Mixing speakers, not sizes - help needed

solarplexus · #1 06-13-2011, 11:51 AM

Hi there,

I went back to my hometown this weekend and my dad gave me his old Traynor cabs. Two CS-115H cabs. They are usually for PA, but they do sound pretty good with my DB300 head (taken out of the combo). However, I am not planning on using them that much because they are very heavy (about 100lbs for a 15"). I was considering using one of the cabs to add to my old Yorkville Bassmaster 200 as extension.

Here is my question.... knowing there are some phase issues with mixing different speaker sizes and can produce unpredictable tone, how is the phasing issues with different speakers of the same size?

BillyB_from_LZ · #2 06-13-2011, 11:58 AM

Personally, I really like pairing a 2x10 with a 1x15. Having written that, I suspect that the same sonic bliss can be had with pairing two different 15s at least at some level.

Best way to find out is to give it a try! After all, it's more about how it sounds to you (the player) than what a bunch of us have ourselves convinced it might sound like.

MuzikMan · #3 06-13-2011, 12:13 PM

When people are talking about mismatched cabs it is rarely because it might not sound good to "you". That could very well be the case. The difficulty with mismatched cabs is how they will sound to everyone else in every position of the venue or to you as you move around on stage. With vertical matched cabs you minimize the differences.

In my opinion as long as your two 1x15 enclosures are approximately the same sensitivity they should be a reasonable match, even if they are not the same brand.

solarplexus · #4 06-13-2011, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuzikMan

When people are talking about mismatched cabs it is rarely because it might not sound good to "you". That could very well be the case. The difficulty with mismatched cabs is how they will sound to everyone else in every position of the venue or to you as you move around on stage. With vertical matched cabs you minimize the differences.

In my opinion as long as your two 1x15 enclosures are approximately the same sensitivity they should be a reasonable match, even if they are not the same brand.

So the SPL would have much more effect in matching a cab than the speaker brand? Would it be the same thing for different speaker sizes?

staindbass · #5 06-13-2011, 12:28 PM

i think the spl would be important because one cab will be louder (more efficient) than the other. i also think mixing different ported cabs is worse than sealed cabs. all vents on ported cabs put out sound that is out of phase with the speaker. when you mix vented cabs the frequencies at which the vent starts to work are different, so you get out of phase areas and reduces the output at those frequencies.

billfitzmaurice · #6 06-13-2011, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solarplexus

knowing there are some phase issues with mixing different speaker sizes and can produce unpredictable tone, how is the phasing issues with different speakers of the same size?

Not so much phase issues as different responses and capabilities, which of course also applies to different size drivers as well. Worth trying since it's not costing you anything to do so.

Quote:

all vents on ported cabs put out sound that is out of phase with the speaker.

The port output is out of phase with the front wave only below the frequency bandwidth where the cab is supposed to be operated.