Connecting Origin 20 to speaker cabs

[Rev Tom]

I just bought an Origin 20 amp. I have a small stack of 2 1x12 speakers rated at different ohms-
1) EVH 1x12 cabinet: Celestion G12H 30 Watt/16 ohm
2) Randall Diavlo 1x12 cabinet: Celestion Vintage30 65 Watt/8 ohm

Can I connect these cabs to the amp head using the 16 ohm and 8 ohm jacks respectively without harming the amp?

 

[fitz]

Welcome to the forum.

The simple and quick answer is NO.
Mixing cabinet ohms is typically not recommended.
Either one in the appropriate jack is ok.

If you have the "jack fix" your amp should look like my Origin 20.
You can put 1 ~ 16 ohm in jack 1, 1~ 8 ohm in jack 2, or 2~ 16 ohm in jacks 2 & 3.

 

[fitz]

I just bought an Origin 20 amp. I have a small stack of 2 1x12 speakers rated at different ohms-
1) EVH 1x12 cabinet: Celestion G12H 30 Watt/16 ohm
2) Randall Diavlo 1x12 cabinet: Celestion Vintage30 65 Watt/8 ohm

Can I connect these cabs to the amp head using the 16 ohm and 8 ohm jacks respectively without harming the amp?

If you want to make a little eclectic mini stack with your 2 cabs, look at getting or trading for another 16 ohm speaker for the Randall cab, and you'd be good to go.

 

[Rev Tom]

Thanks guys for the advice. But if I plug the 16ohm cab into the 16ohm jack and the 8ohm cab into the 8ohm jack, would that be ok? Sorry, I am technically challenged in this area. I just got the Randall cab and cannot afford to buy another 16 ohm cab right now. I do have a Quilter Labs amp that I can run the 8ohm cab thru and run the 16ohm thru the Origin 20...

 

[fitz]

Thanks guys for the advice. But if I plug the 16ohm cab into the 16ohm jack and the 8ohm cab into the 8ohm jack, would that be ok? Sorry, I am technically challenged in this area. I just got the Randall cab and cannot afford to buy another 16 ohm cab right now. I do have a Quilter Labs amp that I can run the 8ohm cab thru and run the 16ohm thru the Origin 20...

NOOOOOOOO!
That would put an unbalanced load on the amp and cause damage in short order.
Either the 8 ohm in the 8 ohm jack OR the 16 ohm in the 16 ohm jack, or 2 ~ 16 ohm in jack 2 & 3.
DON'T do two different ohm speakers at the same time (in that amp).

 

[Rev Tom]

Got it! Thanks!

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

To the forum
What was said above is true
But I have been doing a mismatch on my Dsl40c’s for a couple of years, an 8ohm 412 cab , and the 16 ohm internal speaker in the combo, I don’t recommend this but I have been doing it.
They are both plugged into the 8 ohm taps on the amp, but I do not wish you to fry anything.
I have been told that I am going to ruin my amp, by a respected member here.
Cheers
Mitch

 

[JeffMcLeod]

I suspect that the amp is designed such that plugging a cable into both the 8 and 16 ohm jacks at the same time simply won't work. One, or both, probably won't even produce sound.

 

[Rev Tom]

Thanks all! I finally connected the amp to my 2x12 cab (Bugera w/Eminence Man O War 120 watt/8 ohm speakers) and it sounds really good! Of all the reviews I seen and read, this amp will be my main go to rig. It takes pedals better than anything I have and has plenty enough power to boot!

 

[JeffMcLeod]

Thanks all! I finally connected the amp to my 2x12 cab (Bugera w/Eminence Man O War 120 watt/8 ohm speakers) and it sounds really good! Of all the reviews I seen and read, this amp will be my main go to rig. It takes pedals better than anything I have and has plenty enough power to boot!

So I assume those are wired in series and you're plugged into the 16 Ohm jack?

 

[MarkyD2002]

Welcome to the forum.

The simple and quick answer is NO.
Mixing cabinet ohms is typically not recommended.
Either one in the appropriate jack is ok.

If you have the "jack fix" your amp should look like my Origin 20.
You can put 1 ~ 16 ohm in jack 1, 1~ 8 ohm in jack 2, or 2~ 16 ohm in jacks 2 & 3.

View attachment 83862

Hello I have a question I bought an ORIGIN 20 head that has the old labeling. Can I still run 2x 16 ohm cabs out of the 8 ohm sockets or did they have to fix something with the jacks to allow for that? Or was the jack fix simply fixing the incorrect label?

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

I suspect the single 16 ohm (left) and single 8 ohm (middle) sockets are wired directly to their respective windings on the output transformer. The right hand jack is probably wired to connect in parallel to the middle 8 ohm jack. 2 x 16 ohms in parallel gives an apparent 8 ohm load on the output transformer.

You should really stick to one of the three options:

Single 16 ohm into 16 16 ohm:
Single 8 ohm into the 8 ohm:
Two 16 ohms in parallel.

