Looking for a quick tutorial

[swarfrat]

#1 could be slightly misleading. The time delta between speakers in series is so infinitesimal as to be zero in practical terms. It's certainly nothing compared to the stuff you still can't hear unless your name is Fagen or McDonald like time delays caused by driver alignment. 

There can be a difference between the inductance, resistance and capacitance of the speakers in parallel vs series, but this is hugely dependent on the amp circuit its in and still very slight. For all us regular joes, the only difference in series vs parallel is 1) achieving the desire impedance, 2) the christmas tree light syndrome - in series one goes out they all go out. (Not arguing that in favor of parallel, just a fact of life. If you have four 4 Ohm speakers, you're gonna have to do series or series parallel unless your amp can handle a 1 ohm load. )

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

2) the christmas tree light syndrome - in series one goes out they all go out.

That's what I thought, but not always the case.  When a speaker blows, it's usually a break down of another component other than the wiring.  The signal still passes through, and a blown speaker still has electrical continuity from + to - and still reads the same on the ohm meter.  It most cases, blown speakers still produce sound, just not desireable sound.

 

[mayfly]

And that's just at DC.  Things get really, er, differential when you start oscillating the input.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

And that's just at DC.  Things get really, er, differential when you start oscillating the input.

It was always the ongoing joke that most of those calculations were theoretically using superconductors too, accounting for no resistance or capcitance of the conductor(s).  Which BTW, I had band practice today in a 35 degree (F) warehouse.  My rig sounded weird.  Well, weirder than normal.  I can't help but think the lower than normal temperature conditions effected everything form the DC resistance of my pickups and cables to the frequency response of my cabs.

 

[Cagey]

And that's just at DC.  Things get really, er, differential when you start oscillating the input.

It was always the ongoing joke that most of those calculations were theoretically using superconductors too, accounting for no resistance or capcitance of the conductor(s).  Which BTW, I had band practice today in a 35 degree (F) warehouse.  My rig sounded weird.  Well, weirder than normal.  I can't help but think the lower than normal temperature conditions effected everything form the DC resistance of my pickups and cables to the frequency response of my cabs.

The temperatures you need to get to in order for those laws to change is so low, they'd kill you almost instantly. Going to 35F isn't going to have any effect whatsoever. Hell, going to -35F wouldn't have any effect. You need to get down to about -450F for it to matter. Even then, all you'd do is make the electronics happy, as resistance tends to go away, so no heat gets generated. If that weren't the case, satellites wouldn't work. Space is wicked cold, unless you're directly exposed to the sun.

Also, there's no delay in series circuits, and certainly not anything you could hear in speakers. Anybody who says different is fulla horse feathers, and only gets away with it because you can't prove what they can or can't hear.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Just my ears then.  Thanks.

 

[Cagey]

The power of suggestion is incredible. Marketing weenies depend on it.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

But in this case, what was suggested?  I noticed something sounded different at first.  The temperature was the only difference, which lead me to believe the different conditions lead to a different sound.

 

[Cagey]

But in this case, what was suggested?  I noticed something sounded different at first.  The temperature was the only difference, which lead me to believe the different conditions lead to a different sound.

Your different sound and the low temperature got connected in your mind and suggested temperature had something to do with your rig sounding different. Unless you live in a warehouse, it's more likely the venue was the cause of your different sound.

I had a similar thing happen to me about 100 years ago. The drummer had rented a whole floor of a warehouse in downtown Detroit (they're surprisingly cheap), and we went there to practice once in a while since you could wrack the amps to concert levels and not bother anybody. But, you really needed to because the place just ate sound, as well as providing a tremendous amount of long-tail natural reverberation. Things sounded wildly different there than anyplace else we played. I had an Ampeg VT22 at the time, and those things would get painfully loud. But, in this warehouse, it sounded thin and ineffectual. Oh, and it was also cold, although not 35F. More like 50F. Still, uncomfortable for humans, which is why we didn't play there more often.