EVH 5150 iii 50 Watt Head: Clean Volume Drop and general newb amp head questions

[1,000,000 watts]

I'm pretty dead-set on picking up one of these heads sometime the upcoming few days and I have a few questions for those with experience with them, as well as some general questions regarding using a head correctly.

 

First off, how much of an issue is the clean volume drop on newer models? I swear I had read recently that it was corrected at some point and all the new ones did not have it, but I am unable to find confirmation of this currently. If he new ones are "fixed" so to speak, when did the do that? I'm currently looking at used models and I need to know what years to shoot for.

 

Next question on the amp: headphones. I will be using the head with an Avatar 2x12 cab I am picking up from a friend in a band setting, but would also like to be able to practice with it at home quietly. The headphone output on this makes it perfect for me. I have read some people completely write off using headphones out on a bigger amp like this, saying the sound quality just makes them useless. Does anyone have any experience with this one in particular? I like the idea of being able to leave my cabinet at the jam spot and just bringing my head and guitar back forth from home, and much of my at-home practice will be at night. I still count band practice/using it through a cab as it's primary use so I am okay with it not sounding perfect through headphones. I realize that even with great quality phones, it won't sound anything like it's going to sound out of a pair of celestions.

 

As far as price, is used something I should consider or is the fairly cheap sticker price worth it so to speak? I'm looking to spend between $600-$900 on this, and on the upper end of that it looks like I could get a new "b-stock" model from an online retailer. I don't care if it looks pristine or not as I plan on using this thing, not looking at t at home. If they have corrected the volume drop on more recent models, is it worth the extra $100 or so to get a B-Stock "new" version? Do these B-Stock units tend to be reliable?

 

Okay so now the embarrassing question re: connecting the head to a cab. The amp is supposed to have "parallel" outputs, switchable from 4-8-16 ohms. I am new to heads and cabinets, and curious exactly how to run this. I believe the 2x12 I will be using is 8ohms - with a seperate input for each speaker. The speakers are a Celestion Vintage 30 and a GH12 How exactly would I connect the head to this? Will this cabinet be enough for a 50 watt head? Do I use two speaker cables to connect each parrallel output to an input on the cabinet, or only one?

 

Thank you for all the help. I know this is a little long and ridiculous and though it may not seem like a lot to some, I want to have all my ducks in a row before I spend this kind of money.

 

BONUS POINTS: white or black? I've been leaning towards white the entire time, but now that it's come down to it I almost think the black would look cooler. The white is a little more rare and a little more expensive used.

[1001gear]

The head phone out on my Crate makes one of the best front end ODs I have. Otherwise useless. Who are you?