15" replacement suggestions.

[sleeping buddha]

I have an Ampeg Classic 15 that the original driver finally bought the farm. The cab is still solid and has served me well for 10+ years so i'll keep her around.

I'm looking for a 4 ohm speaker somewhere in the 350 to 500 watt range(prefferably on the higher end of the wattage range). Neo's would be a plus for weight savings but not a deal breaker.

Or... I have been eyeballin' either a Schroeder 1210R or a 1212R. I have the money for a used one if the wife doesen't kill me first. Thanks for your help!

 

[joegeezer]

The Basslite 2515 Eminence sounds like just the ticket for your use.

 

[BassmanPaul]

Whatever speaker you get HAS to match the size and porting of your cabinet. There are several speaker programs available on the net that can help you in your selection. You cannot just stick a 15" speaker in the cabinet and expect it to work. You might get lucky but most likely you will get dismal results. Posters on this site seem to like Win ISD Pro for this. I can't comment on the program as I've never used it (I run on Macs).

Paul

 

[Lagaupia]

I used an Ampeg SVT-15E with a Peavey Black Widow 15" in it for years. Sounded great.

 

[portaflexer]

Eminence Kappa Series. Should be fairly well matched to your cab, readily available, 4 or 8 ohm, 450 W RMS, relatively lightweight, and under $125.

 

[yoni74]

Hi, I'm also interested in replacing my old 15" speaker, but I'm concerned about matching the size and porting of my cabinet.
I think my cabinet size is 57 x 62.5 x 36cm and the old speaker features are:
Speaker :Celestion S15-250 8 Ohm 250W Sidewinder
Freq. response: 45 Hz-5000 Hz
Average sensitivity: 102 dB 1W/1M
Power handling: 250 W

Can anyone recommend a fine speaker that fits ok with this cabinet?
I've found a couple of models by Celestion and the above mentioned Eminence, but I don't know which one will be the right one for my cabinet.

Thanks in advance!

 

[portaflexer]

Yoni74, If it was me, I'd probably throw an Eminence Beta 15A in there and call it good. They're only about $70, they sound great, and will be comparable to the Celestion you're replacing. If you're wanting to step up to lighter speaker, I'd take a look at the Eminence Deltalite 2515. They'll cost you about $125, but they're really light.

 

[hoosierdad]

Eminence Kappalite. I just put a 3015 Neo in my 1X15 cab an I am very pleased with it.

 

[A9X]

Eminence Kappalite. I just put a 3015 Neo in my 1X15 cab an I am very pleased with it.

Yoni74,

Given the box dimensions above, it should work OK with the 3015LF as per the Eminence box design on p9 of the pdf. Porting would need to be adjusted most likely. Pop the current driver out and measure the internal dimensions and ports and check to be sure though.

 

[jrfrond]

+1 on the Peavey Black Widow, which is also readily-available in 4 ohms.

 

[A9X]

Whatever speaker you get HAS to match the size and porting of your cabinet. There are several speaker programs available on the net that can help you in your selection. You cannot just stick a 15" speaker in the cabinet and expect it to work. You might get lucky but most likely you will get dismal results. Posters on this site seem to like Win ISD Pro for this. I can't comment on the program as I've never used it (I run on Macs).

Paul

If you have Excel then Unibox should run. It's by far my preference over WinISD. Don't recall if I've mentioned this to you before; sorry if I have.

 

[yoni74]

hi,
a friend of mine has told me that an easy way to find out the proper enclosure volume is to multiply the cabinet dimensions. this is, if my cabinet size is 57 x 62.5 x 36cm, then the result would be 12,825 litres. Is it correct?
Now, I've taken a look at the recommended enclosure volume of the different speakers at eminence's website but all of them recommend bigger enclosures than 12,825 litres. Am I doing it wrong or what?
by the way, I wasn´t able to find where to buy the peavey black widow in case I would.

 

[A9X]

hi,
a friend of mine has told me that an easy way to find out the proper enclosure volume is to multiply the cabinet dimensions. this is, if my cabinet size is 57 x 62.5 x 36cm, then the result would be 12,825 litres. Is it correct?
Now, I've taken a look at the recommended enclosure volume of the different speakers at eminence's website but all of them recommend bigger enclosures than 12,825 litres. Am I doing it wrong or what?
by the way, I wasn´t able to find where to buy the peavey black widow in case I would.

Pop the driver out and measure the internal dimensions, they're what count. This accounts for the thickness of the walls and any baffle inset. Multiply LxWxD in cm, then divide by 1000 to get litres. Subtract 6 litres for the amount of space an average 15" takes and the port volumes. Then you have the net volume enclosure that's needed for calculating it's porting. The Eminence sheets use cu ft; 1 cu ft = 28.32 litres.

