Bergantino HT322

melodiaopus · #1 12-31-2010, 08:17 AM

So... I have been given the opportunity to purchase a Bergantino HT322 from a friend who aquired it through a family member. He is selling it to me for $300!!! Which is an amazing deal since these cabs are anywhere between $1000 to $1300 used. The only issue my friend knows about the cab is -is that he had to get the 12" driver re-coned, which cost him around $20. I took the cab to a soundcheck last night and plugged in my Epifani UL-502 to it and it just didn't sound like it had much volume to it. It sounded weak, so I plugged my UL-310 into my head with the same levels and found that the UL-310 was way louder than the Berg. I figured that since the Berg is a 4ohm cab that it would blow my Epi out of the water, but as I found out, it did the exact opposite.

Can any of you suggest any ideas as to what might be going on with the Berg. It sounds like there isn't any power getting to the speakers. I use speakon cables rather than 1/4" plugs so I don't think it's my Ul-502 since my Epi cab is sounds so good after comparing the two. I'm pretty sure there must be something wrong with the Berg. Is it worth it to buy it for $300 with the current problem it has now? Thanks.

melodiaopus · #2 12-31-2010, 08:27 AM

melodiaopus · #3 12-31-2010, 09:07 AM

bumpage

Steve · #4 12-31-2010, 09:09 AM

Check speaker polarity.

Make sure the recone or replacement is the correct one.
$20 is about dealer cost for that recone kit. If that's all he paid, he got one heck of a deal.

That cab should be pretty darn loud. It's one of the more efficient boxes I own.

melodiaopus · #5 12-31-2010, 09:12 AM

I know very little about speaker cabs. The friend works at a music store, so I'm guessing that he got a great deal to re-cone it. Also, What do you mean by speaker polarity?

KJung · #6 12-31-2010, 09:22 AM

By polarity, he means that if the 12" driver was hooked up 'backwards' after reconing and being replaced, then the cab would be 'out of phase' with itself, and most of the low end would disappear. If that is what you are hearing (a very 'tinny' sort of top heavy tone) then that is an easy fix...just switch the wires around on the 12.

However, if the cab sounds good (plenty of lows, etc.), and just sounds 'softer' than your 310UL at the same setting, that isn't surprising. First 5.3 versus 4ohm impedance results in just a trivial change in power. However, the HT322 has lower sensitivy than your UL310 (i.e., it is tuned lower, has more heavy duty drivers, and a more polite mid response). That means, you will have to turn your master volume knob up a bit more to get the same amount of volume.

Whether you dig the tone of one versus the other is pure personal taste and choice. However, the HT322 should literally blow the 310UL out of the water regarding maximum volume and low end, although again you will have to turn up the master volume (i.e., deliver more power) to get there.

Nice, if heavy cab!

Mike Shevlin · #7 12-31-2010, 09:28 AM

^what Ken said, but also you have to wonder what kind of life that cab had to blow the speaker in the first place~ that is an extremely muscular cab that can handle a LOT of power. I would follow Ken's recommendation & pass on it if there is anything more than a wiring problem.

melodiaopus · #8 12-31-2010, 09:37 AM

Okay, researched Speaker Polarity. I don't know if I feel 100% comfortable with taking apart the cab and checking this without any sort of knowledge of what I'm doing. Unless of course it's easier than it looks. Another thing that I forgot to mention is that when I played through the Berg the speakers moved considerably while I playing through them, which seemed a little odd to me, since there was hardly any volume output. Plus the bass response of the cab seemed so weak that I thought maybe some of the speakers weren't even working, but once I noticed the speakers moving quite a bit I sort of ruled that out. Is it still worth buying??

KJung · #9 12-31-2010, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melodiaopus

Okay, researched Speaker Polarity. I don't know if I feel 100% comfortable with taking apart the cab and checking this without any sort of knowledge of what I'm doing. Unless of course it's easier than it looks. Another thing that I forgot to mention is that when I played through the Berg the speakers moved considerably while I playing through them, which seemed a little odd to me, since there was hardly any volume output. Plus the bass response of the cab seemed so weak that I thought maybe some of the speakers weren't even working, but once I noticed the speakers moving quite a bit I sort of ruled that out. Is it still worth buying??

OK.. that is classic polarity/out of phase. What happens is that the 12 is pistoning 'out' while the 10's are pistoning in, cancelling out the low end. If you are again hearing a very thin tone with no low end, I am 95% sure that is your issue. If you are uncomfortable with doing the fix (which of course should be done before you buy the cab), have the owner get the guy who did the reconing to reconnect it... it was his mistake in the first place. He will know EXACTLY what you are talking about if you tell him you think the 12 was hooked up backwards and cause a polarity issue.

