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AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...

#421
Hathor 1203 with Glockenklang Blue Sky.

I've been busy, people visiting. So I haven't done more than set it up and check the cab's health after shipping.

I can say I'm very impressed with what I'm hearing so far! Duke has done it again and hit a home run with this cab.

I was using my Skjold Catacomb 5 strung E to high C.

I'll report back ASAP .

Thanks Duke!
 
#422
Here is the 1203 on top of a TC112af with the Blue Sky.
ImageUploadedByTalkBass1393179463.673576.jpg
 
#425
nostatic said:
Winning. Obviously the correct solution is a pair of H1203s and a pair of TC112s (8ohm). Mix and match depending on the gig. And if you want to channel steubig, run stereo. Puma 500 on top of a H1203/TC112 x2. Game over.
Click to expand...

Ha! My marketing department wants to hire you. Seriously, thank you very much. I'll try to get a H1203 out to you and steubig in a few weeks. Gotta see if the hype is lived up to.

IntrepidCellist said:
Also, I think you're probably going to get far better performance out of a two-way highly-engineered AudioKinesis system than simply placing a single 1x18 in even the most well-designed reflex box.
Click to expand...

christw said:
^ Absolutely on both counts. My prior benchmark was a JBL E155-4 in a Mesa Road Ready TL box. It weighed well over 100 lbs and can't hold a candle to the TC118 in any category besides old school mojo. ;)
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The Seattle area bass players are having a GTG on the 30th of March, and I've accepted an invitation. It was in Seattle four years ago that I showed the prototype of the original Thunderchild 112, and met Passinwind in person. Anyway the organizer of the GTG is looking for a cab that works with a variety of instruments, including the electric voilin that his wife plays. So I've told them that the Thunderchild cabs are candidates, including the 118, which I plan to bring. I'm hoping to surprise a few people who wouldn't have thought a 118 could do anything other than suck on electric violin.

Mark Sacchetti said:
Hathor 1203 with Glockenklang Blue Sky.

I've been busy, people visiting. So I haven't done more than set it up and check the cab's health after shipping.

I can say I'm very impressed with what I'm hearing so far! Duke has done it again and hit a home run with this cab.

I was using my Skjold Catacomb 5 strung E to high C.

I'll report back ASAP .

Thanks Duke!
Click to expand...

Thank you VERY MUCH, Mark! The Hathor 1203 is sort of the first of its kind, very glad to hear it's working out. I think it takes a bit more of a walk on the wild side than my previous cabs, as far as its voicing goes. Fairly "neutral" is my comfort zone as a designer, but the "sound in my head" when I think of electric bass has some bite to it.

Mark Sacchetti said:
Here is the 1203 on top of a TC112af with the Blue Sky.
View attachment 395913
Click to expand...

The original 4-ohm TC112 is quite benign for a "4 ohm" cab, and could probably be billed as a 5 or even 6 ohm cab, except that my marketing department would have killed me. And the Hathor 1203 doesn't have any nasty impedance dips. So, you could probably get away with running them in parallel as long as you don't push 'em hard (which could cause your amp's output stage to overheat). I'm not recommending gigging with the pair in parallel unless you know for sure your amp is okay with it, but I think you could hook 'em up and try it out.
 
#426
DukeLeJeune said:
Ha! My marketing department wants to hire you. Seriously, thank you very much. I'll try to get a H1203 out to you and steubig in a few weeks. Gotta see if the hype is lived up to.


The original 4-ohm TC112 is quite benign for a "4 ohm" cab, and could probably be billed as a 5 or even 6 ohm cab, except that my marketing department would have killed me. And the Hathor 1203 doesn't have any nasty impedance dips. So, you could probably get away with running them in parallel as long as you don't push 'em hard (which could cause your amp's output stage to overheat). I'm not recommending gigging with the pair in parallel unless you know for sure your amp is okay with it, but I think you could hook 'em up and try it out.
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first off, to say i'm stoked by the news that one is coming to l.a. is an understatement.

second, if the tc is 6 and the 1203 is an 8, the combination is? 3? (this is, obviously, where i get confused.)
 
#427
steubig said:
...if the tc is 6 and the 1203 is an 8, the combination is? 3? (this is, obviously, where i get confused.)
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Excellent question!

The answer lies in the details.

