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15" Driver's (1 x 15 Cabs)

I need more low end, 325 watts would sound best coming out of

  • Two 200w 1 x 15" cabs

    Votes: 25 21.4%

  • Two 300-350w 1 x 15" cabs

    Votes: 35 29.9%

  • 400w 4 x 10" cab

    Votes: 57 48.7%
  • Total voters
    117
#2
Doesn't matter.
Get the ones that SOUND the best to your ears.
Crazy huh?!?!?;)

As you'll soon find out, all the speaker "experts" will chime in giving you all the technical data on the subject.
None of the specs make a darn difference if they don't sound good.

I put 800+ watts into either a single 200watt 210 cab or split it between a pair of them.
Just FYI.
 
#6
If they both sound good to you, I would go with the higher handling cabs, as this will probably allow you to get louder in the future as you may need it. There is nothing wrong with buying gear that you can grow into, if you can afford it now, as this can save money in the long run. That being said, pay close attention to which of the cabs have the higher sensitivity rating, as this will play a major part in how loud those cabs will be ... Wattage handling is only a part of the equation, another thing to take note of is if the program (RMS) rating is the same as the PEAK rating or not (all 15's I have seen have the same RMS and PEAK ratings, but there may be exceptions that I am not aware of), also, think about what use you are going to have them for. Do you need them for lows alone or are you going to be using them as a full frequency rig sometimes? All cabs sound different (no matter what size speakers they have) generalizations are only that. If you are using them for lows alone, factor in which have the ability to use 40 HZ (or 30 Hz if you like to drop tune) as the lowest usable frequency response, and finally think about the weight or each cab ... sometimes (depending or situation and how they stack up in all other aspects) having lighter gear is a nice thing. All the best! Cheers.
 
#9
According to your title you need low end. If I were you I'd head to the music store and play 2x15 vs 4x10 on a head similar to the ones own.

IMO:
2x15 will have the thunderous low end. But not very bright even with horns.
4x10 will have awesome mids, bright to the point of being tinny with the horn @ 0 db. It will diffidently cut through, but it will be lacking the low end you want.
One the two power ratings running closer to the max wattage will get you closer to the max SPL. In theory the lower rated ones should be louder and carry further, if both speakers have the same sensitivity. In reality while they might have similar sensitivity the quality of speaker will determine how it sounds @ what output level.

I voted 2x200w as on paper this should give you volumes of low end. But you should let your ears decide how you want to sound. True the 2x300-350 lets you upgrade amps. But so does adding cabs. Almost all the newer amps are 2 ohm capable, soon there will be a decent number of 1 ohm capable. I'd go low wattage, light weight and tons of speakers to move large volumes of air. Bottom line we are not playing in an Astro van to see who gets the highest SPL, so high powered speakers don't help us much. Especially when you look at the limited excursion rates of "musical" speakers.
 
#11
One slight argument in favor of the higher power handling option is this: Reduced thermal compression.

Since bass loudspeakers are very inefficient devices (typically less than 5%), when you put 200 watts into the voice coil, 190 of those watts just go into heating it up. At its rated power handling, it's normal for a driver to have 3 dB or so of thermal compression. While the difference in loudness that thermal compression makes is probably not audible, the difference in impact and liveliness usually is.

I compete in the home audio loudspeaker market, and one of my selling points there is reduced thermal compression and therefore better liveliness and dynamic contrast relative to most of the competition, simply because I use pro-sound drivers.
 
#12
thermal ratings dont say much on how much the speaker can actually take. the 300w speaker could fart and over-exert itself with 30w at 41hz. the 200w speaker could take 150w without farting and/or over-exerting itself and play clean down to 30hz. it all depends on the speakers and the box theyre in. also if the 200w speakers are more efficient than the 300w speakers, they are going to be louder with the same head. of course not all efficiency is measured the same and/or is published accurately.

also, the 410 cab will not necessarily sound lower or project more mids or anything else like that. my 215 kills my old 410 in the mids department, but does not as easily go lower. also, two stacked 115s will project everything much better than a 410.
 
#13
Agreed, Johnny Mack - the thermal rating is only one piece of the puzzle.

