, however, I expected the solo to sound bigger, however it did so but uneven. All that said, 16ohms might sound better live than recorded, factoring in natural air compression and microphone diagram resistance evening out the frequency spectrum. If I where to play solo and live, un amplifier, I’d choose 8ohms. When recording to keep the peaks of that rich midrange energy, I’d 16ohm and use other tools (mic, compressor, preamp transformers) to retain “the meat” and keep it sharp. Amazing.
Its common sense to slice the samples next to each other. How would anyone know what the first sample sounded like 5 minutes later. Use your head. I find it strange you did all this work and yet even the guy making the video didn't listen side by side and if he did then he just said the hell with everyone else and posted it like this. What a waist of time!
I find this test weird. You are using 2 different outputs on the amp. It would make more sense to compare 2x4ohm in series (=8ohm), or 2x16ohm parallel (=8ohm), in the exact same cabinet, out the exact same amp output, with all dial settings glued in place
Except that series and parallel wiring impart their own tonal differences, I’ve made a separate video about that. It’s practically impossible to isolate one thing, we tried our best here. If you can do better, as always, I invite you to make your own video.
Dang dude, as a huge V30 hater the 8ohm one sounds nice, thick and dark. The 16ohm one has that typical high midrange and treble spike, that granted, chomps through a band mix like nothing else, but it's just so ice picky and irritating.
I put sound damping material in my slant cab Marshall 4x12 to kill off standing waves........... it came right back out after a 2 day run......oB ( A long time ago in a place far far away)
I'm not sure how much difference is actually in these speakers... going from a 16ohm output to an 8ohm output on the same amp means you're using different amounts of the windings on the output transformer, which would impact the tone. I mean, the end result is the same, for a given amp the speakers sound different, but the reason isn't the speaker itself I don't think
You can test this tapping off the speaker signal, with something like a Neve RNDI, when using 8 and 16 ohm speakers. Then listen to the difference in amp outputs using an IR. There is indeed a tonal difference just due to amp, with the 16 ohm output in my case sounding slightly clearer and higher fidelity and the 8 ohm output sounding more like a transformer (think adding a transformer to a mic pre). Which makes sense as the 8 ohm OT tap would use double the winds on the secondary. If you done the same experiment / above demo with 2x12 cabs (2x 8 ohm speakers wired for 16 ohm vs 2x 16 ohm speakers wired for 8 ohm) the effect would be reversed.
I wonder how much the output transformer has an effect on the tone differences, too. If the windings are different between 8-ohm and 16-ohm, then they cannot sound the same. Just some food for thought.
Everyone hold on! Did this dude change the impedance setting on the amp when switching from the 8 ohm to the 16 ohm speaker? Because if he did, that would explain more than half the difference we hear in the sound from these speakers. Let me explain: If you use the 8 ohm output on a tube amp, you’re using a different amount of windings in your output transformer compared to the 16 ohm output. You can get this effect with any speaker, it’s not just the vintage 30 that this happens to.
I agree that the clips should be back to back. Maybe next time. Maybe some straight ahead rock plexi tones where you can really hear some character. Good work tho 😁
8 ohm all the way! By far the better sounding of the two. Much more of a full bodied thicker sound than the 16 ohm speakers. I'd have never guessed it. Thanks for the video!
Great, but as stated by others, you should have made a true 8/16 ohm comparison, i.e. 8 rhytm vs 16 rhytm and so on Skipping back and forth makes me annoyed and screws with the YT buffering...
Surprising results. I didn’t expect such a drastic difference. I don’t think one is better than the other. It just matters depending on context. 8 ohm would probably cut through a mix better (more midrange) but the 16 ohms might be good for a mid range heavy amp (more scooped, hifi sound). Application, pickups, amp, music style and personal preference. It’s all about context.
Leaving aside that it was meaningless for me. since I actually play clean and somewhat clean sometimes. Here's the reality of parallel hookup of speakers. Take the impedance of the two speaker time one another (16 X 16 = 256) divided by the sum (addition) of their impedance (16+16=32). So 256 /32 = 8. No problem. Easy to use the same formula for two 8 ohms. 64/16 = 8. But how about one 16 and one 8? Should be in between the two, right? Wrong. 16 X 8= 128 divided by 16 + 8 (24) = 5.33. It's not a theory. It's reality
Yea basically you'd have to decide on a nominal impedance first then measure, lets say nominal is 8ohms, so compare one 8ohm by itself vs one 16ohm in parallel with another 16ohm, ideally the enclosure for the "mic'd" speaker shouldn't change in either arrangement, which means individual single 12" cabs, that way you can mic the same cab without having to adjust placement, and swap speakers freely, but add the second cab in parallel when recording the 16ohm speaker, that is if the amp has a second speaker output to my ears the example above sounds more like impedance mismatch, thin lows and undefined highs with 16ohm speaker..
