Help..Fried a Carvin LSx1503 Woofer.

[gaffster787]

Finally pushed it too hard at the last gig..we had a guest guitarist with 200W stack. The stock Carvin woofer is rubbin and fartin worse than a wino with a can o' beans. It was the best sounding bass cab I ever had, especially with my t-birds.
Anyone actually drop a 3015LF in that cab and get good results? or should I look at the Avatar or elsewhere and dismiss the cab to PA duties w/ a stock replacement.

[lbwdog]

Sounds great with a 3015LF.

[rpsands]

More suited to a nonlf.

[mntngrown]

From what I have been reading get the Avatar tb153 if it's still399.00 and replace the Carvin woofer as you see fit. Same one? Good PA?

[babebambi]

Originally Posted by gaffster787

Finally pushed it too hard at the last gig..we had a guest guitarist with 200W stack. The stock Carvin woofer is rubbin and fartin worse than a wino with a can o' beans. It was the best sounding bass cab I ever had, especially with my t-birds.
Anyone actually drop a 3015LF in that cab and get good results? or should I look at the Avatar or elsewhere and dismiss the cab to PA duties w/ a stock replacement.

Originally Posted by rpsands

More suited to a non-LF.

Yeah, if you think the stock LS1503 sounds good, wait until you stuff a 3015 in there.

[elgecko]

How about get it reconed?

[rpsands]

Originally Posted by elgecko

How about get it reconed?

Because it's a piece of crap woofer, and the cost to recone it would be far better spent by buying a reasonable quality woofer (which is lighter and much superior).

[lbwdog]

+1
Carvin offers the replacement for $69 which is probably cheaper than a recone, but you've already demonstrated the driver can't handle what you're putting into it.
A 3015 or 3015LF sounds really great in this cab and can handle mucho power! I had crossover and buzzing issues with mine (w/3015LF) back in 2007, but seem to have it straightened out now. I'm about to install a 6ND410 mid as soon as it arrives.

BTW: Anyone know of a simple way to pad the mid driver 3db without going into the crossover?

[jeff7bass]

The whole cab costs 279.00 brand new and like any piece of equipment, it fails when abused.
Considering the price range, the woofer is solid and the cab as a whole is exceptional.

[rpsands]

Originally Posted by jeff7bass

The whole cab costs 279.00 brand new and like any piece of equipment, it fails when abused.
Considering the price range, the woofer is solid and the cab as a whole is exceptional.

FOR USE AS A BASS CABINET the woofer is bad even for the price in my opinion. What is good about the cabinet is its size and design, not the woofer.

The woofer is suitable for a PA top, not a bass cab. You can tell this because it's the same woofer they use in their PA top :P

I've owned this specific woofer btw, so it's not theorycrafting. The PS15 is seriously a garbage woofer FOR BASS USE. The 1.8mm xmax is a total disqualifier. For PA mains, they are fine, when crossed over to a sub.

[CDweller]

I have heard this cab with a 3015 (a friends), and my own cab with its 3015LF, both cabs powered by my WW Ultra. I heard a bit more quality bass response with the 3015LF. This cab is good enough for most applications; for the $130 or so that you can find a used 3015LF for, I'd say it's worth it. It will be about 15 pounds lighter than the Avatar.

[rpsands]

Remember, the midrange driver in the Avatar model is almost surely much louder.

[CDweller]

Originally Posted by rpsands

Remember, the midrange driver in the Avatar model is almost surely much louder.

Tru dat! The op will have to decide whether he wants to spend app $130 for a 3015(LF), or the $450 or so shipped for the Avatar. The Avatar will certainly perform better, but it's his call whether or not it's $320 better.

The Avatar is a winner for all but the most discerning, imo. The Carvin's now almost completely obviated by the Avatar- the only remaining redeeming quality of the 1503 is its substantially lighter weight. Being that my Carvin is here, paid for, and good enough for me, I can't justify the Avatar, though I would love to have one. The next step for me is a modular, honest to goodness fEarful rig.

[gaffster787]

Thanks all !!!
ordered the kappa...still thinking about the avatar as well..it's a good deal.

[lbwdog]

Tip:
The frame of the 3015 is thicker than the stock Carvin, so you should use some type of grill standoff to keep the cone from hitting the grill on higher excursion. I ended up putting individual heavy duty round grills on the woofer and mid, eliminating the stock grill completely.

[jeff7bass]

Originally Posted by rpsands

FOR USE AS A BASS CABINET the woofer is bad even for the price in my opinion. What is good about the cabinet is its size and design, not the woofer.

The woofer is suitable for a PA top, not a bass cab. You can tell this because it's the same woofer they use in their PA top :P

I've owned this specific woofer btw, so it's not theorycrafting. The PS15 is seriously a garbage woofer FOR BASS USE. The 1.8mm xmax is a total disqualifier. For PA mains, they are fine, when crossed over to a sub.

That's fine because I said that it's abusing the cab to use it as a bass cab while jacking it up to try and keep up with a very loud band. I had the same woofer in my PB100-15 and knew when to change my EQ settings, because the band was playing too loud. Once I backed off the bass knob (along with a few other adjustments), the amp sounded great.

It would be nice if Carvin allowed a woofer upgrade. They do offer a more expensive line of PA cabs though.

[honestjohnny]

Awesome!! Now you can get a 3015 or 3015LF. I've been trying to blow mine for 3 years with no luck I have the active version with all the speaker protection hoohah, though.

What would be interesting is a comparison btw the Carvin w/ 3015 variant and the Avatar TB153.