Me too. I wonder how it compares to a cab like the Barefaced Big Baby ? I love the fact that we are seeing more, " stand alone ", smaller form factor cabs that can cover a lot of gigs all on their own.
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AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...
- Thread starter Thor
- Start date
- Nov 24, 2008
- 4,343
- 7,163
- Disclosures
- Owner & designer, AudioKinesis; Auth. mfg, Big E (Home Audio only)
I hope to get a couple out by the end of the week, got a lot of stuff on my plate this week (like that never happens).
Shrigg made a couple of suggestions that will be incorporated in the 1505... mid voicing a little bit closer to the 1203 in "smooth" mode, adding back a little bit of top end where I'd taken it out, and also adjusting where the top-end rolloff kicks in to come a little bit closer to "old school" when both tone switches are down.
My guess would be that the Thunderchild series is more likely to be comparable to Alex's Big Baby tone-wise. The Hathor series is barking up a different tree.
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I was pretty skeptical of the utility of the rear-firing tweeter, but having spent more time with the cab now I'm really glad Duke talked me into it. I think it contributes more than a little to the depth of the sound of the cab. Why? I've no idea, but my guess is that it's just more sound reflecting off other surfaces. Regardless, this is very definitely the best cab I have ever played through. I was thinking of pairing it with a 1203 down the road, but if I get another cab it will likely be another TC112v3 (or maybe one of Duke's new mystery cabs, especially if it has a similar footprint to the TC212).
Now I'm just looking forward to the badge showing up!
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,075
- 46,026
- Disclosures
- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
I'm really looking forward to checking it out at the Seattle GTG Fritz. Hopefully we can set up a stereo rig up there and I can run you through some of my tricks that have worked well for me in the past. The first time you tweak an HPF to cut lows to one cab and hear overall booty dramatically increase can be a real "a-ha" moment.
That sounds EXCELLENT! It's going to be interesting to see how everything gets set up. Sounds like there is going to be a LOT of gear there.
Have to love a good beta-tester. Sounds like the finished product will be absolutely great and very versatile!
Hey Charlie @Passinwind , can you give me a link to the Seattle event again? I lost it and I'm thinking of abandoning the wife for the weekend! LOL!
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,075
- 46,026
- Disclosures
- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
Thank you so much! But I can't take full credit. I assembled a team of pro players and sound professionals and scheduled a series of highly critical playing and listening sessions in a variety of venues, including a world-class sound stage in a 1,000 seat auditorium. The evolution of the 1505 voicing is 100% the result of pro player feedback, as it should be. I'm very excited about the impact this cabinet will make on the bass player community. I feel it compares with (or may even beat) the highly regarded pair of 1203's and represents an incredible one cabinet solution. And the thought of TWO of these is just mind-boggling.
What are the specs on the 1505? (Weight, dimensions). Is it fair to assume it is using a 15" driver that is more robust that the 3015 or 15pr400?
Yes it is a proprietary 15" of Duke's own design. Below are Dukes specs, although not mentioned is a treble rolloff switch which rolls the highs off starting at 3.5K as noted previously in this thread.
Hathor 1505, switchable between 4 and 8 ohms, 27" tall by 18" wide by 14" deep; 98 dB; 39 pounds; -3 dB at 62 Hz. The Hathor 1505 uses a custom 15" woofer based on the Eminence Kappalite motor, and a new 5" midrange by Eminence. The custom woofer has a bit of built-in growly, which can be smoothed via a switch on the back. Another switch toggles between "4 ohm" and "8 ohm" modes, but the difference isn't a great as those numbers suggest - the cab starts out as a "high 4 ohms" cab, and the switch adds just enough series resistance for the cab to qualify as an "8 ohm" cab so that it can safely be connected in parallel with another 8 ohm cab and driven by a 4-ohm rated amp. 500 watts. $900 + shipping.
- Nov 24, 2008
- 4,343
- 7,163
- Disclosures
- Owner & designer, AudioKinesis; Auth. mfg, Big E (Home Audio only)
The specs shrigg posted are from something that I need to update - my bad.
The height and weight have come down. Dimensions of the Hathor 1505 are 25" tall x 18" wide x 14" deep, and the weight is 37 pounds. And yes there is the top-end rolloff switch shrigg mentioned, which kicks in at about 3.5 kHz, and is a little bit steeper than my previous such filters have been.
The woofer's motor is essentially a 4-ohm version of the Kappalite 3015 (non-LF), but with a bumped back-plate like the LF version. Linear excursion is in the same ballpark as the 3015 (non-LF), but X-lim is probably slightly higher (judging by the bumped backplate). So it's not a super-high power handling woofer, but it's pretty loud, about 1 dB more than the 3015 (non-LF) before we factor in its upper-midrange peak. With the peak smoothed of course the perceived loudness comes down somewhat.
And in the interest of making sure credit goes to the right guy, the woofer was designed by Jerry McNutt of Eminence. I just told him what I wanted.