This is how I figure it: To the best of my knowledge, no amplifier manufacturer has ever complained that two 8-ohm woofers in parallel do not constitute a legitimate "4 ohm" load. Eminence has several "8 ohm" woofers whose DC resistance is barely over 5.0 ohms. So in parallel, we're looking at about 2.5 ohms DC resistance. Actually the minimum impedance at audio frequencies is a bit higher than that because of voice coil inductance (which increases the net impedance above what the DC resistance contributes), but a pair of Basslite or Deltalite 10's in parallel still have a minimum impedance of down around 2.8 ohms, and that's probably in the 150-200 Hz ballpark where there's a lot of energy.

In comparison, I think the Hathor 1203 + Thunderchild 112.4 in parallel would have a minimum impedance right around 2.5 ohms.

So I figure if 2.8 ohms minimum + gig = safe, then 2.5 ohms minimum + restraint (and no gig) = probably safe.

I recently saw the impedance curve of an "8 ohm" cab, and as I recall its minimum was down around 3 ohms. Granted the dip wasn't down in the lower octaves, but that was still an eyebrow-raiser for me.
 
#429
so, while i wait for Tom to get his H18 review done, i've got another question.

how many users are using the port plugs on Duke's cabs? do you find the plugged sound useable, or does the ported sound just stomp on it? is it a nice option to have, or do you set it and forget it? more importantly, can you give some detail on why you do what you do?
 
#430
Mark Sacchetti said:
Hathor 1203 with Glockenklang Blue Sky.

I've been busy, people visiting. So I haven't done more than set it up and check the cab's health after shipping.

I can say I'm very impressed with what I'm hearing so far! Duke has done it again and hit a home run with this cab.

I was using my Skjold Catacomb 5 strung E to high C.

I'll report back ASAP .

Thanks Duke!
Click to expand...

hey mark, interested in how you think it compares sonically with the tc112.

thanks . . .
 
#431
With the TC115-8, there's four ports on the back. Duke said either all open or close two; don't close all four. And while some mods or setting changes are subtle, closing ports is huge.

With all open, it's like surround sound bass. The bass is just all around. With two ports closed, it feels like a massive thump in the chest. But it still has an omni present nature.

In crappy, acoustic sounding bars and on boomy stages, I'll close two of the ports. Outdoors, on solid ground, I'll leave all four open.
 
#432
The ports are pure genius on these cabs. It's an awesome feature. When I first read about the TC cabs I thought the port features were kinda gimmicky. Boy was I wrong. They are pure friggin genius!!! Never thought I'd use em, I use them all them time. I'm constantly plugging/unplugging to adapt to my room.
 
#433
I use the ports a lot. I definitely prefer the sound with all ports open, but some rooms just have rumble to them and the ports help tame the rumble.

I thought Duke had said on the TC115 4ohm that you could also block all four ports and get a sealed cabinet effect. But that seems to run contrary to LeonD's post. Duke, can you clarify - are the port options different on the 4 and 8 ohm versions? Can all four be blocked if desired?
It's not my favorite sound, but I love having options.
 
#434
The (stock 3015 non-LF) woofer in the TC115-8 would probably sound pretty anemic with all ports closed, and it doesn't have as much excursion as the custom 4 ohm version, so I suggested not going beyond two ports plugged... but I suppose it could be done, just try it at home or practice first to see if/when fart-out becomes an issue.

So if anyone has a TC115-8 and wants the full complement of plugs, shoot me an e-mail and I'll ship what you need on out to you.

Very glad to hear you guys find the plugs useful.
 
#436
loopee said:
about the plugs.....what is best (safest) on a 2 ported cab? Plug one or both?
Click to expand...

Try with one port plugged and listen for clicking, that would be excessive cone rock causing the voice coil to tap against the sides of the magnetic gap. If it doesn't happen, one port plugged is best. If it does, plug 'em both.

Now maybe I'm overly paranoid about this - the only time I'm aware of it happening was in the original prototype of the Thunderchild 112, which had both ports way up high behind the horn (in other words, well off the center-line). None of my subsequent builds have the ports that far off-center of the woofer regardless of plug configuration.

I've often told people in private correspondence that they can try whatever plug configuration they want, but to test for the clicking before trying it on a gig. No one ever told me that they got the clicking - if anyone reading this has gotten clicking with asymmetrical port plugging on any of my cabs, please post and let us know.

Thanks.
 
#439

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