Hi all,
I've been looking at these AK cabs pretty seriously lately to replace my 2 semi-janky 112s I've been using for years. I'm looking at two of the Hathor 1203T models maybe stacked on their sides to possibly accommodate a wide amp.
I play with several different amps ranging from 100w tube to 500w SS. So far through my research I have several questions but I haven't been able to answer my biggest question: Do these cabs play well with lower wattage tube heads like say 100w or is that not an ideal combo?
Recently I am favoring a 100w tube head that I want to try to get as much volume from as possible; the amp sounds great but its only 100w so I want to maximize its potential . Would two Hathor cabs be a silly idea or a good one?
Thanks and pardon my AK ignorance.
Long story short: depends on how loudly you need to play with 100 Watts.
I have, in addition to some more powerful setups, a 150 Watt tube head (Shaw B-150) and a 400 Watt solid-state (well, tube pre + SS power) head (Handbox R-400) that I've been digging a lot. Both sound great with a single Hathor 1203 or a stack (mine are the non-tall versions). Neither will push the cabs to their full output potential, but, even at a moderately efficient 94 dB/W/m per cab, each will cover a lot of gigs in small and medium-sized venues without PA support. The way I think of it, if I'm pushing either amp to its limit, I'll need to bring a second cab sooner than if I was playing with, say, my GBE 1200 (550 Watts at 8 Ohms, 1000 Watts at 4 Ohms, 1200 Watts at 2 Ohms), which is capable of pushing the cabs to their limits. If I'm pushing either amp with 2 cabs, maybe I'll need to bring a third cab, where I could get by with two if I was using a more powerful amp. (I do have a third cab -- a Changeling 112 that I was lucky enough to pick up from the classifieds, but I've not had a chance to play it out or to run the stack of three -- which some of my amps won't do because of the 2.7 Ohm load -- except as a low-volume lark at home.)
I would expect the stack of three to be loud enough for just about anything I could see myself doing, even with a less powerful amp. Too, while the 1203s aren't super-efficient -- and I don't know exactly how they were rated -- they are well-voiced and nicely present in a mix and I've played them next to some cabs that had a much higher claimed efficiency (don't know exactly how they were rated either) that only struck me as a little louder -- not nearly as much so as their rating would have seemed to suggest. I've played a single Hathor without PA support in small bars easy and two with the Handbox (even at 400 Watts) will handle a lot (though, again, not quite as much as with a more powerful amp).
All that said, if you are looking to use less powerful amps and thinking of putting the cabs on their sides, anyway, I suggest looking at the 15" woofer Hathor cabs. Power handling is the same, but one is as efficient as two of the 12" cabs -- maybe even a hair moreso. You could get a stack of two (loud as four of the 12s), or one 15" cab and one 12" cab (loud as three of them -- a non-tall 12 will stack sideways on the 15).
The 15s are wide enough to support a traditional tube amp with some muffin top -- or you can turn them on their sides, if you wish (and the stack will be taller, either way, than with the sideways 1203Ts, which will help you to hear them better).
Photo here shows a 15 and a 12 stacked:
AudioKinesis Bass Cabinets Hathor Series
Note: I've not played the 15s, but based on reading about them and having played the 12s -- and your stated goals -- that's what I'd look at -- at least if volume is a concern.
