15" Drivers

bluesrx · #1 10-02-2010, 04:48 PM

I've been using a 15" Black Widow loaded in an old Carvin RL115 cab... actually sounds pretty good. I play P Basses through GK amps (400RBIV and 1001RBII ) Current gig is a blues/R&B band. I'd like to try and eminence Kappalite 3015. Looks like it would be a pretty decent fit for the Carvin cab.

So... what kind differences will I hear in the 3015 vs. the BW?

Thanks in advance for any info.

BassmanPaul · #2 10-02-2010, 04:52 PM

If you're going to use a 3015 why not just build a Fearful for it and do the job right. Much better than shoehorning a driver into an unsuitable cabinet.

bluesrx · #3 10-02-2010, 05:02 PM

Possibility... any other thoughts dealing with my original post?

gbarchus · #4 10-03-2010, 03:37 AM

I think the Peavey BW is a pretty even match for an Eminence. It's just a matter of your liking.

Gale

billfitzmaurice · #5 10-03-2010, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluesrx

So... what kind differences will I hear in the 3015 vs. the BW?
.

It depends on which BW. There are at least seven versions. All one can say for sure is that none of them will match the 3015 for output, and all of them weigh twice as much.

bluesrx · #6 10-05-2010, 01:11 PM

Thanks Bill for chiming in... This is the Peavey version:

1505-8 DT BW
Peavey 15058DTBW Low Frequency Driver

Features of the Peavey 1505-8 DT BW:
15". Impedance: 8 Ohms. Power capacity: 1400 W Peak 700 W Program 350 W Continuous. Sensitivity: 97.9 dB / 1 W 1 m. Usable freq. range: 40 Hz ~ 2 kHz. Cone: Kevlar impregnated cellulose. Voice coil diameter: 4.0" / 100 mm. Voice coil material: Aluminum ribbon wire Polyimide-impregnated fiberglass former Nomex stiffener Solderless diffusion welded OFHC copper leads. Znom (ohms) 8. Revc (ohms) 5.67. Sd (Square Meters) 0.084. BL (T/M) 16.9. Fo (Hz) 46.5. Vas (liters) 164.3. Cms (uM/N) 164.0. Mms (gm) 71.4. Qms 6.503. Qes 0.414. Qts 0.389. Xmax (mm) 5.1 Le (mH) 0.32. SPL (1W 1m) 97.9. No (percent) 3.90 percent. Vd (cu. in. / ml) 26.1 / 428. Pmax (Watts pgm.) 700. Disp (cu. in. / ml) 197/ 3229.

It's got a pretty decent Xmax of 5.1 SPL is 97.9 1w 1m

rpsands · #7 10-05-2010, 01:18 PM

Less than the 3015 in every respect, except price.

mongo2 · #8 10-05-2010, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluesrx

I've been using a 15" Black Widow loaded in an old Carvin RL115 cab... actually sounds pretty good. I play P Basses through GK amps (400RBIV and 1001RBII ) Current gig is a blues/R&B band. I'd like to try and eminence Kappalite 3015. Looks like it would be a pretty decent fit for the Carvin cab.

So... what kind differences will I hear in the 3015 vs. the BW?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Last week I swapped out a PV BW for a 3015 in my Flite cabinet.

First thing I noticed was how light the cabinet is with the 8 ohm 3015 in it and second was how loud it was compared to the 4 ohm BW. I imagine the 3015 is a bit more efficient than the BW.

I find myself using the nearly same eq as I did with the BW with the exception of dropping some mids from the BW. I don't have to do that with the 3015 in this box.

GlennW · #9 10-05-2010, 03:15 PM

I like the 3015 by itself. The Emi specs call for a 2.8 cu ft cab with vents; that's the medium sized cab. Here's the inside of my DIY.

Mo'Phat · #10 10-05-2010, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluesrx

I've been using a 15" Black Widow loaded in an old Carvin RL115 cab... actually sounds pretty good. I play P Basses through GK amps (400RBIV and 1001RBII ) Current gig is a blues/R&B band. I'd like to try and eminence Kappalite 3015. Looks like it would be a pretty decent fit for the Carvin cab.

So... what kind differences will I hear in the 3015 vs. the BW?

Thanks in advance for any info.

The 3015 has an upper frequency limit of 4 khz, which nearly eliminates the need for a horn or tweeter for many players (me.). Also, it has sensitivity of 100.8 db with 450 watts program/900 w continuous.

So, it will be louder, have a larger frequency range, handle more power, be a couple dozen pounds lighter...etc.

rpsands · #11 10-05-2010, 03:49 PM

The 3015 is very very flat in the mids for such a beefcake driver. To many people it will sound kind of sterile up top.

gbarchus · #12 10-05-2010, 09:49 PM

Be careful about using specs to choose a speaker. I was in a three-way partnership with a concert PA system which had eight modified Clair Bros S-10 cabinets: two 18", four 12" and one 2" horn/driver in each. Because one of the partners had a music store we were able to load the cabinets with various speakers. For the 18s we tried EV, JBL and Cerwin Vega. For the 12s EV, JBL and Peavey. We tried the Peavey speakers just to see how they faired against two known standards. After listening to all configurations we all agreed that the Peaveys could hold their own against the other brands, the difference being a matter of taste. In the end the PA ended up being half EV and half JBL.

Gale

warnergt · #13 10-05-2010, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbarchus

...I was in a three-way partnership with a concert PA system which had eight modified Clair Bros S-10 cabinets...

This is the first I've seen Clair Bros mentioned here on TB.
Clair Bros is practically in my back yard. I can see it from my house.
It gets a lot of visits by people in exotic cars.

billfitzmaurice · #14 10-06-2010, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbarchus

Be careful about using specs to choose a speaker. I was in a three-way partnership with a concert PA system which had eight modified Clair Bros S-10 cabinets: two 18", four 12" and one 2" horn/driver in each. Because one of the partners had a music store we were able to load the cabinets with various speakers. For the 18s we tried EV, JBL and Cerwin Vega. For the 12s EV, JBL and Peavey. We tried the Peavey speakers just to see how they faired against two known standards. After listening to all configurations we all agreed that the Peaveys could hold their own against the other brands, the difference being a matter of taste. In the end the PA ended up being half EV and half JBL.

Gale

Using specs and modeling software one can know exactly how different drivers will work in an enclosure without having to buy and try them. You just have to know how to use the specs and software.

Quote:

The 3015 has an upper frequency limit of 4 khz,

Only on-axis. Off-axis it's no different than any other fifteen, rolling off above 1.2kHz. But it does run quite a bit hotter in the mids than the Peavey. The BW1505 is spec'd as a PA woofer, and is more comparable to the 3015LF in terms of response, though it pales compared to the 3015LF in output, with only 1/4 the displacement limited capacity.