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AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...

#3,922
Gave my Hathor 1203 it's maiden voyage at a rehearsal last night. OMG this cab!! It was loud as F in there, and it freaking blew the room away, effortlessly cutting through everything. But the low notes on the B string were what really put a smile on my face. So clear and powerful with room shaking authority. Amazing. A lot like the TC 112 but different too. Not as zingy on the high end. I think the two together will be epic, and louder than I am prepared to handle LOL.
 
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#3,923
engedi1 said:
Gave my Hathor 1203 it's maiden voyage at a rehearsal last night. OMG this cab!! It was loud as F in there, and it freaking blew the room away, effortlessly cutting through everything. But the low notes on the B string were what really put a smile on my face. So clear and powerful with room shaking authority. Amazing. A lot like the TC 112 but different too. Not as zingy on the high end. I think the two together will be epic, and louder than I am prepared to handle LOL.
Click to expand...

More ammo for me to get a 1203 to go with my TC112....
 
#3,924
Big band brewpub gig last night outdoors. The TC112 and my new homemade amp worked just fine with a 16 piece band. The cows were in another field, so beer and pizza were the prevailing scents, thankfully.

Backwoods_Brewing.jpg


That tiny stage was just big enough for case storage and a couple of monitors.
cow.gif
 
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#3,925
RasGK said:
Hi Duke.
I'm a big fan of your designs, and I'm hoping to get one or two of your cabs soon, but I haven't decided on which ones yet, so I have a question I was hoping you could answer...
Earlier in this thread I think I saw an equation similar to this:

TC112 < TC115 < TC212

where the difference between each cab was about 3db...

Now I'm wondering how the TC118 and the Hathors 1505 and 1855 would fit in that equation volume wise...
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but It's my understanding that the Hathor 1203 is a bit softer than the TC112, and that the Hathor 1855 is a bit louder than the TC118, but I wonder how do they compare, especially to the TC212, in terms of loudness?
If anyone else can chime in, please do so, I would appreciate it...
Click to expand...

Thanks for your kind words.

The Hathor 1203 probably comes across as slightly louder than the Thunderchild 112 when the midrange switch is in the "growly" position, for the same wattage input. The current version of the Thunderchild 112, version 3, has the "4/8 ohm" switch, and is probably slightly louder for the same voltage input (that is, the same volume control setting on your amp) when it's in "4 ohm" mode, because it will be getting more wattage.

The Hathor 1505 is the most efficient cab I make, and the Thunderchild 115v3 would be the same except that it doesn't have the upper-mid peak that the Hathor 1505 has. But with the midrange "smoothed" on the Hathor 1505, they are the same efficiency. Both are in the same maximum SPL ballpark as the TC212, though they take less watts to get there.

At the moment it looks like the Hathor 1855 will be replaced by the Hathor 1866, because I want a little big more out of the mids, and it will have a tweeter so it will be a three-way. In maximum loudness the Hathor 1866 will be comparable to the Hathor 1505 and Thunderchild 212, but it will take more watts to get there, and in return will "punch" a bit harder.

I don't get many orders for the Thunderchild 118, and the Thunderchild 115 will go louder and has more versatile voicing via its switches, so the TC118 will probably be discontinued.

All of that being said, the differences between cabs that are close to one another in efficiency and/or max SPL is probably pretty small. With the new custom 15" woofer that I'm using in the Hathor 1505 and Thunderchild 115 cabs, they are now probably in the same ballpark as the Thunderchild 212 as far as max SPL.

So if look at efficiency (SPL per watt), it probably goes like this: Birdhaus 46 < TC112/H1203 < H1866 < TC212/H212 < TC115/H1505.

If we look at maximum SPL, probably like this: Birdhaus 46 < TC112/H1203 < H1866/TC212/H212/TC115/H1505.

Yes, I'm putting the Birdhaus 46 and Hathor 212 in there, even though they're not "officially" out yet. Their inclusion makes these relative rankings more complete.

I'm pretty sure that Hathors 1866, 212, and 1505, and Thunderchilds 212 and 115v3, are within about 1 dB of one another in average broadband SPL, though the Hathors cab be louder in the mids than the Thunderchild cabs. The Hathor 1866 will have the strongest bottom end, followed by 212's, and then the single 15's. While your intuition might predict that an 18" woofer will have a soft bottom end, in the 1866 I'm using a woofer with a motor that's about three times as powerful as the Kappalite motor in my 12's and 15's, so it hits pretty hard.
 
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#3,927
Thanks a lot for the detailed response Duke. I'm thinking I could use a TC112v3 with the 4/8ohm switch for the small venues and a 212 for the bigger ones (and perhaps both for the outdoor festivals...).
That Hathor 212 sounds very interesting...will it also have open mid-chambers and a smoothing switch as the other Hathors?
I'll be eagerly awaiting for any updates on the development of these new cabs...keep up with the good work!!
 
#3,929
Duke, I'm very curious about the Hathor 1866 you're working on. Not that I'm planning on replacing my 1855. :)

So its going to be a 3 way with a tweeter, and new Eminence mid drivers stacked vertically instead of cross firing? Still planning on using the same Faital 18HP1060? Those are some seriously beastly woofers.
 
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#3,931
I just bought 2 new amps this week.. I do it every summer.. :woot:
The peavey mini mega 1000 and the genzler magellan 800... BOTh are incredible amps. If you want clean and WIDE the peavey seems to do it. It is Huge sounding.. . And for punch and clean the magellan delivers in spades.
I didnt get to play the magellan thru my friends Tc115 yet. but iwill in a week or so. The minimega sounded HUGE thru it though. His TC115 is an older one. and its like a HUGE studio monitor for bass.