Whoopsie, sorry bout posting the "old" specs Duke. I failed to realize you are far too busy cranking out cabs to update the site. But thank you for that geek ride on the inner workings! Great stuff.
Well, I'm excited! My H1203 is in Federal Way Washington and ready to board the plane to Alaska! 
Later in the year I'm planning on buying a second H1203. My plan is to have a powerful modular system. I can use one or two cabs and a low or high powered head.
Now I'm on a quest for a more powerful head so here are some of my considerations:
GK MB500, GK MB500 Fusion--I like the Fusion option because I yearn for a good tube distortion like I used to have back in my younger tube amp touring days. QUESTION: Can the regular MB500 break up and distort like the Fusion?
Tech21 VT-500: If I don't get a GK MB500 I think this is my next choice. It is very highly rated and people love how the Tech21 can sound like an overdriven SVT. And that's desirable to me.
Mesa Boogie D800: This seems to be the high liner for users. A lot of satisfied customers and I see a lot of AK cabs with the D800. And yetttttttt.... I don't know why I can't warm up to it. I tried to listen to sound clips but everyone's too busy slappin and poppin and I can't tell how it would sound slightly overdriven. Wish I could.
TC Electronics TH550. I'm not as thrilled about this choice but I'm interested in all the patches you can use with this amp. I would be able to get just about any sound I want. That being said, I read so many requests for help because something is going wrong with a number of the TC heads.
Kustom 500 watt head--another AK cab buyer showed his rig a few pages back and says he loves the Kustom. Says it gets very loud. I don't know if it gets a nice distortion though.
So there ya go. I'm at a fork in the road. Which way to tone Nirvana for my new amp?
Later in the year I'm planning on buying a second H1203. My plan is to have a powerful modular system. I can use one or two cabs and a low or high powered head.
Now I'm on a quest for a more powerful head so here are some of my considerations:
GK MB500, GK MB500 Fusion--I like the Fusion option because I yearn for a good tube distortion like I used to have back in my younger tube amp touring days. QUESTION: Can the regular MB500 break up and distort like the Fusion?
Tech21 VT-500: If I don't get a GK MB500 I think this is my next choice. It is very highly rated and people love how the Tech21 can sound like an overdriven SVT. And that's desirable to me.
Mesa Boogie D800: This seems to be the high liner for users. A lot of satisfied customers and I see a lot of AK cabs with the D800. And yetttttttt.... I don't know why I can't warm up to it. I tried to listen to sound clips but everyone's too busy slappin and poppin and I can't tell how it would sound slightly overdriven. Wish I could.
TC Electronics TH550. I'm not as thrilled about this choice but I'm interested in all the patches you can use with this amp. I would be able to get just about any sound I want. That being said, I read so many requests for help because something is going wrong with a number of the TC heads.
Kustom 500 watt head--another AK cab buyer showed his rig a few pages back and says he loves the Kustom. Says it gets very loud. I don't know if it gets a nice distortion though.
So there ya go. I'm at a fork in the road. Which way to tone Nirvana for my new amp?
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You might want to check out the Tech 21 VT Bass 500 amp as well.Well, I'm excited! My H1203 is in Federal Way Washington and ready to board the plane to Alaska!
Later in the year I'm planning on buying a second H1203. My plan is to have a powerful modular system. I can use one or two cabs and a low or high powered head.
Now I'm on a quest for a more powerful head so here are some of my considerations:
GK MB500, GK MB500 Fusion--I like the Fusion option because I yearn for a good tube distortion like I used to have back in my younger tube amp touring days.
Mesa Boogie D800: This seems to be the high liner for users. A lot of satisfied customers and I see a lot of AK cabs with the D800. And yetttttttt.... I don't know why I can't warm up to it. I tried to listen to sound clips but everyone's too busy slappin and poppin and I can't tell how it would sound slightly overdriven. Wish I could.
TC Electronics TH550. I'm not as thrilled about this choice but I'm interested in all the patches you can use with this amp. I would be able to get just about any sound I want. That being said, I read so many requests for help because something is going wrong with a number of the TC heads.
Kustom 500 watt head--another AK cab buyer showed his rig a few pages back and says he loves the Kustom. Says it gets very loud. I don't know if it gets a nice distortion though.
So there ya go. I'm at a fork in the road. Which way to tone Nirvana for my new amp?
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LOL Thanks @lo-freq ! I just edited my post and added the VT500. Do you own one? If so, does it overdrive nicely? Is it powerful? Thanks!
The KXB500, while noted for its clear and neutral voice, can provide a nicely pushed tone. Anything dirtier than that I will use overdrive, usually a VT Bass v2 with Speaker Emulation bypassed.
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I think a similar comment made about the Kustom can be made about the MBF 500. You can get a nice crunch when you crank the gain, but not at all full-out distortion. I'm curious to hear comments about the MB 500 gain control as well. My experience with the MB 800 gain control is limited, but it doesn't get quite the same result as the MBF - I'm still figuring out what it does. One thing for sure - it's a hammer!
