What speaker for b15?

[feidsvaag]

Hi, I think i will buy a vintage b15 from ebay soon, should i look for the original cts speakers og the altec? Or maybe the JBL k140? Any opinions?


Thanks, Fritz

[edbass]

I've got a K140 that I'm going to replace the original CTS in my B15N with. I have a Sunn 115 cab with a K140 in it and at a recent GTG the Sunn/JBL cab was by general consensus a lot more "musical" sounding and dynamic with the B15N than the original cab with the CTS was.
Part of that is the driver, part is the enclosure, but I've been flirting with the idea for a while now and the results at the GTG pushed me over the edge.
If I do it soon I'll post the outcome.

[coreyfyfe]

I've got a K140 in mine now and like that better than the CTS I had but they were different enclosure designs. This one is an earlier double baffle, my B15 with the CTS was a single baffle. I have a few CTS 15s from my B25 that need reconing, I might try one of those in the B15 if I ever get around to it, but for now, I'm pretty satisfied with the K140.

In reality, I'd say get the B15 you can get. They sound great with all three speakers, and trying to describe differences in sound over the internet with such differences in preferred tone and different ears is a crap shoot. I might think it sounds great but you might hate it.

[pgk]

Originally Posted by feidsvaag

Hi, I think i will buy a vintage b15 from ebay soon, should i look for the original cts speakers og the altec? Or maybe the JBL k140? Any opinions?


Thanks, Fritz

what year/style is the B15? depending on what style certain speakers just won't fit with the head flipped into storage. iow an EV15B won't work with a B15N, but a JBL D140 will. i don't Think an altec 421a will either. the big speakers will fit into the later era B15N or S designs though with no problem. i have an Eminence Kappa Pro in my head-less '68 BT15 cab and it sounds quite nice in there, after long break-in period that speaker requires. it was spiky and way too upper midrange-y for the first 40-50 hours and now it's balanced out quite nicely. that surprised the heck out of me for being in such a small box and all. it's a damn nice and efficient speaker to pair up with "low" power heads like the later large box B15N or B15S

[coreyfyfe]

The altec should fit fine, it was originally sold as part of an upgrade package by ampeg in the 60s/70s.

[ddbassGA]

To me the classic B15 sound is the blue check single baffle with a CTS. I've had one of these for decades. By the time of the single baffle they had gone to fixed bias and a bit more power. I like the JBL D140F or K140 in this cab too. Some folks prefer the older double baffle. The early ones of those came with Jensen.

Altec or JBL was the upgrade depending on the period. I just picked up an early 70's N with Thiele ported cab and I believe the Altec or JBL will works best in that cab. That said, the one I got came with an EV DXL in it that really sounds marvelous! And the head fits in the box just fine.

[feidsvaag]

Thanks for good advise, seems to be a lot of opinions about which speaker i should go for. I think I will buy a b15 first and then try different speakers. I think i will go for a jbl or altec since they were the original upgrade speakers.

Thanks, Fritz

[ddbassGA]

Right, I'd definitely recommend buying a B15 as your first step. ;>