Carvin BRX Neo 10.2 replacement speaker...

[Limeman]

I have a Carvin BRX Neo 10.2 cab. Sounds very good, but I'm thinking that with the excellent construction of the cab, a better set of speakers might really make this cab shine. Any suggestions as to what 10" neo and/or tweeter might be a solid upgrade from the stock Carvin neo 10's/tweeter?

[lbwdog]

Get the exact interior volume and tuning frequency, then call Eminence and ask what they recommend.

[Limeman]

How can I get that info? I know the exterior dimensions are 24.5" wide x 15" deep x 17" high and they mention the freq. response as able to reproduce 28 Hz to 22k Hz. Have no idea what the tuning frequency of the cab might be. Hmmm....

[eff-clef]

I think those speakers in it
are Eminence Deltalites and are designed for that cab.

[Bob C]

I'm no expert, but I believe this is a delicate area. Often a more expensive speaker will give a better sound, but not always. Why do you want to swap it?

If the stock speakers are Eminence, it might be worthwhile to call Eminence (as was mentioned) and ask if they have a premium model that will work in that cab.

On a side note, if you do replace the speakers, you have the opportunity to switch the cabinet to 8 ohms. There are people on the Carvin BBS (myself included) that really want Carvin to offer the BRX in an 8 ohm version.

Again, I'm no expert. Surely someone here will give more suggestions on what speaker to use, or why you shouldn't do it at all.

[lbwdog]

I don't know if it's Deltalites or not. The pic of their latest neo 10" looks nothing like one.
Actually, looking at the Em website, the Deltalite II 2510 seems to be the only neo 10" available.
Also, listed at 8 ohms only so couldn't make an 8 Ohm cab anyway.

[prokfrog]

I thought carvin used their own speakers..

[UncleFluffy]

http://www.carvinguitars.com/manuals/tsp.html

As far as I know, that's the specs for what's in there now.

[Limeman]

Thanks! That helps.

[John Bigboote]

My name's John, and I replaced the speakers in my BRx10.2.

First, some backstory: I bought it used, and immediately found an obnoxious, variable noise whenever I played it. Tried switching everything except the PLX1804 power amp I was using to drive it (but I did switch channels) -- basses, cords, speaker cables, preamp, you name it. Never got the same noise from any other cabs. The seller wouldn't take it back. Stuck.

The speakers that came out of the cab looked nothing like the photos photos of their replacement neos in the Carvin catalog.

I installed some new neos. The sound was, to my tin ears, pretty much the same. It seems to me that that cab is *way* over-ported, but I don't have any specs/charts/graphs to support my theory. But they are *huge* ports given the cab size.

BTW: those frequency response numbers that they claim are a joke.

I haven't replaced the tweeter, but I should. I think the one in there is a piece of shite.

Here's where I go off the reservation: People rave all the time on TB about how great Carvin stuff is. From my own experience, I've never been satisfied with anything from Carvin. I've bought new and used stuff, returned two things (including the vaunted LSx1503, which made noises that were *VERY* similar to the ones that plagued the BRx10.2). I won't buy from them again, as tempting as much of their stuff looks.

HTH, FWIW, YMMV, ETC.,

-jb

Oh, I should explain why I bought it: It's wonderfully light, and I love the finish on it. The construction seems very good overall.

[Limeman]

Originally Posted by prokfrog

I thought carvin used their own speakers..

I believe most, if not all of their speakers are custom made for them by eminence, but I might be wrong in that.

[rpsands]

I'd consider basslites. The lower FS and higher xmax and same sensitivity, you'd be looking at twice the power handling and a db or two of average sensitivity, and significant boost in low end performance. The Carvin drivers do have slightly lower vas but I don't think that'll make a huge difference; the Basslites do very well in smallish boxes.

[synterx]

How is it possible that every single manufacturer says "custom made for us by Eminence"? Really? Everyone dreams up their perfect speaker and Eminence cranks out hundreds upon hundreds of virtually identical models with just a few things tweaked for each guy? I don't believe that for a minute. If it's true, that's one nightmare of a part number system and manufacturing system they have.

[liam_g]

Carvin once used Eminence drivers, but the ones in the current bass line bear little resemblance to Eminence neos. I can't recall who supposedly makes them now, but they did change at some point. I've owned two BRX 10.2's, and the first had Eminence drivers, my current one does not.