Hey Adam, can you do this with your other speaker ? Like the g12h anniversary ? Your the only one making this kind of great and clean comparison videos. Thx
Damn I didn't expect such a difference! I wonder how 4 ohm will sound then! My cab can be wired to 16 or 4 ohm, I'll try to record it to hear the differences
I have to go along with the other comments, I appreciate your attempt, but I couldn't tell the difference with out put them side by side as you played.
Damn there's a lot I like about both ehh but for 2 x 12 all can afford be 16 they even make 4? Ever since I had tone tubby speakers pop-up and advertisement ,so been research last month all kinds of speakers and keep seeing these thinking I'm going to grab these and have my friend old soul cabinets build it I was curious about that purple haze but for that price it's ridiculous and the low-wattage I do want something with hemp cone also though.. Great video, thanks
Wow, they sound like completely different speakers. I have literally heard comparison videos of speakers of different manufacturers sound more similar than these two speakers. Weird. If I didn't know any better I'd say one was recorded from a 4x12 cab and the other was recorded in a 1x12 cab.
Stinks that we don't often have a choice of 8 or 16 ohm. If my cab comes with two 16 ohm speakers and I just want to try to blend a different speaker, I have to buy a 16 ohm. Unless, I want to buy two new speakers and replace both. That's a pain.
@@adamsteelproducer Has the amp impedance been changed to match cab/speaker impedance, then? ...I am using your video(s) to currently choose a speaker. Much appreciated for all you do and your response!
Yes the amp impedance was changed to match. In the much larger Celestion video that was made later, we revisited this and used a solid state amp as well to prove the speaker itself is the tonal change
+Pradigy Musicman not sure any of that is true, especially the last part. There's more high end in this particular speaker because of more winds on the voice coil, but there's a lot more going on
I think your right for the most part a higher Ohm is a cleaner sound i dont think it would have effect of the low-end other than 8Ohm sounding muddy not as clean as 16Ohm
do not underestimate the different wirings. series = fat sound, takes distorition well, less highs, more low end (more marshall)... parallel = each speaker plays more on its own, more scooped, harsher distortion, the highs remain (more fender)... here is another demo: ua-cam.com/video/mtwtfbETlCU/v-deo.html
+aron hallam interesting! I've done 32ohms by accident before, but never sounded how I wanted. They're wired with more copper on the voice coil at higher impedance apparently
What are the ohms of the vintage 30 speakers in the overaized MESA rectifier cab? The speaker cab itself is 8 ohms and considered 1 of the best sounding for metal.
the 8 was abit more boxy sounding but also had more bass, definately different! the 16 was abit more focused in the low mids but also abit fizzier, but I think I liked the 8! was the amp settings and cab the same?
+James Cassidy everything was identical, except the amp was switched from 8 to 16 to match the speaker so nothing blew up. This uses a different tap on the output transformer
Are the speakers in this comparison all from about the same production date? I have 3x 8 Ohm Vinatge 30 speakers from 2005, 2013 and 2017. They all sound very different.
+Tom Snellings it's the speaker. Celestion have said the voice coil is wound with more winds on the 16 ohm speaker, making it brighter by design. Changing load should in theory have negligible impact
Hop Pole Studios what if I add a switch with/without a resistance to have 8 or 16 ohms artificially? Because i've decided to make my own 1*12, and i don't know if later i will have an amp requiring 16 ohms speaker ( for now i'm good, i have a micro terror ^^)
+Zantrop64 there are very few amps that need a 16 ohm speaker, it's usually 8 or 4 minimum (apart from some strange little heads or combos). You can have an artificial 8 ohm load with a resistor but it would have to be very big to handle the power from the amp without exploding!
So say i prefer the sound of the 8 ohms. Then it's best to put two 8 ohm speakers in series in my cab instead of two 16 ohm speakers in parallel in order to get that warm midrange sound?
+Yassin Joris yeah, it’s the sound of the speaker more than anything so if you had 2 8 ohm speakers either in series (with the amp set at 16) or in parallel (with the amp set at 4) that would sound more like what you prefer than any 16 ohm speakers in any setup
No guitar amps I know of run at 32 ohms, so there would be little point and it would be very difficult to do a video properly (also not many speakers are made at 32 ohms)
+Tom Scioscia I see what you mean, but it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation. I tried this with the 16 ohm in a 2x12 and got a similar result though (but you can't really compare them in this kind of shootout without people moaning!)
What if you got two 16 ohm speakers, putting one in the same 1x12 cabinet you used for this and stuck the other one off somewhere so you can isolate the sound of the original cabinet, and ran them in parallel off the 8ohm tap of the amp. I'm curious if it would sound the same as the 16ohm by itself, like the 8ohm by itself, or like neither.
