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Acoustic 408 speakers

spaceape314

spaceape314

Guest
Mar 21, 2015
6
5
40
Saugerties, NY
www.thebandisclover.bandcamp.com
#1
Hey everyone. My first post here. First off I just want to say thank you for all of the useful information I have acquired from this forum throughout the years. This site has never steered me wrong!

My dilemma is this: I have recently purchased an Acoustic 408 cabinet with some fairly crappy speakers in it (these are the speakers: Invalid Link Removed ). I've tried the cab out on both an Acoustic 320 as well as my Ampeg SVT CL and it definitely leaves a lot to the imagination. Very low volume and some weird noises resonating out of the speakers upon playing certain notes. I want to know whether it would be worth the money to invest some quality speakers into the cab. The speakers installed are rated at 200W each bringing the total watts to 800w but it sounds no where near as loud as my 4x12 rated at 800W. Can bad speakers really effect the volume that much even if they are capable of handling a large amount of watts? Or is this cabinet totally inefficient and not capable of matching the volume of an 8x10 or a 4x12?
 
#2
Yes, bad speakers really can affect the volume because power handling and sensitivity/efficiency have little to do with each other. There are some speakers that handle very little power but are very efficient and vice versa.

As for the cabinet itself, I can't really state either way but I have read reports from a few people that it can get very loud with the stock speakers in it. The 408 is essentially like two of the old Schroeder double baffle cabinets in the same box.
 
#3
Yes very low sensitivity loudspeakers are in fact very low sensitivity.
The original eminence speakers for the cab where very sensitive and are long since out of production but a repro of the 408 cabinet was made by a now defunct company called Monolith and used later eminence drivers.
Not sure of the model perhaps you could find out what they used, the other loudspeakers that worked well in the 408 cabinet where JBL K140 also out of production now but I understand Fital PR400 are considered a good replacement for the venerable old JBL today.
Unfortunately there just isn't a software cabinet moddeling program that can truly work out the complexities of the 408 cab.
So it's going to be suck it and see to a certain extent.
Mine has done many thousands of hours and is still on its original drivers, probably because it never belonged to a profoundly deaf moron.:-)
image.jpg

After all you would have to be doing somthing very wrong if a 408 wasn't loud enough.
 
#7
I would suggest - and get ready for this - Carvin PS15s. NOT THE NEO - just the regular.

They are a clone of a JBL 2225. I have put them in Acoustic 406 wide cabs and compared the PS15s to the JBLs and they are the same tone. The Carvin might be a tad zingier in the high end but that may just be because they are new.

I have put these speakers into Acoustic 406 cabs, Sunn 215B, Sunn 115S, Acoustic 1x15 cabs, Yamaha PA cabs, even a small Traynor YS15. But they did best in the bigger cabs like the 406 and 215B. They sound great, you can really push them, and I have never blown one yet.

I would not suggest the JBL140s. They have a much more middy sound. I have tried several of the EV speakers and all were wanting. The Carvin NEO was horrible. But there is something about the PS15s that really work.

The Carvins are also pretty light - nice with a big cab and all the weight.

If you are ever in the Harrisburg area you can hear them.
 
#8
spaceape314 said:

My dilemma is this: I have recently purchased an Acoustic 408 cabinet with some fairly crappy speakers in it (these are the speakers: Invalid Link Removed ).


Can bad speakers really effect the volume that much even if they are capable of handling a large amount of watts? Or is this cabinet totally inefficient and not capable of matching the volume of an 8x10 or a 4x12?
Click to expand...

Take a look at the sensitivity rating of the speakers you have in there - a paltry 92db

Finding a replacement speaker with even a 95db sensitivity rating would be like doubling your wattage.
 
#10
Vince Klortho said:
JBL's replacement for the K and E series 140s was the M151-8 and it is a very good speaker. If you want to go with JBLs that would be a good option.
Click to expand...

That is if you can find 4 of them in good shape. I don't think they were widely available (mostly used in the Gene Simmons Ampeg cabs). I had one that I put in an 80s Carvin 1x15 cab and it sounded awesome though. But in the end I swapped it back to the EV I'd had in it before (more power handling and a slightly "wider" response). But I wouldn't hesitate to use them again if I found a good deal on a couple (or hell, 4).
 
#12
BassmanPaul said:
Sorry but they are not even close. I have used the PS15 in the past and I like them for what they are. Saying that they are a clone of the 2225, which I also own, is incorrect.
Click to expand...

I'm with Paul on this. I've used a PS15 in the past in addition to other Carvin woofers. They are an okay, affordable, general purpose speaker. But nothing special. Probably a decent replacement for a combo bass amp. I found that I could only push about 100 watts into it before it would fart out. I guess if you were using 2 or 4 of them, that wouldn't be an issue. If I was in need of an affordable, general purpose 15, I would consider the Alpha-15A or Beta-15A before I would get another PS-15.
 
#13
Ben B said:
I'm with Paul on this. I've used a PS15 in the past in addition to other Carvin woofers. They are an okay, affordable, general purpose speaker. But nothing special.
Click to expand...

The 408 really doesn't need anything special. The original Eminence speakers (Acoustic house number 130040) were used in just about every Acoustic 15" cabinet with 8-ohm drivers. In other words, general purpose. The only thing notable about them was the upper midrange peak that was designed-in, as I was once told by an Acoustic engineer, to give some edge and because subjectively it sounded best. With the PS15's "zing" that Ziggy mentioned, that Carvin may be as close as you could get to the sound of the original Eminence driver. However if it was me, I'd go with Bill Whitehurst's suggestion and go with four 8-ohm CB15s. They seem to have that vintage vibe that sounds great in Acoustic cabinets.
 
#14
Again....

Start by making sure the wiring/polarity is right and that all four drivers are indeed working.

Regardless of driver spl, t/s specs compatible with cab design, etc., you've got FOUR 15's in there. If nothing else, it should make some loud noise.

Listen to it outside...out of the practice room/house....from some distance away.
 
#16
Omega Monkey said:
That is if you can find 4 of them in good shape. I don't think they were widely available (mostly used in the Gene Simmons Ampeg cabs). I had one that I put in an 80s Carvin 1x15 cab and it sounded awesome though. But in the end I swapped it back to the EV I'd had in it before (more power handling and a slightly "wider" response). But I wouldn't hesitate to use them again if I found a good deal on a couple (or hell, 4).
Click to expand...

I have two of them in a Crate 215L. They sound really good I think. I got this cabinet used at Guitar Center for a steal.

View attachment 607798[/QUOTE]
 
#17
Perhaps it matters on the cab. I use them in a Acoustic 406 wide and a Sunn 215B. I also have the same cabs with the JBLs mentioned. Tone was all but identical. Power handling on the Carvins was superb. But these are large vented cabs (like the 408).

I did try the PS15 in a small Traynor YS15 cab. That is sealed and a smaller than average 15 cab. To be honest the results were not as nice as the bigger cabs.

Then there is weight - the PS15s are stamped and the JBLs caste. Not sure how much that will matter to spaceape (orig poster)
 
#19
Looks great!

Did you get the cast or stamped frames?

I had tried the cast versions in a Sunn 215B cab. It had a really nice midrange - but wanted a tweeter. The ultra low rumble stuff were too much for them and they farted out. But - that was with that cab. Looking forward to your results!

There were a few times 408 cabs were around my area and I didn't move fast enough to score one. The only frontline AC cab I don't have actually. Now I am kicking myself!
 

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