Picked up a new Ampeg PF500 yesterday at GC. Since they didn't have but one single 15 cab in stock, which was a GK NEO that I really didn't like the sound of that much. I decided to head over to Sam Ash and try out the Hartke AK cabinet.
Sam Ash is about 4 miles down the road from GC so I headed down there. I knew they had one of the Hartke AK series 15 cabs and I wanted to check that out. Hartke says
it's got a 400 watt paper cone driver so I was really looking forward to trying that one out. Didn't want to unbox the new PF and haul it in so I used an LH500 to check it out.
I really wanted to like that AK cab but for me it was a
MAJOR letdown. Just didn't have it. I couldn't get any volume out of it to maintain a decent full sound with any kind of punch before it started to fart out. I don't know maybe it was just a bad cab. I'll tell you it was bad for me.
So even though I wanted to try and stick with a paper cone speaker, I decided to try the HyDrive HX115. After giving the cabinet the "tap" test, I left the LH500 at the same settings an just switched cabs. All I can say is WOW! I was very surprised with that HX115 cabinet. It had twice the volume and punch of the AK cab and a smoother and louder bottom end than the GK I tried at GC. With the HX115 tweeter off I was able to dial in a sound that was real close to the old school paper cone 15 sound I was looking for. That cab handled everything that I threw at it with the LH500. Had a nice growl to it with a touch of bite when digging in. Smooth mids and highs without the tweeter probably due to the aluminum center cone. The salesman over at SA is a long time acquaintance so I was able to crank it without the usual "please turn down" thing.
SA gave me a great "Father's Day" price and I got a new one in the box. So happy owner of a great single 15 cab. After I got the cab home, unboxed, and hooked up to the Ampeg PF500, it sounded real good.
Had a chance today to "explore" the cab itself. Construction and quality are PRO all the way on this thing. Pulled the handles for a quick look inside. First, the handles are screwed in with T-nuts (nice). The cabinet if fully braced front to rear and is filled on all interior surfaces with sound dampening material. Front Grille is secured with heavy screws and washers, metal corners which are a nice touch and hold up way better than the plastic ones do. All in all a very good cabinet if you're looking for a stand alone 15 that can do vintage and modern tones.
Here's a link to the full rig with pics over on the TB Ampeg PF thread.
Ampeg PF500/PF350
Keep Low
Question on Hartke AK115 cab 