+Lee Meredith 4 ohm vintage 30s don't exist. I asked Celestion about it and they said they tried it, but the speaker was so dark it wasn't good for release! 4 ohm cabinets are just 8 or 16 ohm speakers wired a different way to bring the overall impedance down
Here's the problem. Even speakers that are the same model (same ohms, hertz, and watts ) will sound drastically different. I have a cab switching amp and I bought a quad of greenbacks for my 4x12. I AB'd all of them and surprise. Not one of them sounded alike. So any differences you may be attributing to ohm rating could just be due to the manufacturing process and quality control. In scientific speak, the experiment is missing control groups and is invalid because you can't say for certain the ohm rating is causing the difference.
The test is accurate- I suspect your speakers sounded different mostly because of position in the cab and relative to the rest of the room, whereas in a 1x12 this factor is not present. I also know that the 8 and 16 ohm variants of this speaker are wound differently (the 16 has more windings on its voice coil to produce the additional impedance) so this video is to demonstrate that difference rather than be a conclusive scientific study- which would require a lot of control groups and ABX blind testing, which would be useful if I was publishing a paper, but less so for a UA-cam video.
I actually find that the 16 ohm has more fuzz artifacts... the 8 has a bit more crisp of a sound, less gravel... Higher number doesnt always mean better quality.
Thank you! I own a 22 watt tube amp with an 8 ohm celestion alnico gold. If i put a 16 ohm alnico gold into a 40 watt tube amp, would they be usable for stereo stage mic'd use? All I need is medium stage volume to match the drummer.
ok Ive got a 2x12 cabinet loaded with 2 16 ohm speakers and it's wired in series. I have an amp that say "8 ohm minimum". am I good or should i make changes?
If the cab's wired in series, that's a 32 ohm cab- that's really unusual! Technically you're good, but i'd change that around so they're in parallel as an 8 ohm setup so you get the best performance out of your amp.
Wow i could even feel the thump of the 16ohm in my chest....i want to know how they would sound with kick drum n base foooool!!! Thats what big woofers are for
What happens when you tweak the tone knobs on the amp? To me it sounds like the 8 ohm has more low end but lacks the high end, and the 16 ohm has more high end but lacks some of the low end.
If you change the tone stack, you void the results of the test. But more than that, the tone stack does a very different thing than these big tonal differences, there’s no way to get one setup to sound exactly like the other
When you put two drivers in series you are putting an inductor (the voice coil) in series with the second driver. This is what you do in a crossover to roll off the top of the second speaker. I'm curious if you have compared an 8 ohm driver to a 16 ohm driver, without the series issue. Unfortunately I've never in my life used the level of distortion you're using so it was kind of meaningless to me. Nice idea, though.
+rom661 you seem to have misunderstood the video, there's only one speaker in use at once, it's a 1x12 cabinet. I switched everything off in between, removed one speaker and installed the other and set the power amp to the appropriate transformer tap. No crossover or series issue involved!
Sorry if I missed this, but: are we talking about the impedance the amp is receiving or the impedance of the individual speakers? In other words, would two 16 Ohm speakers wired in parallel (= 8 Ohm) sound similar to the one 8 Ohm speaker but different to one 16 Ohm speaker? Thanks!
They would all sound different. The two speakers in this video are made differently- the voice coil on the 16 ohm speaker has more windings to provide the higher impedance, which results in a brighter tone as well. The amp is simply set to match the speaker load but in my experience the speaker being different makes more difference than the amp head being different
It would better to play some classic, something like Scorpions maybe, i dunno... in E tune. I bought Marshall celestion Vintage 16 Ohm and 8 Ohm for comparison, and i like 16 ohm more. Sold 8 ohm.
how does a cabs wiring and final ohms affect a speakers sound? Would 2 16 ohm speakers wired in series become even brighter than they already are compared to their 8ohm counterparts?
.............8..............16..........
Rythm: 1:50 -------- 4:27
+ lead: 2:00 -------- 4:38
Single: 2:21 -------- 4:58
Quad : 2:28 -------- 5:04
Solo :: 2:53 --------- 5:30
There...
Give it a lot of likes so this will get on top! Hope this helps people :)
+martin ouwehand hero! Thanks Martin. Gold star!
:D
Great comparison btw! Really helped me a lot to deceide which speakers to get!
I think i'll get the 8ohm version becouse it is less harsh sounding but still holds an impressive amount of gain!
+martin ouwehand :)
You didn't do the timestamps for the mix...
8 ohm mix rhythm: 3:23
16 ohm mix rhythm: 6:01
8 ohm mix with lead: 3:35
16 ohm mix with lead: 6:13
There are things you can do to mitigate the differences... Kinda...
Like.. Amp eq, post eq, and you can also try running the ohms switch a spot below or above whatever the cab is rated at (typically on a 16 ohm cab, you can only run a spot below, since I've never seen a guitar amp with a 32 ohms setting 😂.
Changing the ohms will mess a bit with power efficiency of the amp, making it slightly louder or quieter, but it can narrow the differences between the speakers in terms of "scooped-Ness."
