Replace the replacement in my Ampeg Classic 15?

jumblemind · #1 02-01-2013, 05:22 PM

Sometime before I joined TB and started learning the why's and wherefore's, I bought an Ampeg Classic 1x15 cab off of CL that had a replacement neo 600w 8ohm speaker. I haven't taken it apart to see exactly what kind of speaker is in there, I just have the specs the seller provided. As for the original, the back of the cab indicates it started life as a made-in-the-U.S.A. (St. Louis, to be exact) Classic enclosure with a 200w 8ohm speaker.

Should I replace this with an 8ohm that may be potentially better suited for the box? FWIW I have two other 210s in my stable, a micro AV 210 and an Avatar B210 neo. I've seen threads where people are discouraged from 4ohm single cabs.

craig.p · #2 02-01-2013, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jumblemind

I've seen threads where people are discouraged from 4ohm single cabs.

Typically they're envisioning the user wanting to add another cab in the future to an amp that can drive an impedance no lower than 4 ohms. With a single 4 ohm cab, you're already at the minimum. Depends on your amp, how loud you need to get, what your expansion plans are, etc.

However, I have seen 4-ohm and 8-ohm driver variants where the Xmax specs are different. Pretty sure they were Eminence. Just can't recall which ones.

jumblemind · #3 02-01-2013, 07:20 PM

Right now I have two small amps for two different bands, an Ampeg Micro VR (with the AV 210) and a GK mb200 (with the Avatar 210). Obviously, I can't add the 4ohm 15 cab to either of these, I can only use that cab by itself...typically outdoors, which is why I bought it in the first place, because my old 4x10 was getting washed out on outdoor gigs.

Either of my amp setups are too small for a lot of my gigs, so an 8ohm 15 cab could be helpful to both, but I know some here also warn against mixing drivers like that.

**Bass 45** · #4 02-01-2013, 08:17 PM

The original speaker has an Ampeg part number of 86-511-08. It is a real nice full range cast frame Eminence driver. The 200 watt power handling is conservative by most of today's advertised numbers. The driver weighs 17 pounds.

How does the cab sound with the neo installed?

jumblemind · #5 02-01-2013, 08:30 PM

Having run an Ampeg B2r into an ancient pawn shop Hartke 4x10 for 8 years...I think the neo in this cabinet sounds great! There's a bit of a rattle in the cabinet now that wasn't there before, as I think I may have pushed it pretty hard at one indoor gig and shaken something loose. The speaker is still fine, there's just something physically loose, I think. Could be something simple. Other than that, it sounds brighter than the 4x10 ever did. That's one reason I'm hesitant to mess with it. I never thought to ask why the original owner replaced the speaker, btw.

jumblemind · #6 02-01-2013, 08:33 PM

One option is to leave it be and run the Micro CV and the Avatar together if I need more speakers and headroom, but I'm not sure that's a very good pairing. That's why I was thinking an economical solution would be to swap an 8ohm into the 15, thinking that, with the right speaker, it could potentially go well with each of those better than they'd pair with each other.

**Bass 45** · #7 02-01-2013, 08:34 PM

I suppose the original could have been blown - or maybe they wanted to shed about ten pounds.

As far as the rattle - have you tried it with and without the casters? Are the springs in the handles still holding tight?

jumblemind · #8 02-01-2013, 08:46 PM

Springs are fine. Haven't tried it without the casters since i noticed the rattle, but i think it's higher up, maybe right behind the grill screen. It's not terribly noticeable, and i haven't had a lot of down time at home recently to dive into it.

If I did replace the speaker, what would be a good option?

jumblemind · #9 02-01-2013, 09:18 PM

Or maybe I should just buy a Carvin BX500 that can carry 2ohm and run all of my cabs at the same time.