If you do this and it still doesn't sound loud and full, walk away from the deal.

Modulator · #10 12-31-2010, 09:41 AM

At $300 you're probably not taking too much of a risk if you really want that cab. Even if you have to replace all of the speakers through Bergantino I believe you're still looking at a less than $400 expense. I've actually seen these cabs go regularly for $700-800, though.

I've owned this cab for about 6 or 7 years, I think. For a while I was experimenting with heavy distortion and filter effects and ultimately managed to take out several horn diaphragms and a couple of speakers, so the cabs certainly aren't bullet proof. At one point I blew out a resistor in the crossover and had to send it back to Bergantino for repair. The cost was pretty reasonable.

melodiaopus · #11 12-31-2010, 09:45 AM

Okay, so it sounds like the speaker is out of phase. Since what Ken said is, spot-on to what I had just posted. Supposedly, the cab was being pushed by a Carvin head that was rated at 1200watts, from what my friend had stated and that it probably blew the speaker. On my Epifani UL-502 I have the master up 1/2 way with gain set to about 3. So, I'm pushing a lot of power through it, hopefully at that level the Berg will shine.

Jim C · #12 12-31-2010, 01:20 PM

To check for polarity:
Insert 1/4" jack into speaker cabinet
Use clip leads from a 9 volt battery; sleave side of jack lead goes to negative side of battery; when you touch the tip to the plus side of the battery the speaker cones should all move the same direction; am 99% sure that the cones will move forward when applying voltage; if one does not move the same direction of the other 2, it is out of phase; reversing that speakers wires will bring it back into phase
Also, Jim's speakers are all proprietary; am not sure that a stock recone kit is appropriate for this cab; this is a pro level cab and deserves the right parts IMO
As a point of reference; while these cabs are not super effecient, a 300 watt SVT or Walkabout gets louder than he11 before amp distortion in my living room (and on club gigs)

mark107 · #13 01-02-2011, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

OK..

Hey Ken,

Mark Dann here. I am trying to PM you, but can't. PM me if you can!

Thanks - Mark

KJung · #14 01-03-2011, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark107

Hey Ken,

Mark Dann here. I am trying to PM you, but can't. PM me if you can!

Thanks - Mark

Hey Mark, I've turned off my PM, since I became a bit overwhelmed by all the requests for advice, etc. after so many years. Sorry about that... I'm a bit of a beaten man here, and am slowly shutting things down with TB. You can still contact me through my Youtube channel if you wish.

melodiaopus · #15 01-03-2011, 09:33 AM

I emailed Jim, and to get my 12" driver re-coned by him it would run me $120 shipped, plus whatever the shipping would be to send him the 12" driver. Doesn't seem like a bad idea if the material used before is just a stock re-cone kit. If I really wanted to I could just change out all the speakers (2x10), Jim only offers re-coning for the 12" driver. The two 10" speaker would cost me $129 each plus shipping. I'm considering doing this since I don't know the condition of the other speakers. If the 12" driver needed to be re-coned before.. I'm a little curious of the condition of the other speakers. Any thoughts or comments?

melodiaopus · #16 01-03-2011, 11:39 AM

Bumpage!

KJung · #17 01-03-2011, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melodiaopus

Bumpage!

No way to really know. If it sounds good with the polarity fixed, I'd just play it and be happy!

Jim C · #18 01-03-2011, 12:08 PM

+1; was the volume issue due to incorrect polarity?
OTOH, Jim's pricing seems very fair to me if you feel the speakers are a bit loose.
With a big amp, this cab can get very loud and clean; even with an SVT or Walkabout it gets loud but does not have tons of headroom.

melodiaopus · #19 01-03-2011, 02:52 PM

I'm still waiting to hear back from the repairman who had re-coned the speaker and reconnected the speakers. I'm hopefully getting it fixed today, at his house. The head I'm using is Epifani UL-502 and hopefully it'll sound better than my UL-310 S2 cab. Which I probably plan on selling.. or if I don't like the Bergantino, I'll end up selling that. So one or the either is going to be leaving my hands.

DJJazzV · #20 01-03-2011, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve

Check speaker polarity.

Make sure the recone or replacement is the correct one.
$20 is about dealer cost for that recone kit. If that's all he paid, he got one heck of a deal.

That cab should be pretty darn loud. It's one of the more efficient boxes I own.

+1
I'll never get rid of my HT322. It replaced carrying a 4x10 and 1x15 to gigs. It's a monster!