Here is an article from Hughes & Kettner describing how it works:
blog.hughes-and-kettner.com/ohm-cooking-101-understanding-amps-speakers-and-impedance/
Actually short term memory considered it would have been more helpful to shoot each part of the video to pair the comparisons .... 16 ohm rhythm vs 8 ohm rhythm, 16 ohm solo vs 8 ohm solo etc... it gives more of a real time comparison in more of a real time feel.... Thanks for taking the time to do the video though...
+Thomas Doyle can you not skip between them?
Thomas Doyle agreed.
Ya but its hard to hit the right time for each part to compare. Why would you do it this way. Was it any easier for you? After all the work to do all this and it be a waist of time seems alittle dumb.
Agreed. A shame to put the work in and make it difficult to compare.
Agreed... Jumping from section is not approriate to compare sounds...
Companies need to pay you directly for this; Immense amount of work for such vids. Ty!
Hard to compare them when you play them so far apart, the ideal testing would have been few seconds on 8 hms, and few seconds on 16 hms and can appreciate the tone differences better, in my opinion.
with the same riff also.
Absolutely
Look for the comments with the time stamp jumps-up top-
I read an interview with a Celestion engineer, and he said that they go great lengths in trying to make the 8ohm versions sound exactly like the 16ohm.
From his choice of words it seemed they consider the 16ohm as target.
I imported the sound of this video in audacity. The following operations were needed to make the 8ohm sound very close to the 16ohm:
- attenuation of 2.5dB
- shelving boost that starts at 3kHz, and reaches full 6dB amplification at 4kHz.
There is still some honking left in the midrange around 1kHz, that makes the 8ohm slightly mid heavy.
Really interesting comparison video, I wish there was more for greenbacks etc.
I liked the 8ohm instrumentally but in the mix with the vocals it somewhat becomes mush as it seems everything is trying to occupy the same space. The 16ohms shined when his vocals were in the mix.
Vocal Mix - 8 ohms at 03:36 & 16 ohms at 06:14
The impedance has a different influence if you are using a tube or solid state amplifier - and if the speaker manufacturer hasn't compensated for the higher damping (lower qt factor) of the 16 ohm speaker. With a solid state amp the lower impedance will cause a fuller bottom end but the bass will loose precision (higher qt factor = less damping). On a tube amp it pretty much depends on the output transformer design/dimensions/quality which varies significantly from amp to amp. From the reliability perspective tube amp transformers might be happier with a lower impedance (e.g. 8 ohm, so far supported) where solid state amps are operating with less stress on a higher impedance (e.g. 16 ohm). If two speakers are operated in series the inductance of the voice coils gets added where in a parallel operation the inductance gets lower. The inductance of the voice coil(s) represents a low-pass filter which influences the upper mid and high frequency transmission.
Very interesting observation.
But my quick analysis would be:
The 8 ohm sound a bit darker, a little more loose and having more lows/low mids.Which is good would be good for a primarily rhythm guitar player, or stoner rock, sludge, doom, etc etc
The 16 ohm is a bit brighter, tighter and having more highs/high mids. Which is good for more of a lead player, which could turn his tone/volume knobs down to 7 or so for rhythm to try and match the tone of the 8 ohms and then when he wanted to boost his volume/tone, turn them to 10. Genre wise they'd be better for death metal, thrash, djent, etc etc.
Great video man! I was really surprised to hear such a difference.
It would help a lot if you posted timestamps in the description so the listener had the ability to directly switch over from 8 ohm (type of tracking) to 16 ohm (same type of tracking) or pair the clips so that the 16 ohm comes directly after the 8 ohm. Otherwise our ears will not remember the sound of the 8 when listening to the 16.
+Venus Armata noted, I'll add those
Totally agreed... At present, this test is useless...
+kor Nea you really aren't capable of just moving back and forth yourself?
Yes... by picking another vids...
+kor Nea I had another look, I updated the description with timestamps......3 months ago. You're agreeing with someone without actually going and looking for yourself
Damn that's a way bigger difference than I thought!
Ohm my god, they do sound different - personally I'm sold on the 8 ohm speaker \m/
Nice pun 👍
Wow, I didn't expect that much of a difference! Personally I don't find the v30 sound the most pleasing for me, but this was still very helpful as I preferred the 8 ohm speaker. So thank you! And I also think that it would be easier to compare if the parts were paired, but with time stamps it isn't a problem.
Great videos, keep it up!
Thanks- and I’ve had the feedback about the pairings several times now, we do it differently now but can’t go back and fix it :(
@@adamsteelproducer in the next video then.. thanks for the info though.. great vids
@@adamsteelproducer I would like to hear the same with UK v30s (not the brand specific marshall nor mesa branded ones) the V30 that were UK before they were made in China. Because i've never noticed this much difference on the UK v30s i've had, but I might be mistaken.
they do sound really different, my personal preferrence would be the 16 ohm setup. how about your´s?