In most (if not all) cases, thermal power handling is NOT the ultimate limiting factor on maximum output level in a bass cab. My point - which I should have articulated better - is that (all else being equal) reduced thermal compression can improve the sound quality BELOW that maximum output level.
 
#16
See....told you they would swing on in!!! :D
What SOUNDS good to you.
That should be your deciding factor.
Period.
Numbers don't mean diddly doo if it's sounds like diddly doo doo!!!
 
#18
vapochilled said:
According to your title you need low end. If I were you I'd head to the music store and play 2x15 vs 4x10 on a head similar to the ones own.

IMO:
2x15 will have the thunderous low end. But not very bright even with horns.
4x10 will have awesome mids, bright to the point of being tinny with the horn @ 0 db. It will diffidently cut through, but it will be lacking the low end you want.
Click to expand...


I should point out that I am already running two 200w 8 ohm 10's and a horn in the redhead already so it's looking like 15's are the way to go. The red gives 650w @ 2 ohms.

Why do I never see any 4 ohm 1x15 cabs anywhere? (online, in stores, walking down the street, anywhere?)
 
#19
DukeLeJeune said:
If you're addressing me, Johnny Mack, I don't understand your point. Nor do I see where there's enough data for me to model anything.

Could you please clarify?
Click to expand...

im sorry, i was not addressing you :)

i was trying to basically say to the OP that he/she would find winISD very useful. without specific drivers or data, it is impossible to state a preference between two completely different speakers based on their power ratings alone.

even with some basic measurements and driver models, somebody could come up with a decent suggestion for the OP.

also, to the OP, there are 4 ohm 115s. you may just have to look a little bit more.
 
#20
vapochilled said:
According to your title you need low end. If I were you I'd head to the music store and play 2x15 vs 4x10 on a head similar to the ones own.

IMO:
2x15 will have the thunderous low end. But not very bright even with horns.
4x10 will have awesome mids, bright to the point of being tinny with the horn @ 0 db. It will diffidently cut through, but it will be lacking the low end you want.
One the two power ratings running closer to the max wattage will get you closer to the max SPL. In theory the lower rated ones should be louder and carry further, if both speakers have the same sensitivity. In reality while they might have similar sensitivity the quality of speaker will determine how it sounds @ what output level.

I voted 2x200w as on paper this should give you volumes of low end. But you should let your ears decide how you want to sound. True the 2x300-350 lets you upgrade amps. But so does adding cabs. Almost all the newer amps are 2 ohm capable, soon there will be a decent number of 1 ohm capable. I'd go low wattage, light weight and tons of speakers to move large volumes of air. Bottom line we are not playing in an Astro van to see who gets the highest SPL, so high powered speakers don't help us much. Especially when you look at the limited excursion rates of "musical" speakers.
Click to expand...

Dude, there are plenty of 4x10s that are thunderously bassy without hardly any mid presence and also plenty of 15s that have hardly any lower bass frequencies going at all. Speaker size means almost as little as power rating, all it technically effects is midrange dispersion (i.e. if you stand to the side of a 15 driver you won't hear above 1-2k very well - whichever frequency the effect starts getting bad at - but you would hear those frequencies better with a smaller driver)

Alot of people run (I know I have) very high powered amps with much lower powered cabs, and if your careful you won't do anything to your speakers so that's not a concern. I don't know the ins and outs, but in simple terms I seem to remember being told you can often run alot more power through a cab then it says, all will probably depend on how you EQ and the general quality of your cab etc.

Not THAT many amps are 2ohm capable either, they certainly seem to be more available, but they're not that widespread yet.

Not having a go at you man, but your working with some popular myths there that simply aren't true.

Anyway, to the OP, go to some music shops and have a play around, if possible take your own bass and if you can your head (if they're good guys they'll let you hook up your own head if they trust it's in good shape and won't destroy your speakers). While power rating itself isn't a good indicator of volume or durability, you do seem to be interested in upgrading your head, so it's gonna be worth your while to get something that hacks alot of power if your gonna want your rig to get loud in the future, although if you get a good quality cab, depending on how it's voiced, it should at least be efficient so you get more volume for your watts.
 

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