50W amp into 50W cab?

darius

An option has come up for a 2x greenback g12m 25W loaded cab.
Running a 50W evh 5150.
How do these speakers cope with matched ratings?
i know all the advice is that it ought to be a 100W cab.
Is it just a risk of tone breakup rather than mechanical destruction? Never managed to run amp past half volume either. 

ICBM

With Celestions you should be OK - their ratings are more conservative than most other makers, and usually can be taken to mean 'a cranked amp of the same power as the speaker'. That said the Greenback is not their toughest speaker in relation to its rating, and I definitely wouldn't run a pair with any more than a 50W amp.

You can't necessarily tell what power the amp is putting out from the volume control setting - it could reach full power below halfway - but the chances are it won't be. If you can get any kind of clean sound at the same volume then it isn't.

Marshall used to fit their 50W 2x12" combos with Greenbacks, and although they did occasionally blow, it wasn't that common - and some of those old Marshall put out well over 50W too.

The risk is mechanical destruction - more accurately the voice coils burning out - but it may start to sound horrible first, which will give you some warning. Contrary to popular belief, 'speaker breakup' usually doesn't sound good.