Liam

[billfitzmaurice]

Successfully replacing what's in there requires knowing what's in there. The poster above who replaced Carvin Deltalites with Avatar Deltalites would have saved himself a lot of money and grief had he made sure there was any point in making the change.
The specs of the current neo tens they use are exceedingly poor, I wouldn't put them in anything more than a 25 watt bedroom practice amp. But to change drivers without first making sure of what you now have would be folly.

[Bob C]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

The specs of the current neo tens they use are exceedingly poor, I wouldn't put them in anything more than a 25 watt bedroom practice amp. But to change drivers without first making sure of what you now have would be folly.

Are you referring to the speakers in Carvin's BRX cabs? Are they really that bad? People still rave about them (I know, maybe that isn't relevant).

Do you think it is all about cutting corners to increase profits with Carvin's cabinets?

Finally, what specs ARE needed to determine a suitable replacement speaker.

[John Bigboote]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

Successfully replacing what's in there requires knowing what's in there. The poster above who replaced Carvin Deltalites with Avatar Deltalites would have saved himself a lot of money and grief had he made sure there was any point in making the change.
The specs of the current neo tens they use are exceedingly poor, I wouldn't put them in anything more than a 25 watt bedroom practice amp. But to change drivers without first making sure of what you now have would be folly.

The point was that the cab was making a nasty buzzing sound even at low volumes. I couldn't use the cab, nor sell it as it was. As I wanted an 8-ohm cab, it was only a half-bitter pill to swallow to replace the 10s. I wouldn't call it an improvement in the cab's sound, but it eliminated the noise problem, and gave me the 8-ohm cab that I can now run with another 8-ohm cab off my Shuttle.

Bottom line: Carvin makes a nice, light, well-constructed box. I can't vouch for its design, or its low-frequency response (I'm running it with a Dr. Bass 115LF that has low end for days, so don't need it), but it's serving my purposes for now. Which it didn't do before I replaced the drivers.

-jb

[rpsands]

Originally Posted by Bob C

Are you referring to the speakers in Carvin's BRX cabs? Are they really that bad? People still rave about them (I know, maybe that isn't relevant).

Do you think it is all about cutting corners to increase profits with Carvin's cabinets?

Finally, what specs ARE needed to determine a suitable replacement speaker.

They do the same thing peavey does; use the same drivers for PA as for bass, and call it good! Yay, savings.

[Limeman]

Originally Posted by John Bigboote

It's unbelievably stupid that Carvin doesn't offer this in an 8-ohm configuration. Are you listening, Carvin? Unbelievably stupid.

I actually like that the 10.2 is rated at 4 ohms. My Mesa Walkabout really comes alive with a 4 or 2 ohm load and this means I can take just one cab for small to moderate gigs and have plenty of tone/volume. Having said that, I can see how having an 8 ohm cab might be a good option for some.

Originally Posted by John Bigboote

Oh, I should explain why I bought it: It's wonderfully light, and I love the finish on it. The construction seems very good overall.

1+ on that, which is why I am wondering about a better 10" speaker that is more robust and/or has a greater Xmax for better low-end extension. I will say this though: The fact that the Carvin neos break-up a bit isn't necessarily a bad thing for aggressive picking and/or slapping in a rock/punk setting. Sounds pretty mean when you push it, especially if you have good FOH support and/or another cab to handle to deep lows cleanly.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by Bob C

Are you referring to the speakers in Carvin's BRX cabs? Are they really that bad? People still rave about them (I know, maybe that isn't relevant).

I'm referring to the NE10 drivers, which I guess is what's in there now, but they used to use both Eminence Deltalites and Deltalite IIs, so you'd have to pull one to be sure. The NE10s are rated for 300 watts, but they can't make use of it with their meager 2.35mm excursion. This chart shows the maximum output of the 150 watt rated Eminence S2010, in blue, versus the NE10 in red, at full excursion. The Eminence is more than 4dB higher across most of the low end. That's the equivalent of being able to actually make use of more than twice the power that the Carvin can.

Do you think it is all about cutting corners to increase profits with Carvin's cabinets?

I can't speculate on that, but I do know that Eminence no longer allows their OEM drivers to be sold outside of finished cabs. Any manufacturer who does so could lose their Eminence contract. Since Carvin does so much business selling raw drivers they might have decided that it made more sense for them to find a different source rather than abandon that source of sales.

Finally, what specs ARE needed to determine a suitable replacement speaker.

At the very least Qes, Qms, Vas, Fs, Re, Sd and Xmax.