Looking at refurbed Ampeg 810 - questions

[StuartV]

I've been looking out for an Ampeg 810 cab. I found one today that is listed as being "totally rebuilt". I emailed the seller about what's in it and he said this:

Pyle Pro musical instument speakers made by Eminence (same supplier for ampeg) all the same and new. 2" voice coils, 50 ounce magnets, 200 watts each. Cabinet is plywood. The tolex was badly torn so i stripped it off and sanded it and painted it with truck bed liner. I reglued all the internal seams so it would be air tight and stronger. replaced the fiberglass insulation with 1" foam pad on 3 sides in each pairs compartment.

I went and looked on PylePro.com and Eminence.com to try and figure out what speakers he put in it and can't tell. I don't see any 10" speakers with a 50oz. magnet. The closest thing I did find was the Eminence Legend B102. From reading on here, that looks like a great replacement, but I'm not sure that's what he put in.

So, from the seller's description above, can anybody give me any idea of whether this cabinet is one I should go for or run away from?

Thanks for any help!

[StuartV]

I think I found the Pyle speakers the guy used. I'm guessing they are the PPA10.

http://www.pyleaudio.com/itemdetail....rs&model=PPA10

They look good - except that they are 8 ohms. The guy said the cab is still 4 ohms. So, I assume that means he would have wired each pair in series, where the original would have had each pair wired in parallel.

Would there be any problem with that? Any ramifications in terms of the sound, compared to using 32 ohm speakers all wired in parallel?

[bobcruz]

He probably used this one, which doesn't seem like a bad speaker but has very low sensitivity (89 db) for a pro sound woofer with 5.8 mm xmax:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=292-214

Here's the speaker he should've used; he probably didn't because it costs more than twice what the Pyle costs:

http://www.eminence.com/bassguitar_s...0&SUB_CAT_ID=5

I'd keep looking unless the cabinet sounds great, is loud enough for you and is dirt cheap.

[StuartV]

Comparing specs to the Eminence Legend B102:

Magnet - Em 30 oz, Pyle 50oz
Power handling - Em 150W, Pyle 200W
Xmax - Em 4.7mm, Pyle 5.8mm
Sensitivity - Em 92.7, Pyle 89.2
Freq Resp - Em 49Hz - 5.1 kHz, Pyle 50Hz - 5kHz

It looks like the only possible negative to the Pyle is the lower sensitivity. 3.5 dB seems like a lot. Doesn't that mean that this cab would like only be half as loud for a given amount of power through it, compared to the same cab with the B102?

[BassmanPaul]

I am almost certain that Eminence don't make any speakers sold under the Pyle Pro name. As I remember Pyle Pro are very cheaply made speakers produced in the Far East. I'd keep on looking if I were you.

[StuartV]

I emailed the seller and told him no, thanks.

The pic of the cab looks really good, though. It's on CL in Gainesville, FL, for $375.

I'll hold out. I've seen ones with OEM speakers in the $500 - 600 range. Might not look quite as "new", but I can live with that. I won't be looking at it when I'm playing.