I liked the idea of the video, but long sound clips are not comparable to most of us. More than about 5 seconds between clips and ear memory fades. An 'A/B rocking back and forth would be far superior in my opinion. But thank you for the work you put in
Absolutely LOVE your comparison videos. IMO the best going!
"We find out by comparing a Celestion Vintage 30 8 ohm against a 16 ohm version (with the amp set to match)"
So the 8 ohm speaker is connected to the 8 ohm tap and the 16 ohm speaker is connected to the 16 ohm tap, correct?
The natural compression from 8ohms makes everything sound more even across the spectrum, however, I expected the solo to sound bigger, however it did so but uneven. All that said, 16ohms might sound better live than recorded, factoring in natural air compression and microphone diagram resistance evening out the frequency spectrum.
If I where to play solo and live, un amplifier, I’d choose 8ohms. When recording to keep the peaks of that rich midrange energy, I’d 16ohm and use other tools (mic, compressor, preamp transformers) to retain “the meat” and keep it sharp. Amazing.
Also can make a difference if you have multiple speakers, like if you have a 2x12 16Ohm set up wired in parallel you get an 8 Ohm impedance
Its common sense to slice the samples next to each other. How would anyone know what the first sample sounded like 5 minutes later. Use your head. I find it strange you did all this work and yet even the guy making the video didn't listen side by side and if he did then he just said the hell with everyone else and posted it like this. What a waist of time!
My WAIST has gotten bigger, but hasn't gained any time....
HE ASSUMED THAT YOU WOULD BE SMART ENOUGH TO OPEN 2 TABS....YOU WOULDNT BE TRYING TO COMPARE ON A CEL PHONE WOULD YOU?LOLOLOL
People have posted a table with the time stamps, problem solved.
I think 16 sounds more crisp and sharp, 8 sounds muffled.
16 sounds better with everything but the solo, I couldn't really hear a difference.
Wow, these sound radically different.
16ohm beterr
@@englfalafel955 matter of taste. i like 8ohm more, sounds more open and less harsh.
@@viktorpetrenko5361 sounds like 8 is vintage and 16 is modern
I find this test weird.
You are using 2 different outputs on the amp.
It would make more sense to compare 2x4ohm in series (=8ohm), or 2x16ohm parallel (=8ohm), in the exact same cabinet, out the exact same amp output, with all dial settings glued in place
Except that series and parallel wiring impart their own tonal differences, I’ve made a separate video about that. It’s practically impossible to isolate one thing, we tried our best here. If you can do better, as always, I invite you to make your own video.
Dang dude, as a huge V30 hater the 8ohm one sounds nice, thick and dark. The 16ohm one has that typical high midrange and treble spike, that granted, chomps through a band mix like nothing else, but it's just so ice picky and irritating.
I put sound damping material in my slant cab Marshall 4x12 to kill off standing waves...........
it came right back out after a 2 day run......oB ( A long time ago in a place far far away)
I like the 16-ohm set up and run my cabinet with 16 ohms set up. More crunch.
I prefer 8ohms
I'm not sure how much difference is actually in these speakers... going from a 16ohm output to an 8ohm output on the same amp means you're using different amounts of the windings on the output transformer, which would impact the tone. I mean, the end result is the same, for a given amp the speakers sound different, but the reason isn't the speaker itself I don't think
You can test this tapping off the speaker signal, with something like a Neve RNDI, when using 8 and 16 ohm speakers. Then listen to the difference in amp outputs using an IR. There is indeed a tonal difference just due to amp, with the 16 ohm output in my case sounding slightly clearer and higher fidelity and the 8 ohm output sounding more like a transformer (think adding a transformer to a mic pre). Which makes sense as the 8 ohm OT tap would use double the winds on the secondary. If you done the same experiment / above demo with 2x12 cabs (2x 8 ohm speakers wired for 16 ohm vs 2x 16 ohm speakers wired for 8 ohm) the effect would be reversed.
I wonder how much the output transformer has an effect on the tone differences, too. If the windings are different between 8-ohm and 16-ohm, then they cannot sound the same. Just some food for thought.
Everyone hold on! Did this dude change the impedance setting on the amp when switching from the 8 ohm to the 16 ohm speaker? Because if he did, that would explain more than half the difference we hear in the sound from these speakers. Let me explain: If you use the 8 ohm output on a tube amp, you’re using a different amount of windings in your output transformer compared to the 16 ohm output. You can get this effect with any speaker, it’s not just the vintage 30 that this happens to.
I’ve done a test on this in a different video, and put simply you’re wrong. I got the same results with a solid state amp.
@@adamsteelproducer My point is: They both have an effect, I could be wrong, I’ve been wrong before, link the video for us please.
