Bergantino is coming out with NEO cabs!!!

[Vic]

Hey, I'm not a shill for TGS or Berg, but check this out... the LONG awaited lightweight Bergs! I'm gonna' have to check one out somehow someday!

http://www.thegrooveshoppe.com/forum...=5680#post5680

[Zildjian106]

YES!

[KJung]

Thanks for the scoop Vic! While I'm totally giddy on my Epi's, it's always good to have another uber quality option for those of us who like great quality sound but also light and loud.

This is a regular old TBer's invitation for Joel (or Jim) to tell us about these cabs on the thread.

[tombowlus]

These new cabs sound very promising. Knowing Jim's track record of concerns about the performance of neodymium drivers in his cabinets, I definitely look forward to hearing how Jim's specific engineering response to these concerns pans out.

Tom.

[Vic]

Originally Posted by tombowlus

These new cabs sound very promising. Knowing Jim's track record of concerns about the performance of neodymium drivers in his cabinets, I definitely look forward to hearing how Jim's specific engineering response to these concerns pans out.

Tom.

Big +1, and probably the primary reason why I'm as interested as I am, despite how incredibly happy I am with the Epifani.

[Joelc73]

Originally Posted by KJung

Thanks for the scoop Vic! While I'm totally giddy on my Epi's, it's always good to have another uber quality option for those of us who like great quality sound but also light and loud.

This is a regular old TBer's invitation for Joel (or Jim) to tell us about these cabs on the thread.

I'll do my best without overstepping the TB CUP rules.

The new cabs are part of what Bergantino is calling the AE series (Advanced Engineering). They will be available in 210, 410 and 112 configurations.

They are covered in an epoxy finish and have the Bergantino "B" etched on the side. I won't post any pictures until Jim does but suffice it to say the whole box is very high-end looking.

The heaviest one, the 410, weighs in around 59 lbs.

We were lucky enough to have Jim involve The Groove Shoppe in the testing and R&D of these cabs over the last four months or so and it was a wonderful experience. We had the opportunity to really spend time with each revision and compare it to our other favorites cabinets - both NEO and ceramic.

I've been using the AE410 for a few months now with a variety of heads and couldn't be happier.

I hope that helps.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Joelc73

I'll do my best without overstepping the TB CUP rules.

The new cabs are part of what Bergantino is calling the AE series (Advanced Engineering). They will be available in 210, 410 and 112 configurations.

They are covered in an epoxy finish and have the Bergantino "B" etched on the side. I won't post any pictures until Jim does but suffice it to say the whole box is very high-looking.

The heaviest one, the 410, weighs in around 59 lbs.

We were lucky enough to have Jim involve The Groove Shoppe in the testing and R&D of these cabs over the last four months or so and it was a wonderful experience. We had the opportunity to really spend time with each revision and compare it to our other favorites cabinets - both NEO and ceramic.

I've been using the AE410 for a few months now with a variety of heads and couldn't be happier.

I hope that helps.

Very cool! I assume the 410 will be a 4ohm cab and the 210 will be an 8ohm, similar to the HS line.

I love my Neo 410's If Jim's Neo 410 is that very nice 16" depth of his other large cabs, I will most probably be all over this

[greenboy]

More interesting to me would be to see signs of other innovation, but of course including in the choice of driver components themselves. I'm pretty much in touch with what neo drivers are being made by what transducer companies and I haven't seen any big design shifts toward bass-guitar-specific applications recently. But some drivers not yet used in the bass sector could be good fits, given the right pricing.

By the same token, Class D amplification was not generally respected until the SpeakerPower plate amps that had been largely unseen though available for OEM purposes, got used in the IP series.

[tombowlus]

Originally Posted by greenboy

More interesting to me would be to see signs of other innovation, but of course including in the choice of driver components themselves. I'm pretty much in touch with what neo drivers are being made by what transducer companies and I haven't seen any big design shifts toward bass-guitar-specific applications recently. But some drivers not yet used in the bass sector could be good fits, given the right pricing.

I know that Jim worked very closely with the development of these specific drivers for a very long time, so they are not 'off the shelf' models.

[vision]

Originally Posted by KJung

If Jim's Neo 410 is that very nice 16" depth of his other large cabs, I will most probably be all over this

+1!!! The Epi 410UL is a bit big for me and my sedan, so I'll definitely be interested in Jim's cab...

[KJung]

Originally Posted by tombowlus

I know that Jim worked very closely with the development of these specific drivers for a very long time, so they are not 'off the shelf' models.

Most higher end cab manufacturers do not use 'off the shelf models'. However, the 'custom' models are virtually always relatively minor tweeks of the primary design of the manufacturer.

My guess is that the current Neo speaker offerings by Eminence or B&C (of course, with Jim's tweeks to them) fit very well into the HS type cab design versus those original hi xmax larger HT designs. In other words, after spending time with my HS210, there is no reason a competent speaker designer should not be able to get a similar tone using Neo speakers.

I think this is a good thing and look forward to hearing them. I always found the HT's a sort of acquired taste (although I sure do dig it for certain things!), but the more 'mainstream' voicing of the HS appeals to me.. and if he can take the weight down, I'm probably there

[joelb79]

Cool. Now if they only sounded like high-end ceramic drivers, I'd be in heaven.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by joelb79

Cool. Now if they only sounded like high-end ceramic drivers, I'd be in heaven.

The Series II Epi's already do

However, if you are talking about sounding like those hi xmax drivers in the older discontinued HT's, that's a different story, and the HS series also sounds nothing like them.

[tombowlus]

Originally Posted by joelb79

Cool. Now if they only sounded like high-end ceramic drivers, I'd be in heaven.

Jim really did come at this with some vigor, and the tweaks he made were not insignificant. So, my hope is that they will be closer than they might have been without such engineering 'tweaks.' But, I am also doubtful that they will sound 100% like Jim's ceramic-magnet offerings.

Tom.

[T. Alan Smith]

As a HIGHLY content owner of an HT112, looking to add a large cab to my lineup, and equally impressed with Bergantino's customer service...I'm kinda xcited about this.

[Joelc73]

Originally Posted by KJung

I love my Neo 410's If Jim's Neo 410 is that very nice 16" depth of his other large cabs, I will most probably be all over this

Yes, the 410 and 210 maintain the shallow depth of the HS cabs. They're actually even slightly smaller since they don't have the plastic corners. It fits in the back seat of my Accord easily.

[Valerus]

Nice!

[greenboy]

Originally Posted by joelb79

Cool. Now if they only sounded like high-end ceramic drivers, I'd be in heaven.

Comes down to what R&D has been applied to drivers. The Kappalite 3015LF ferinstance sounds like a very good conventional mid-wattage subwoofer - maybe the one Eminence always wanted to make but until recently couldn't. If Em or any other transducer team found it market-savvy to go back through their entire lineup and design a neo sound-alike (or improved version if they felt they had originally missed their mark) for each one, they could do it.

But most neo drivers are R&D'd to solve problems currently on the front burner, not to recreate past efforts. As such, market demand and dollars put into OEM research determines what gets done. Most OEM is minor tweaking if any of existing designs because that's more affordable. Still, most of the real strong work gets applied to SR, home, mobile, and any market OTHER than the relatively staid bass guitar one.

[petch]

Heck, I'll buy one!

[Bassflute]

Originally Posted by Vic

Hey, I'm not a shill for TGS or Berg, but check this out... the LONG awaited lightweight Bergs! I'm gonna' have to check one out somehow someday!

http://www.thegrooveshoppe.com/forum...=5680#post5680

count me in!!!!

Cameron