3015 Kappalite in an Orange OBC115?

[steamthief]

I've been reading the praises of this driver for months. I also have an Amazon gift card burning a hole in my wallet, and I'm wondering if trying one of these in my Orange 15 would improve the cab?

My OBC115 has a Delta-15A driver for now, which sounds pretty darn good, but seems to lack a little authority on the E string in comparison with ADG at higher volume. I'm using a Fender TB-600 head which puts out 400 watts @ 8 ohms, 600 @ 4.

The 3015, according to the specs, goes 8 hz deeper in usable frequency range, has more than double the excursion, has .8 db higher sensitivity and is 4.4 pounds lighter. Anything else I'm missing? Is it reasonable to assume the 3015 would sound better than the Delta-15A? Here's spec sheets for both:

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/delta-15a.pdf

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/kappalite-3015.pdf

I'm also going to be picking up a used matching OBC115 tomorrow for a really low price. I've read on other threads that some OBC115s come loaded with Kappa-15A drivers, which looks like more of a sub driver than full range. I'm not sure which driver is in the cab I'm buying, but, would the 3015 be an improvement over the Kappa-15A?

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/kappa-15a.pdf

I'm hoping all you cab experts can weigh in with your thoughts!

[greenboy]

Forget all those stupid numbers. They don't mean diddly unless you know how to interpret them, in a particular box.

3015? It's a different flavor. The fact that it's lighter probably gives it an edge with many. The driver usually found in those Oranges is a stock Kappa15a though - so either that or the 3015 which sounds quite different will be an improvement over what you've got now.

[steamthief]

greenboy, can you elaborate? Which numbers, which I am no expert to interpret, would make either a Kappa or 3015 an improvement over the Delta? The weight is the only number I truly grasp. Four and a half pounds isn't that big of a deal to pull the trigger on a 3015, and the Kappa weighs over five pounds more than the Delta.

[ishouldbeking]

given, I'm far from an expert on this stuff... but I think it's more about which driver will work in this box given the internal dimensions, tuning, port size, and all that stuff... rather than simply which driver has the best specs.

[steamthief]

Sure, I understand that the box plays the major role in determining which driver is best, which is why I assume Orange put the Delta in my cab. What I'm trying to figure out is how and why all the numbers on the spec sheets of the other two Eminence drivers translate into an improvement.

I'm just trying to learn something from the experts.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by steamthief

Sure, I understand that the box plays the major role in determining which driver is best, which is why I assume Orange put the Delta in my cab.

I wouldn't make that assumption. The Delta is best suited to use in a very large cab, at least 8 cu ft, tuned low for deep response, for use with a low powered amp, 50 watts or less. In a much smaller cab it take more power, perhaps 100 watts, but then it will tend to be boomy. IMO there are very few applications where it excels. IME most manufacturers choose drivers based primarily on the basis of cost and power handling, especially when it's an inexpensive driver like the Delta. The bottom line is always the bottom line, and watts sell.

Driver data sheets only give one the necessary data to use a box program to calculate the driver/enclosure low frequency performance, showing actual response only above roughly 200Hz, where the cab has little input to the final result. You can't just look at the data sheets, you must model the drivers you intend to use in the box you intend to use them in to make a proper comparison.

[steamthief]

I believe the OBC115 box is a larger variant of the TL-606. I've looked for precise measurements and tuning info on the Orange cab, but I can't find them anywhere online. Without the box data I need, then, is it just a crapshoot on whether a new driver would perform better?

[rpsands]

If it's exactly like a Tl606, the 3015 will perform better, unless you want a boomy cab. Some people like it. It tends to sound like it has more bass by itself.

You can expect the 3015 to be much, much flatter down low..which may be desirable or not. Probably desirable if you're willing to add more upper bass.

[greenboy]

Originally Posted by steamthief

greenboy, can you elaborate? Which numbers

Sorry, I was rushing before the dinner bell. Some of the numbers on these speaker spec sheets are pretty much useless fluff for the dumbsumer, and the ones that matter are best looked at in a boxsim program like WinISD Pro or whatever.

Anyway. All the other Oranges I've heard about had a Kappa in them and that's a better driver for the box. It's a good driver based on previous generations approach of Em R&D / philosophy. It gives some midbass hump in that sized box and tuning if I recall, where the Kappalite 3015 is not humpy at all. Some like one sound, some like the other, as far as the bass response part of it is concerned. And if I recall, the 3015 can be driven harder (I don't even have any driver files for most non-neos around in WinISD any more to check).

As for what is happening above 200 Hz, look at the FR graphs on the datasheets. of course that is on-axis Frequency Response only.

But as I said earlier, either is an improvement on what you have now.

[steamthief]

Thanks for the responses, gentlemen. It looks like the 3015 would be better for both cleaner, louder lows and as a full range driver then. I assume I could dial in any midbass hump if I wanted it with eq on the amp?

[weekend warrior]

400 watt Kappa!I think its got tons of balls as is.I wind up my 72 SVT on it all the time and the more i give it the better it sounds!

[hdracer]

Greenboy is right. It is a Kappa15a in the Orange OBC 115. I have a 3015 coming for mine.

[steamthief]

hdracer, what was lacking in the Kappa driver in your opinion?