It does have an effect, just much more from the speaker. Just search “Celestion”, it’s the 6 hour long one
I agree that the clips should be back to back. Maybe next time. Maybe some straight ahead rock plexi tones where you can really hear some character. Good work tho 😁
Yes, a back to back comparison for each section would be more useful. Prefer the 16 ohm.
Guitarist - 2:30 | 3:19 | 4:08 | 5:08 | 5:57 - Great Playing!!!!!
Ask The Dead XIII, it’s part of their thing
16ohms in the context of the mix killed it!
8 ohm all the way! By far the better sounding of the two. Much more of a full bodied thicker sound than the 16 ohm speakers. I'd have never guessed it. Thanks for the video!
👍🇺🇸❤ALL......16 OHM SPEAKERS SOUND & FEEL WAY, WAY, WAY BETTER !!!!!
Great, but as stated by others, you should have made a true 8/16 ohm comparison, i.e. 8 rhytm vs 16 rhytm and so on Skipping back and forth makes me annoyed and screws with the YT buffering...
Surprising results. I didn’t expect such a drastic difference.
I don’t think one is better than the other. It just matters depending on context.
8 ohm would probably cut through a mix better (more midrange) but the 16 ohms might be good for a mid range heavy amp (more scooped, hifi sound).
Application, pickups, amp, music style and personal preference.
It’s all about context.
I like that answer!
Leaving aside that it was meaningless for me. since I actually play clean and somewhat clean sometimes. Here's the reality of parallel hookup of speakers. Take the impedance of the two speaker time one another (16 X 16 = 256) divided by the sum (addition) of their impedance (16+16=32). So 256 /32 = 8. No problem. Easy to use the same formula for two 8 ohms. 64/16 = 8. But how about one 16 and one 8? Should be in between the two, right? Wrong. 16 X 8= 128 divided by 16 + 8 (24) = 5.33. It's not a theory. It's reality
Yea basically you'd have to decide on a nominal impedance first then measure, lets say nominal is 8ohms, so compare one 8ohm by itself vs one 16ohm in parallel with another 16ohm, ideally the enclosure for the "mic'd" speaker shouldn't change in either arrangement, which means individual single 12" cabs, that way you can mic the same cab without having to adjust placement, and swap speakers freely, but add the second cab in parallel when recording the 16ohm speaker, that is if the amp has a second speaker output
to my ears the example above sounds more like impedance mismatch, thin lows and undefined highs with 16ohm speaker..
Hey Adam, can you do this with your other speaker ? Like the g12h anniversary ? Your the only one making this kind of great and clean comparison videos. Thx
Well, can't wait ! :)
I say use 2 cabs, one with 16ohm and one with 8ohm but as long as its a v30 it will sound goos
Since the 16 ohm is brighter, I'd say 16 ohm is best for practicing and writing on your own. 8 ohm is great for a band setting.
So if I take the 16 ohm speakers in my 212 and replace with 8 ohm, will it sound fatter and warmer? Ugh.
Damn I didn't expect such a difference! I wonder how 4 ohm will sound then! My cab can be wired to 16 or 4 ohm, I'll try to record it to hear the differences
Maybe this isn't the right way to describe the tone, but 8 ohms sounds like it has more base while 16 ohms sounds like it has more treble.
I can't tell the difference on my phone! What was i thinking?
Useful as always!
I have to go along with the other comments, I appreciate your attempt, but I couldn't tell the difference with out put them side by side as you played.
Back to back co.parisons are more effective this long ass audio clips so far away arent the best
I put a 16 ohm cream alnico celestion in my Marshall and once it broke in. Amazing sound. More open to eq choices.
Damn there's a lot I like about both ehh but for 2 x 12 all can afford be 16 they even make 4? Ever since I had tone tubby speakers pop-up and advertisement ,so been research last month all kinds of speakers and keep seeing these thinking I'm going to grab these and have my friend old soul cabinets build it I was curious about that purple haze but for that price it's ridiculous and the low-wattage I do want something with hemp cone also though.. Great video, thanks
To me 16ohm wins. You need that top end in the mix. Those mids with 8ohm sounds muddy.
Wow, they sound like completely different speakers.
I have literally heard comparison videos of speakers of different manufacturers sound more similar than these two speakers. Weird.
If I didn't know any better I'd say one was recorded from a 4x12 cab and the other was recorded in a 1x12 cab.
Why would you not A/B these??
Stinks that we don't often have a choice of 8 or 16 ohm. If my cab comes with two 16 ohm speakers and I just want to try to blend a different speaker, I have to buy a 16 ohm. Unless, I want to buy two new speakers and replace both. That's a pain.
That’s just physics, the manufacturer of the cabinet has to make a choice to compliment what their amps sound like
U should compare it by section....
We’ve made a 6 hour video with all new production including this compared by section. Search “Celestion speaker”
Looks like ur v30,s are from different eras. Ensure the same year
But, both cabs are 8 ohms. Is this correct? You are testing the difference in sound of parallel vs series...?
