Avatar TB153 upgrades/mods?

[lwdemons]

I have seen many threads pointing out the Avatar TB153 inferiority to the similar fearful cabinet, both in design and components. At the given pricepoint, I am not surprised.
My question is, are there any easy upgrades that can be done to pull it up a couple notches. I love my set up (4ohm cab, GK 1001RB, boss gt-10b -svt setting) but don't mind putting a little time and money into it, if there are mods worth doing. If the design of the box is the biggest limitation, I'll be happy where I am at.... for now. Thanks!

[will33]

I'd start by moving the mid and tweet to the center so they're right next to each other on top the 15 or as close as you can get. That will act as more of a single point source for the sound, less lobing, cancellations, etc. I think they use an alphalite for the mid?, not sure. Assuming you keep the same drivers, the rest of the upgrades would be in the crossover. Beefier inductor on the woofer lowpass, higher voltage, better caps on the highpass and more purpose built for the specific drivers.

I'd start by finding out what the mid and high drivers are and go from there before doing any crossover modifications. A B&C 6md38 and eminence apt80 may be candidates for upgrades. If they're using the closed back alphalite or la6cbmr, they're not too bad if they're passed high enough and steep enough but I don't know that they are. If not, closed backs like that will distort when you put the power to them...high fs. Running them higher like that would also start getting you into the 3015LF's breakup peak which I'd want to stay away from.

First order of business would be to identify the exact components you do have and reverse engineer the crossover. Take box measurements to find out the tuning as well. It's the same box they use for 212's and 410's, should be around 3.9-4.0 cu.ft.

[lwdemons]

Thanks Will, I will do a little exploratory surgery and see what I can identify. I know I have the newer, beefier crossover - I believe it is an eminence. According to the Avatar site, the mid is a custom eminence 6" ceramic.

I am not a fan of the tweeter so I usually have it off. Unless someone has a suggestion for replacement, where i might actually use it, I'm guessing moving the 6 and "turned off" horn closer to center would not have much effect. Sorry, I should have mentioned that in my original post.

I'll get back with some measurements soon, but yes the box is the same as my 212.

[Oobly]

I agree, move the mid driver closer to the woofer, and move the woofer a little off-centre (although doing this most likely requires building a new baffle). Also, check if the cab is properly braced and add some dowels if it isn't (top-bottom, side-side, front-back as close to the middle as you can get). Also check for dampening material and add some if there isn't any (polyester batting or something similar).

I would also have suggested replacing the crossover with a fEARful CBG, but it was designed for the 8 ohm woofer and a different mid driver, so it won't be much use.

Other than that, build yourself a proper fEARful for around the same as the Avatar cost

[swspiers]

any updates bump?