Decided to repost this as a new thread....
Here's my dilemma: I recently bought a Markbass LM800Tube head, and upgraded my 1x15 cabinet with an Eminence Kappa 15 LFa 8 ohm speaker. Paired with my Hartke Transporter 4x10, the rig sounded good and the guys in the band even commented on how solid it sounded.
We had some smaller outdoor gigs to do (set up on a patio/deck), and I took just the 1x15 speaker cab, and the Markbass head, and for the first one, it sounded great, since we weren't playing at ridiculous volumes. At the second outdoor patio gig, about 3/4 of the way through, my guitar player says "your cabinet is sounding funny". Sure enough, the low notes were buzzing.
At home, I checked to be sure the screen wasn't buzzing against the speaker (it wasn't), took the screen off, tried the cabinet with the Markbass head (the buzz/fuzz was still there even at low volume), tried the Markbass head with the 4x10 (no buzzing, so it wasn't the head), and with my trusty old G-K 800RB, and the 15 is definitely blown. I contacted Eminence, and they gave me an RA number to return the speaker (it's only 2 months old), so we'll see what they decide. I'm hoping they just replace it under warranty, as I don't believe I abused it, didn't run more wattage into the speaker than it's rated for, and never ran the Markbass full up (master volume at about 6 or 7, pre volume at about 3, and very little boost in the EQ in any band, mostly set flat). At 8 ohms, the Markbass puts out about 500 watts, and the Kappa is rated at 600 watts at 8 ohms.
So, I'm looking at an Avatar TB153 on Ebay, and wondering if this will be adequate. I'm also considering building a fEarful cabinet, as a winter project. My main concern is having a rig that I can use anywhere, for any gig, big or small, that will work with the Markbass head, and not have a repeat of the problem I just had. I am open to advice....
After some research and thought, and a glance at my bank account, I may just get an Avatar 2x10 to sit on top of my 1x15, once I get the replacement speaker. The next question comes, do I use a low pass filter to prevent a full range signal from hitting the 1x15? Or just run the whole rig full range? My goal is reliability, and consistent sound. I know that with the 8 ohm 15, and an 8 ohm 2x10, the Markbass will see 4 ohms, and I can't go below that, but the power will be spread out over 3 speakers (plus a horn) instead of 1, so there is less risk of blowing anything.
Again, open to suggestions.....
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