The cab is only based on what the speakers inside are. Not parallel vs series, 8 ohm vs 16 ohm
@@adamsteelproducer Has the amp impedance been changed to match cab/speaker impedance, then? ...I am using your video(s) to currently choose a speaker. Much appreciated for all you do and your response!
Yes the amp impedance was changed to match. In the much larger Celestion video that was made later, we revisited this and used a solid state amp as well to prove the speaker itself is the tonal change
here's a good rule. higher Ohm is harder to drive(requires more power). Higher Ohm = less low-end
+Pradigy Musicman not sure any of that is true, especially the last part. There's more high end in this particular speaker because of more winds on the voice coil, but there's a lot more going on
I think your right for the most part a higher Ohm is a cleaner sound i dont think it would have effect of the low-end other than 8Ohm sounding muddy not as clean as 16Ohm
Thanx didn't know that
do not underestimate the different wirings. series = fat sound, takes distorition well, less highs, more low end (more marshall)... parallel = each speaker plays more on its own, more scooped, harsher distortion, the highs remain (more fender)... here is another demo: ua-cam.com/video/mtwtfbETlCU/v-deo.html
thanks for this, more weight with the 8ohm it seems,i had two 1960s greenbacks 16ohms in series to a 32 ohms to at one point, it sounded cool
+aron hallam interesting! I've done 32ohms by accident before, but never sounded how I wanted. They're wired with more copper on the voice coil at higher impedance apparently
Thanks for your insight.
the 8 ohm is where it's at!!
What are the ohms of the vintage 30 speakers in the overaized MESA rectifier cab?
The speaker cab itself is 8 ohms and considered 1 of the best sounding for metal.
the 8 was abit more boxy sounding but also had more bass, definately different! the 16 was abit more focused in the low mids but also abit fizzier, but I think I liked the 8! was the amp settings and cab the same?
+James Cassidy everything was identical, except the amp was switched from 8 to 16 to match the speaker so nothing blew up. This uses a different tap on the output transformer
Are the speakers in this comparison all from about the same production date? I have 3x 8 Ohm Vinatge 30 speakers from 2005, 2013 and 2017. They all sound very different.
To much gain for me to tell much about the difference's. A touch less gain and some more lead work would help a bunch! Sounds good just my opinion..
\,,/
Is it the actual speaker that's making the difference or is it the 8 vs 16 ohm load thats making the difference?
+Tom Snellings it's the speaker. Celestion have said the voice coil is wound with more winds on the 16 ohm speaker, making it brighter by design. Changing load should in theory have negligible impact
Hop Pole Studios what if I add a switch with/without a resistance to have 8 or 16 ohms artificially? Because i've decided to make my own 1*12, and i don't know if later i will have an amp requiring 16 ohms speaker ( for now i'm good, i have a micro terror ^^)
+Zantrop64 there are very few amps that need a 16 ohm speaker, it's usually 8 or 4 minimum (apart from some strange little heads or combos). You can have an artificial 8 ohm load with a resistor but it would have to be very big to handle the power from the amp without exploding!
So say i prefer the sound of the 8 ohms. Then it's best to put two 8 ohm speakers in series in my cab instead of two 16 ohm speakers in parallel in order to get that warm midrange sound?
+Yassin Joris yeah, it’s the sound of the speaker more than anything so if you had 2 8 ohm speakers either in series (with the amp set at 16) or in parallel (with the amp set at 4) that would sound more like what you prefer than any 16 ohm speakers in any setup
16 has more clarity right?
1:57 vs 4:30 why they sound so different? why the 8ohm so much more mids focused...
What if you have two, 8 ohm speakers wired in series to create 16 ohms? How does that sound?
...Jensen website has diferente graphics for different ohms. Select a speaker and than select the ohms you want and the the graphics shown.
Thanks a lot man, you really help me to known the difference but... Could you make another video but comparing 16 Ohms and 32 Ohms?
No guitar amps I know of run at 32 ohms, so there would be little point and it would be very difficult to do a video properly (also not many speakers are made at 32 ohms)
Oh, I don't know that
Thanks for the information
Which is better for one Marshall amp and 212 cab: 2 16 Ohm speakers or 2 8 Ohm speakers?
I wonder how much of the difference is the actual speakers versus the fact that they're going through different windings of the output transformer.
+Tom Scioscia I see what you mean, but it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation. I tried this with the 16 ohm in a 2x12 and got a similar result though (but you can't really compare them in this kind of shootout without people moaning!)
What if you got two 16 ohm speakers, putting one in the same 1x12 cabinet you used for this and stuck the other one off somewhere so you can isolate the sound of the original cabinet, and ran them in parallel off the 8ohm tap of the amp. I'm curious if it would sound the same as the 16ohm by itself, like the 8ohm by itself, or like neither.
+Tom Scioscia interesting, I might add that to the list!
I'd love to hear the results. :)
16 will be better on the mix on live situations. 8 sound good for recording, and has more body on the lows.