 

[locolobo85]

I've got a brand new Eminence Basslite C2515 still in the box. If you're interested, send me a PM. I bought this speaker for a replacement in an Ampeg cabinet. It was not the speaker. Popped the original back in and planned on selling this one or making a cabinet for it. It sounded better than the stock speaker but I was concerned about its power rating causing my amp to clip. Very light at around 6lbs.

4ohm, 15, 350W.

 

[A9X]

It sounded better than the stock speaker but I was concerned about its power rating causing my amp to clip.

That shows a great lack of understanding about how amps and speakers work.

 

[locolobo85]

That shows a great lack of understanding about how amps and speakers work.

Why do you say that?

My amp is 150W at 4ohms and the replacement speaker was 350W-4ohm.

Isn't the safe bet to have more amp than speaker? Or, at minimum a closer match. That way the inexpensive speaker becomes the weak link. Pushing the amp too far causing it to clip will eventually ruin the expensive side of the equation. Wouldn't the higher rated speaker cause more excessive clipping in the power amp to achieve the same volume levels?

"The relationship of an under powered amp and high performance speaker can cause much frustration to the bass player, both in terms of obtaining the volume and performance the cabinet is capable of, and more importantly, premature failure (not to mention the added expense) due to clipping."

What am I missing?

 

[lbwdog]

That shows a great lack of understanding about how amps and speakers work.

It seems like these myths just keep perpetuating and it's getting worse by the day. Who keeps spreading this stuff, and will it ever stop?

Why do you say that?

What am I missing?

All of it!
The power rating of a speaker indicates how much power it can take. For simplicity's sake, a 400w speaker is a "better"or "tougher" speaker than a 100w speaker.
A9X, you take it from here!

 

[locolobo85]

After a little reading up I see the point. The power rating has nothing to do with the speakers relationship to the amp. So the resistance and the sensitivity are the only determining factors in how hard the speaker is to drive.

I don't know where that myth came from. General confusion caused by too much information = SWAG?

I'll admit, this stuff is all pretty new to me and wading through it on the net can be confusing at best.

So in that case, I should just throw that Basslite back in there and enjoy the benefits of a 5.7lb 15" speaker. Right?

 

[A9X]

Why do you say that?

My amp is 150W at 4ohms and the replacement speaker was 350W-4ohm.

Isn't the safe bet to have more amp than speaker? Or, at minimum a closer match. That way the inexpensive speaker becomes the weak link. Pushing the amp too far causing it to clip will eventually ruin the expensive side of the equation. Wouldn't the higher rated speaker cause more excessive clipping in the power amp to achieve the same volume levels?

"The relationship of an under powered amp and high performance speaker can cause much frustration to the bass player, both in terms of obtaining the volume and performance the cabinet is capable of, and more importantly, premature failure (not to mention the added expense) due to clipping."

What am I missing?

That quote is gibbering rubbsh.

The power rating of a driver only tells you how much heat it is capable of absorbing before there is potential damage, and it is not the most likely cause of damage; that is usually overexcursion (in BG rigs). Your 450W driver will not fail with 455W, and if I put a test tone at a constant level, measured 450W, then the driver could probably take that for a long time before it failed (provided no overexcursion). The power rating also does not determine, how loud it will go, nor how much power it will consume at any given moment. Amplifiers provide power to a speaker; a speaker just consumes it.

An amplifier will clip when it runs out of voltage and/or current capacity. What determines when that is, is the signal level, the speakers impedance and the design of the amplifier. Notice I didn't mention the speaker's power handling?

So your amp is capable, if you turn it up loud enough, of providing 150W to the speaker, but the speaker is rated at 3x that so even if the amp clips in a huge way (and it would sound bloody attrocious) then your driver will happilly sail along consuming the power provided without damage (assuming no overexcursion).

NB; excursion is how far the speaker driver moves in and out with signal. Different drivers have different limits (in the spec sheet as Xmax). Both the driver and the box determine at what level and frequencies it runs out. There is sometimes a similar figure given called Xlim: Bill's pithy comment on the subject goes something like " at Xmax, sounds bad, at Xlim, it breaks".

You cannot underpower a cab. When you're at home practicing with your rig at bedroom levels, the amp is providing only a watt or two. If you could 'underpower', then using it this way would kill it, no?

 

[A9X]

It seems like these myths just keep perpetuating and it's getting worse by the day. Who keeps spreading this stuff, and will it ever stop?

If I still have some time on my hands next week, I might try to do an FAQ type thing on this subject, and get it vetted by some others here for clarity and accuracy. Would need some help with graphics though. Then when the same thing gets asked again, we could just provide a link.