I know what you are saying about the TH500. i tried it a few times but I could NEVER get a sound that worked for me.


engedi1 said:
I came to a similar conclusion about my TH500. I actually sold mine years ago in a time of financial crisis, but at the time was using it with my TC115 composite (I miss that cab, it was also sold at the same time) I personally didn't enjoy that pairing as much actually. The TH500 has a definite voice that the TC cabs VERY faithfully replicated and it was a little too midrangey for me. The Aguilar heads work best with Aguilar cabs IMHO, especially the GS112, although my TH500 sounded really good through my TC electronics rs212 which was my rig right up until I got the TC115. My own personal opinion is that transparent heads are better with the TC gear. For example, my current Eden rig sounds GREAT through it. But I am more than willing to try the subway 900 as I think I will end up wanting more power for outdoor stuff. I love the Eden wt550 as the eq section is SO flexible, being semi-parametric and the TC is SO responsive, that you can really shape the tone how you want. I am actually continually amazed at how much other cabs I used before colored the tone and took away from the ability to shape tone with EQ. Currently I am about clean power and AB power amps. I ended up pretty frustrated with my Tc Electronics Rh450 and later the Th 500 as I couldn't get super loud and stay clean. I don't like overdrive or breakup FORCED on me. Hence the eden gear. But the subway seems to be able to get loud and clean and then can dial in OD if you wish. Currenly I dial in OD with a TC spark booster pedal and that works really well for me when needed.
Click to expand...
 
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#3,932
svtb15 said:
I just bought 2 new amps this week.. I do it every summer.. :woot:
The peavey mini mega 1000 and the genzler magellan 800... BOTh are incredible amps. If you want clean and WIDE the peavey seems to do it. It is Huge sounding.. . And for punch and clean the magellan delivers in spades.
I didnt get to play the magellan thru my friends Tc115 yet. but iwill in a week or so. The minimega sounded HUGE thru it though. His TC115 is an older one. and its like a HUGE studio monitor for bass.

I know what you are saying about the TH500. i tried it a few times but I could NEVER get a sound that worked for me.
Click to expand...

That's interesting about the Peavey. I may be in the market for that. If my eden 550 WT running at 2 ohms isn't enough for outdoor gigs through both Audiokinesis speakers I have, then I will need more power. It should push 750 watts at two Ohm's though, so I am hoping that will do it, assuming there is PA support. I LOVE the EQ points on the Eden. I don't love the noisy fan, but C'est la vie
 
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#3,933
Thank you. This is a great post.

Any more info on the 1866 or photos? weight or size
DukeLeJeune said:
Thanks for your kind words.

The Hathor 1203 probably comes across as slightly louder than the Thunderchild 112 when the midrange switch is in the "growly" position, for the same wattage input. The current version of the Thunderchild 112, version 3, has the "4/8 ohm" switch, and is probably slightly louder for the same voltage input (that is, the same volume control setting on your amp) when it's in "4 ohm" mode, because it will be getting more wattage.

The Hathor 1505 is the most efficient cab I make, and the Thunderchild 115v3 would be the same except that it doesn't have the upper-mid peak that the Hathor 1505 has. But with the midrange "smoothed" on the Hathor 1505, they are the same efficiency. Both are in the same maximum SPL ballpark as the TC212, though they take less watts to get there.

At the moment it looks like the Hathor 1855 will be replaced by the Hathor 1866, because I want a little big more out of the mids, and it will have a tweeter so it will be a three-way. In maximum loudness the Hathor 1866 will be comparable to the Hathor 1505 and Thunderchild 212, but it will take more watts to get there, and in return will "punch" a bit harder.

I don't get many orders for the Thunderchild 118, and the Thunderchild 115 will go louder and has more versatile voicing via its switches, so the TC118 will probably be discontinued.

All of that being said, the differences between cabs that are close to one another in efficiency and/or max SPL is probably pretty small. With the new custom 15" woofer that I'm using in the Hathor 1505 and Thunderchild 115 cabs, they are now probably in the same ballpark as the Thunderchild 212 as far as max SPL.

So if look at efficiency (SPL per watt), it probably goes like this: Birdhaus 46 < TC112/H1203 < H1866 < TC212/H212 < TC115/H1505.

If we look at maximum SPL, probably like this: Birdhaus 46 < TC112/H1203 < H1866/TC212/H212/TC115/H1505.

Yes, I'm putting the Birdhaus 46 and Hathor 212 in there, even though they're not "officially" out yet. Their inclusion makes these relative rankings more complete.

I'm pretty sure that Hathors 1866, 212, and 1505, and Thunderchilds 212 and 115v3, are within about 1 dB of one another in average broadband SPL, though the Hathors cab be louder in the mids than the Thunderchild cabs. The Hathor 1866 will have the strongest bottom end, followed by 212's, and then the single 15's. While your intuition might predict that an 18" woofer will have a soft bottom end, in the 1866 I'm using a woofer with a motor that's about three times as powerful as the Kappalite motor in my 12's and 15's, so it hits pretty hard.
Click to expand...
 
#3,934
engedi1 said:
That's interesting about the Peavey. I may be in the market for that. If my eden 550 WT running at 2 ohms isn't enough for outdoor gigs through both Audiokinesis speakers I have, then I will need more power. It should push 750 watts at two Ohm's though, so I am hoping that will do it, assuming there is PA support. I LOVE the EQ points on the Eden. I don't love the noisy fan, but C'est la vie
Click to expand...
The minimega thru hathors is the bee's knees but it won't do 2 ohms.
 
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