Can i do this? (speaker replacement/cab design question)

gustobassman · #1 12-12-2011, 01:59 PM

Yes, before we get started i did a search and wasn't able to find what i was looking for.

I got a used Eden D115 (older, no tweeter) recently and i love the tone. I am a little worried that it being only being a 200 watt handling 15" that i may blow it in the future. Is It possible to replace the speaker with a 400 watt 15" like on my D115XLT? Maybe not the same speaker, but is there a brand that will work for this?

I may be barking up the wrong tree because i do understand the concept of the cab being built around what the speaker can handle, so the rear porting and original cab design may not handle the frequencies properly.

So.. can i do this or should i consider selling the cab and get a matching D115XLT? Thanks ahead of time for the help.....

bongomania · #2 12-12-2011, 02:11 PM

Yes you can do it, and what you'd do is take the measurements of the existing cab and then plug those numbers into winISD to identify a replacement speaker that will work decently in that box.

billfitzmaurice · #3 12-12-2011, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gustobassman

I got a used Eden D115 (older, no tweeter) recently and i love the tone. I am a little worried that it being only being a 200 watt handling 15" that i may blow it in the future. Is It possible to replace the speaker with a 400 watt 15" like on my D115XLT?

Thermal power ratings have no bearing on how loud a driver will go. That's determined by the driver sensitivity, response and displacement. To find out if another driver might be better you'd have to use the driver specs to calculate its sensitivity, response and displacement. But chances are you can't get those specs.

gustobassman · #4 12-12-2011, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

Yes you can do it, and what you'd do is take the measurements of the existing cab and then plug those numbers into winISD to identify a replacement speaker that will work decently in that box.

ok, wow. i didn't know that. Forgive my ignorance, i have never blown or needed to replace a speaker in 20 years of gigging, but what is the heck is winISD?

gustobassman · #5 12-12-2011, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

Thermal power ratings have no bearing on how loud a driver will go. That's determined by the driver sensitivity, response and displacement. To find out if another driver might be better you'd have to use the driver specs to calculate its sensitivity, response and displacement. But chances are you can't get those specs.

Ahh... hmm... You don't think Eden would be able to provide that info? Like i posted above i've never had/wanted to change or replace a speaker, this is all new to me.

bongomania · #6 12-12-2011, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gustobassman

what is the heck is winISD?

It's a free software you can download that is specifically for this purpose.

Although it's not necessarily SO simple, because it won't just spit out an answer right away--you have to go through the different models they have until you find one with good-looking response.

JimmyM · #7 12-12-2011, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gustobassman

Ahh... hmm... You don't think Eden would be able to provide that info? Like i posted above i've never had/wanted to change or replace a speaker, this is all new to me.

And if I were you, I'd leave it. Chances are that you won't significantly increase power handling regardless of what speaker's in it. If you like 15"s, and I do, you just sort of have to accept that they don't take a lot of power.

Now you could put a speaker like the Eminence Kappalite 3015 in there and it could increase power handling by a bit, but they're expensive and have a different voicing than what's in there.

billfitzmaurice · #8 12-12-2011, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gustobassman

Ahh... hmm... You don't think Eden would be able to provide that info?

They won't. Manufacturers don't reveal driver specs because then anyone could in five minutes model the driver performance and reveal any false performance claims.

gustobassman · #9 12-12-2011, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

They won't. Manufacturers don't reveal driver specs because then anyone could in five minutes model the driver performance and reveal any false performance claims.

Makes 100% perfect sense.

I gigged the 2 Eden 15" cabs this weekend for the first time, and i had more compliments regarding the bass sound than when i use my 610HLF. I think i love 15's. I am running them full range through an 800RB so really there isn't a whole lot of power going to the 2 cabs.

Is power distribution equal to both cabs regardless of speaker power ratings? Am i getting that part right?

billfitzmaurice · #10 12-12-2011, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gustobassman

Is power distribution equal to both cabs regardless of speaker power ratings? Am i getting that part right?

It's based on their impedance. Power ratings only tell you how much they'll accept before the voice coil melts. It's the least significant driver parameter.

gustobassman · #11 12-12-2011, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

It's based on their impedance. Power ratings only tell you how much they'll accept before the voice coil melts. It's the least significant driver parameter.

Gotcha. Both cabs are 8 ohm. I've had 4ohm SVT810 and 610HLF cabs for many years. This is my first run with a 2 cab setup.

will33 · #12 12-12-2011, 03:09 PM

If they were both 8ohm cabs (and I hope they were in this case), yes, they each were recieving 1/2 power from your (4ohm minimum) 800rb.

You may have liked how these particular 15's sounded and that's fine, but don't generalize that into "I like 15's" just because these particular 15's sounded better than some other particular 10's. There's tons of factors in play there and size alone isn't one of them.