Ampeg B 15 Speaker Shootout - Altec 421, JBL D140, CTS Square Magnet

Thanks for your effort - I'll still need to listen to the clips through headphones.

 

as usual I'll be totally wrong, but here goes....

Track A - Altec 421
Track B - CTS Square
Track C - Altec 421
Track D - JBL D140
Track E - JBL D140
Track F - JBL D140
Track G- CTS Square
Track H - Altec 421
Track I- CTS Square

Since nobody else wants to play, just PM me the correct answers !

 

Nice playing btw.

 

My own experimentation were an Altec, don't remember the model, a JBL 2205 fitted with a JBL 2225 cone kit and the original square magnet driver. The people I bought the amp from said that original had been re-coned. Of all three I liked the original a touch better and it lives in there now.

 

now if we had current replacement speakers as (Em Delta 15 / Beta 15) additional comparison that would be very cool...

 

I can’t wait to find out what the speaker is in Clip A. Sounds glorious!

 

Dude, how did I miss this thread??? Ya, going to dig in deep on this one! This will satisfy a lot of questions I had when I had a 77 B-15N with an early 70's CTS. I tried a more modern Delta 15a in it and thought it sounded mid scooped, but the Delta works great in a double or single baffle cab. Ended up selling it before I tried any other speakers but I really loved its unique dark vibe with the CTS.

EDIT: Looked at your pics, and you just made this a LOT more interesting. Your CTS is an Ampeg badged made in 66, which is the same year speaker I have in my 64 double baffle cab. The CTS's made for B-15N's in the 70's were darker sounding than these, and to my ears my 66 CTS is a dead ringer for the Delta 15a. Will be interesting to see if I can pick it out.

It's on.

 

OK, first, let me say that your tracks are all brilliantly played, all were recorded extremely well, and anyone would and should be deliriously happy with any of these sounds. I am going to assume these tracks are grouped in threes with A-C, D-F, and G-I all using the same speaker? Sounded like it to me.

I think A-C is the Altec, D-F is the CTS, and G-I is the JBL. Been 12 years since I heard the Delta in my 77 B-15N, but D-F sure reminds me of the sound I got with it, so that's why I think it's the CTS. Most people who have these Thiele cab B-15's say that the 421a is tops for it, as it gets a good solid mid response with some brightness, and that's what A-C sounded like to me. Overall I thought it performed the best. However, G-I did have a darker quality to it that reminded me of the early 70's CTS that came with my old 77, and I loved that, too.

Nothing about any of those tracks sounded the least bit bad, but if I stuck with one speaker, it would be whatever you used for A-C.

 

As someone who owns a '76 B15N with a late '60s JBL D140R - Ill guess the last 3 are that combo. They just sound more like what I hear from mine.

 

Wow! Nice work. I'll have to wait till later to give this a "proper" listen.

 

Great job on the recordings! I'm not enough of a B15 expert to even participate in the game. But the playing and tone of all these tracks are awesome.

Question: Are all of these speakers, or modern reproductions of them, available today?

 

I see Altecs and JBL's for sale pretty often, but you'll pay. Ampeg CTS's from the 60's come up now and then but the Delta 15a sounds just like it and is cheaper.

 

Is the Delta 15a currently made?

 

Yep.

 

Thanks for all the hard work. I'm wondering if you normallized the outputs in Pro Tools when printing the tracks. The speakers will have different efficiencies, some with be louder or quieter for a given setup. Louder often sounds better. Normalization will even that out.

 

Thanks. Different efficiencies can be compensated for with amp volume adjustments. My point was, normalizing would have been a good thing as it matches the track volume levels and would help in judging the different setups. It doesn’t compress or limit, it adjusts the volume.

 

Ooh, gonna hit this later tonight.

 

I have the least experience, and haven’t heard the Altec or JBL speakers. Yours is also a Thiele cabinet, and mine’s a double baffle. I think the A-C group sounds most like my CTS. All I could reasonably offer.