This compares 8+16 and I prefer the 8; but, with impedance selection on my amp... how would 4ohms sound... even better or?
+Lee Meredith 4 ohm vintage 30s don't exist. I asked Celestion about it and they said they tried it, but the speaker was so dark it wasn't good for release! 4 ohm cabinets are just 8 or 16 ohm speakers wired a different way to bring the overall impedance down
clean comparison!!!!
Here's the problem. Even speakers that are the same model (same ohms, hertz, and watts ) will sound drastically different. I have a cab switching amp and I bought a quad of greenbacks for my 4x12. I AB'd all of them and surprise. Not one of them sounded alike. So any differences you may be attributing to ohm rating could just be due to the manufacturing process and quality control. In scientific speak, the experiment is missing control groups and is invalid because you can't say for certain the ohm rating is causing the difference.
The test is accurate- I suspect your speakers sounded different mostly because of position in the cab and relative to the rest of the room, whereas in a 1x12 this factor is not present. I also know that the 8 and 16 ohm variants of this speaker are wound differently (the 16 has more windings on its voice coil to produce the additional impedance) so this video is to demonstrate that difference rather than be a conclusive scientific study- which would require a lot of control groups and ABX blind testing, which would be useful if I was publishing a paper, but less so for a UA-cam video.
I actually find that the 16 ohm has more fuzz artifacts... the 8 has a bit more crisp of a sound, less gravel...
Higher number doesnt always mean better quality.
Awesome comparison though. I like the 8 ohm much better. None of that high end sizzle
metal rythum only 8ohm 3:24 / 16 ohm 4:27
Thank you! I own a 22 watt tube amp with an 8 ohm celestion alnico gold. If i put a 16 ohm alnico gold into a 40 watt tube amp, would they be usable for stereo stage mic'd use? All I need is medium stage volume to match the drummer.
Wow they really do sound different.
ok Ive got a 2x12 cabinet loaded with 2 16 ohm speakers and it's wired in series. I have an amp that say "8 ohm minimum". am I good or should i make changes?
If the cab's wired in series, that's a 32 ohm cab- that's really unusual! Technically you're good, but i'd change that around so they're in parallel as an 8 ohm setup so you get the best performance out of your amp.
for once i would like a demo video of some metal guitar gear to be playing something other than djent.
+pepe6666 are you saying this is djent?
it wont djent. dont even try! (unless uv gpt 2ohm speckers
Wow i could even feel the thump of the 16ohm in my chest....i want to know how they would sound with kick drum n base foooool!!! Thats what big woofers are for
What happens when you tweak the tone knobs on the amp?
To me it sounds like the 8 ohm has more low end but lacks the high end, and the 16 ohm has more high end but lacks some of the low end.
If you change the tone stack, you void the results of the test. But more than that, the tone stack does a very different thing than these big tonal differences, there’s no way to get one setup to sound exactly like the other
nice video!
Bad review need to do solo 16 solo 8 ohm etc etc back to back but if you ask me no difference
When you put two drivers in series you are putting an inductor (the voice coil) in series with the second driver. This is what you do in a crossover to roll off the top of the second speaker. I'm curious if you have compared an 8 ohm driver to a 16 ohm driver, without the series issue. Unfortunately I've never in my life used the level of distortion you're using so it was kind of meaningless to me. Nice idea, though.
+rom661 you seem to have misunderstood the video, there's only one speaker in use at once, it's a 1x12 cabinet. I switched everything off in between, removed one speaker and installed the other and set the power amp to the appropriate transformer tap. No crossover or series issue involved!
You're right, I did misunderstand. Sorry.
I like the 8 ohm
+jgmopar me too!
Very helpful. 🍺😎👌
Did you change the impedance selector when changing speakers?
Of course
Sorry if I missed this, but: are we talking about the impedance the amp is receiving or the impedance of the individual speakers? In other words, would two 16 Ohm speakers wired in parallel (= 8 Ohm) sound similar to the one 8 Ohm speaker but different to one 16 Ohm speaker? Thanks!
They would all sound different. The two speakers in this video are made differently- the voice coil on the 16 ohm speaker has more windings to provide the higher impedance, which results in a brighter tone as well. The amp is simply set to match the speaker load but in my experience the speaker being different makes more difference than the amp head being different
8 ohm sound better for me, but record is without bass guitar.
It would better to play some classic, something like Scorpions maybe, i dunno... in E tune.
I bought Marshall celestion Vintage 16 Ohm and 8 Ohm for comparison, and i like 16 ohm more. Sold 8 ohm.
how does a cabs wiring and final ohms affect a speakers sound?
Would 2 16 ohm speakers wired in series become even brighter than they already are compared to their 8ohm counterparts?
Check out the video we did on Serial vs Parallel :)
Wow, the 16 ohms is more metal that the 8 ohms for the rythmn part.