2x10 replacement speaker recommendations?

eminence beta is what I got recently and like. $80 /Parts Express, 250w. They should be hard to blow out.

 

Typically, cabinets are designed around the drivers they are loaded with. If you're still in touch with your friend at Clair, see if you can get the specs from him. There are some very knowledgeable speaker folks here on TB who could probably provide some help that's actually based on science, but they'll need to know more about the cab.

If you can't get the exact specs, knowing the inside dimensions and the style of porting (if any) will still be a lot more to go on.

 

you want an 8 ohm cab right? so get a pair of 16 ohm betas or 16 ohm faital pro 10fe200s and be done with it. gonna work out fine. your 18 is gonna produce more than enough lows.

 

The 400 RB IV is rated down to 4 ohms. The 18 inch sigma is an 8 ohm driver, so you need to parallel it with an 8 ohm cab. That means with two 4 ohm drivers in series or two 16 ohm drivers in parallel.

Although you have the 18 inch to 'move air', there is no crossover, so full range power is divided between the 1x18 and 210. You have said that you are not concerned with the ability of the 210 to move air, but you are looking at the BP102. Moving air at low frequencies is what this driver is about. It lacks upper mids and highs, so it's not really a full range driver. Most players would find it to be a poor balance for an 18.

The Faital 10FE200 is not available in 16 ohms: just 4 or 8. The 4 ohm model will work well in a fairly wide range of sealed box volumes. It has a healthy Xmax, adequate power handling and is very full range - no tweeter required.

 

I was going to suggest the Faitals simply because they seem to be very tolerant of varying cabinet specs - thus making them great all-around replacement speakers.

Getting more info from AstroSonic - a guy who actually knows a thing or two about speakers - makes me feel better about my gut feeling for the Faitals.

 

...and, therein lies the problem, prater................

 

Not a lot of choices out there for 4 or 16 ohm 10's in the "good but affordable" category, and even fewer geared toward sealed boxes.

The 4ohm Faital mentioned is one. Works better in a ported cab, but your Sigma is a nice 18, and just throwing those Faitals in a sealed box likely produce better results than a behringer in any box.


Dig around MCM electronics while you're at it too, see what turns up.

 

Unless you have a crossover separating the lows to only the 18, it's just as full range as that 210. Although it will go lower due to it being a ported cab

 

Actually, depending on your amp, driver sensitivity, etc., a 16ohm 210 should at least be considered. Opens you up to a lot more driver choices for a 210 cab. The Sigma can hang with that.

 

Since there is no crossover, both the 18 and the 2 10s will be running full range.
The 18 is only going to sound strong up to a certain point,
maybe higher than you might expect, but still there is a limit.
It won't be hurt by trying to go higher. It just won't make much sound in that range.
The 10s can (generally, depending on which 10s) make plenty of mids and some degree of highs.
BUT, they will work very hard at making lows.
You want 10s that have a lot of Xmax, the amount the cones can move,
to keep them from being beaten to death trying to move big air for the lows.
That usually isn't going to be present in full range speakers that still have good highs.
If you find the right 10s, they should compliment the 18 well.

Whatever you do, don't get below 4 ohms total impedence.
G-K clearly states don't do it and they mean it.
The output transistors WILL fry if you try that.

 

I was thinking along the same lines, but even with the expanded selection, there are very few drivers suitable for sealed cab use. The 10FE200, even the 4 ohm model, performs better in the bass than most of the others, but has exceptional smoothness, hf extension and dispersion. More money can get more thermal and excursion power handling, but little if any improvement in the mids and highs. If more aggressive mids are desired, the Eminence Alpha 10A or Beta 10A would work out pretty well. The MCM catalog is full of inexpensive drivers with great spec, A few of them are known to meet their specs and to be quite good, but many seem to not meet them - you just don't know what you are really going to get. they all work - that is, they all will make sound, and a fair number of people are quite pleased with them.

 

If you are determined to keep that amp, I would go to a very good ported 4 ohm 2x10.

I own a GK 400RBIII (250 watts into 4 ohms) and a 1997 David Eden Metro (450 watts into 4 ohms).

I really like my GK 400RBIII thru the Eden ported 2x10 but I normally run the GK 400RBIII thru an Acoustic 8x10.

I can tell you the early Eden 2x10 are excellent and efficient too.

The problem is mixing 2x10 with an 18....i've tried it and heard many in bands too.

A really good 2x10 to me is the way to go with that amp.

 

I am with will33 on this one. (Regarding the imedance.) Deltalite II 2510 is a capable and nice sounding 10", as long as you put a small inductor in series with it to tame the peaky high mids. They will need a tweeter, IMHO.
Going for a 16 Ohm top box will balance the relative outputs, or the 18" will not be heard too much...

 

My favorites for a simple, low cost, plug-n-play solution (around $50 per driver, used in a sealed cab) would be the Faital 10FE200, either 8 or 4 ohm, the Eminence Alpha 10A, and the Dayton PA 255-8.

I like the 8 ohm 210 because it would work well, by itself, for smaller gigs.

The 4 ohm Faital easily picks up the 2nd harmonic of the low notes on the E string. The Eminence Alpha 10A would produce a rich, but articulate bass and forward mids. If less extended highs are desired the Dayton PA 255-8 is a good alternative for a 16 ohm 210.

Given the OP's history with his 210, I suspect that in boosting the bass to get the most out of the Sigma 18, he may have given the 10 inch drivers quite a thrashing. That can be a problem with this kind of setup. The desired bass balance needs to be sufficient without substantial boosting. I know of no low to medium priced bass drivers with sufficient Xmax to survive the bass boost that the 18 can handle in the low and lo-mid bass.

 

There is some learned and technical advice in this thread.

That said, I put a pair of BP-102s in my SWR G3 210 and they sound fantastic.

 

I bet your blown 10s have been trying to, also.