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3.5 vs 2.6 cbf 440 Live cabs for Kappa 15A

liquidsmoke

liquidsmoke

Guest
Jan 11, 2018
58
32
#1
Kappa 15A (non-pro, non-neo) 450 watts RMS, 4.0 xmax, 17.6 lbs, 100.5 dB

I'm looking to get an idea of the differences in sound these boxes would achieve with this speaker. It's possible that I wouldn't even be able to tell the difference with my ears but I'm trying to decide between the standard and compact 1x15s offered by 440 Live on eBay. The compact is less expensive, less expensive to ship, and obviously a little easier to haul around and fit into vehicles. My internal volume sq ft numbers are probably not exact but should be pretty close.
The 3.5 has two 4" dia 4" long front port tubes and the 2.6 has two 3" dia front port tubes which look from the pictures to be about 3" long(their length isn't listed). I could trim these port tubes or possibly ask to have them trimmed before shipping if need be. The ply is 3/4". Let's say one was going to use a 5 string bass tuned in B at very loud volumes but be careful to listen for farting and weird sounds to avoid blowing speakers.
So opinions? Science? Throw it at me. I suspect some of you could give an hour lecture on the topic of small vs medium size bass cabs off the top of your heads and even include opinions about these cabs and this speaker without running software.
Eminence graphs from their website for this speaker with boxes kind of close to the sizes I'm talking about-

27629076_10215010543034286_1771005776159850334_o.jpg

These graphs look very similar to me.
27545085_10215010588515423_6398267468945030007_n.jpg

27657976_10215010588315418_8225137980647094638_n.jpg

I love D handles. Notice the locking corners. Available with tolex. The larger one looks a lot like a Bassic.
 
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#2
The top chart shows a balanced response with good lows, but the tuning is a bit high for low B. For that you want an Fb of 35 to 40hz, f3 of 40 to 45Hz. You probably want a better driver too. The Kappa 15 xmax of 4mm limits it to around 150 watts in the lows. For low B at high volume you want at least 6mm xmax.
The bottom chart shows a weak bottom end and boomy midbass. That's what you're usually going to get from a cab that's too small for the driver. I can't say I'm wild about the cabs either, 3/4" barely braced plywood is a lot heavier than but doesn't work as well as well braced 1/2" plywood.
 
#3
Rick James said:
The top chart shows a balanced response with good lows, but the tuning is a bit high for low B. For that you want an Fb of 35 to 40hz, f3 of 40 to 45Hz. You probably want a better driver too. The Kappa 15 xmax of 4mm limits it to around 150 watts in the lows. For low B at high volume you want at least 6mm xmax.
The bottom chart shows a weak bottom end and boomy midbass. That's what you're usually going to get from a cab that's too small for the driver. I can't say I'm wild about the cabs either, 3/4" barely braced plywood is a lot heavier than but doesn't work as well as well braced 1/2" plywood.
Click to expand...

I’m translating this as ‘get a Dually’. If I’m going to get Kappalites I might as well step up to a better cab. Are there any speakers for around $100 that are rated at 6mm or more?
 
#6
I forgot to mention that I currently have 2 of the larger size 440 Live 1x15s loaded with Kappa LFs and I think they are great cabs for the money. Very solid, well built. In a previous band I used them just for lows. For my current band I'm looking to have all the cabs produce lows and mids hence the inquiry about the regular Kappas. Also I'm looking for get more cabs but that's another story.
 

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