Carvin PS15 WinIsd results

[jlh60]

I used WinIsd to get cabinet sizes for an old Carvin PS15 speaker. I used specs supplied by Carvin. For interior volume in a sealed box it calls for over 5 cu.ft. and over 11 cu.ft. for a vented box. I don't think Carvin used boxes this big for this speaker. Am I missing something?
Thanks

[seamonkey]

It's pretty common for cabinet size to be a fashion statement not on the driver's Thiele parameters.
Carvin use to be one of the good companies and actually publish frequency response charts.
There will be not of that from them anymore. Since not other bass cabinet manufacturer does, it is better to stay with a fashion and fit the look, than to base design on science, and measurements.

[Passinwind]

WinISD only suggests a few classic alignments, and often not all that well at that IME. Enter actual cab volume desired (or measured for an existing cab) and see what the model looks like.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by jlh60

I used WinIsd to get cabinet sizes for an old Carvin PS15 speaker. I used specs supplied by Carvin. For interior volume in a sealed box it calls for over 5 cu.ft. and over 11 cu.ft. for a vented box. I don't think Carvin used boxes this big for this speaker. Am I missing something?
Thanks

WinISD defaults to the flattest possible response, Carvin (and every other manufacturer) defaults to what they think is the most marketable box size. And there's the matter of price. Higher Qts/Vas low EBP drivers need larger boxes. Lower Qts/Vas high EBP drivers will work in smaller cabs, but lower Qts/Vas high EBP drivers tend to be more expensive.

[jlh60]

Thanks for the info. I wanted to build a small combo cabinet similar to a Hartke kickback using the PS15 and a Ampeg B1 rackmount amp. Doesn't look like I'll be able to keep it small and get good performance from the speaker.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by jlh60

Thanks for the info. I wanted to build a small combo cabinet similar to a Hartke kickback using the PS15 and a Ampeg B1 rackmount amp. Doesn't look like I'll be able to keep it small and get good performance from the speaker.

That depends. For example, with a low powered amp like Ampeg Fliptops the only way you can get high output is to use a higher Qts high Vas driver. The result is a midbass response peak that gives a lot of output with 50 watts or less, though at the expense of deep lows. If that's your tonal preference all well and good. The advantage to today's better drivers is that they allow one to get deep lows from smaller packages, the downside being that they won't have gigging output with a 50 watt head.

[jlh60]

The amp is a 100 watt single space rackmount unit. I've used it to power my Carvin 410 cab and I've used a Peavey 115 cab with no problems. I'm just trying to make something more portable to use in smaller clubs. I play through a Carvin PB500 amp with the 410 cab and add a Carvin 118 cab when it's needed for larger venues. I should mention I'm playing in a Blues band and not looking for thunderous bass out of a small combo. I can get that with my Carvin rig.