You  might get away with different combinations at  low volumes or with the power reduction switch engaged, but otherwise youre likely to fry the output transformer, or circuit board, or both.

 

[RLW59]

I suspect the single 16 ohm (left) and single 8 ohm (middle) sockets are wired directly to their respective windings on the output transformer. The right hand jack is probably wired to connect in parallel to the middle 8 ohm jack. 2 x 16 ohms in parallel gives an apparent 8 ohm load on the output transformer.

You should really stick to one of the three options:

Single 16 ohm into 16 16 ohm:
Single 8 ohm into the 8 ohm:
Two 16 ohms in parallel.

You  might get away with different combinations at  low volumes or with the power reduction switch engaged, but otherwise youre likely to fry the output transformer, or circuit board, or both.

I think you're answering the original question from 3 years ago, not the totally different question added today.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

I think you're answering the original question from 3 years ago, not the totally different question added today.

I think I answered both ;-)

 

[RLW59]

Hello I have a question I bought an ORIGIN 20 head that has the old labeling. Can I still run 2x 16 ohm cabs out of the 8 ohm sockets or did they have to fix something with the jacks to allow for that? Or was the jack fix simply fixing the incorrect label?

Plugging two 16 ohm cabs into the middle and far right jacks is fine on your early Ori20.

On most amps with a pair of "1x8 or 2x16" jacks, if you're running just one 8 ohm cab you can use either of the paired jacks. The original labeling made it appear you could use either jack like most amps.

But for some reason on the Ori20 they wired the jacks so that you have to plug a single 8 ohm cab into the middle jack. The far right jack is turned off unless there's something plugged into the middle jack. So a single cab plugged into the far left cab isn't actually connected to the output transformer -- it's an open load like having nothing plugged into the amp at all.

One 16 in the far left jack
Or
One 8 in the middle jack
Or
Two 16's in the middle and far right jacks

 

[RLW59]

I think I answered both ;-)

On most amps yes, the paired jacks are simple parallel.

But Marshall did the label fix because they did something weird with the paired 8 ohm jacks. A switching contact in the middle jack so the other jack is only connected when there's a plug in the switching middle jack, so a single 8 ohm cab wouldn't work if you didn't connect it to the correct 8 ohm jack.

MarkyD2002 was unsure about the issue with the early jacks and why they added the label as a "fix". And just wanted reassurance that the two jacks each labeled 8 ohms can be used for two 16 ohm cabs.

Fender Hot Rods have two 8 ohm jacks intended to allow an 8 ohm extension along with the internal cab, with the extension jack being a switching jack that switches both jacks to the output transformer's 4 ohm tap. So not impossible that Marshall had done something like that, allowing one 16 ohm cab, one 8 cab, or two 8 ohm cabs (with a "secret" 4 ohm tap on the transformer).

It wouldn't make much sense for them to do that -- but the way they wired the paired jacks also makes no sense.


With the original labeling there was no indication that it mattered which 8 ohm jack you used if you were only using one 8 ohm cab. (And on most amps, including most Marshalls, it wouldn't matter which 8 ohm jack you used.)

 

[Edgar Frog]

Hello I have a question I bought an ORIGIN 20 head that has the old labeling. Can I still run 2x 16 ohm cabs out of the 8 ohm sockets or did they have to fix something with the jacks to allow for that? Or was the jack fix simply fixing the incorrect label?

If it is one of the early Origins without the speaker jack fix you can only run either 1x16ohm cab or 1x8ohm cab. You can't run 2 at the same time. If you try to plug into both 8 ohm jacks only one cab will work. Once the fix is done then the 2x8 ohm jacks become either 1x8ohm or 2x16 ohm jacks. Then you will have the option of running 1x8ohm, 1x16ohm or 2x16ohm. 2x8ohm isn't an option.

 

[RLW59]

I can't find an Ori20 schematic and the manual I found says something completely different than anything any of us have said about using one 8 ohm or two 16 ohm cabs (and different than the "fix" label).

Regardless, if you have two 16 ohm cabs it's safe to try running them together using the amp's two 8 ohm jacks. Spread the cabs apart, start with the volume low, and stick your ear up to each cab to see if each makes sound.

Worst case and only one works, then you're running the amp's 8 ohm out to a single 16 ohm cab. That's a safe mismatch (though you may not want to run it like that at full volume or for extended periods of time).

 

[Vinsanitizer]

Welcome to the forum.

The simple and quick answer is NO.
Mixing cabinet ohms is typically not recommended.
Either one in the appropriate jack is ok.

If you have the "jack fix" your amp should look like my Origin 20.
You can put 1 ~ 16 ohm in jack 1, 1~ 8 ohm in jack 2, or 2~ 16 ohm in jacks 2 & 3.

View attachment 83862

Hey fitz, I have a white Origin20 I bought new 2 years ago (2022-2023). What is the "jack fix" all about, and do you know if mine would have that fix? (It's stored away in its box, so I can't readily look at it right now).