Here's the language I quoted back in the earlier post:
Comparing the 1855 to the double 1203 stack, the 1855 has tighter, slightly bigger, almost growly lows. Very nice, and very addicting! The 2x1203 stack is a bit more warm/round down low, with more bloom. This can also be very nice in the right situation, and some folks will certainly prefer this kind of low end presentation.
Moving on to the midrange, this is where the meat of the story lies, and itll take some time to suss out the details. At first, the 1855 sounded more lean in the mids, but I think this is just the lower to middle mids. It is definitely more articulate and more present the upper mids. The more I played around, the more I felt like the 1855 had more peaks and valleys in the mids and the 1203s were more consistent and balanced. One big caveat is that this initial round of testing was all done from a seated position a few feet in front of the cabs. I am guessing that as I move around, the perceived mids (and the relative balance through the mids) may vary quite a bit.
The high end (which might technically be the upper mids not sure on this one) between the two was probably their most similar feature. The 1855 is a tad more pure and clean, and the 1203s seemed to have more harmonic content through the highs. Both setups leave you wondering why youd ever need a horn.
Now, things got interesting when I switched from my MTD 535 (a two-pickup, active bass) to my Carvin PB5 (a passive P-bass). The 1855 became much more burpy/growly and has a lot more upper mids. The 1203s were much more round and smooth by comparison. This was not a subtle transition, and I view this as a credit to the cabs (both the 1855 and the 1203s) abilities to reflect the character of the signal being fed to them. In fact, the 1855 may be the best-performing cab that I have ever tried in this regard. First impressions can be misleading, mind you, but out of the gate, I was floored by its ability to just entirely transform its sound when switching instruments. The only potential downside to this is that if a player hears this cab at a GTG or demos one at home, unless he/she tries a variety of basses (and Im guessing, amps) with the cab, they may not really get to know its capabilities.
Comparing the 1544 to the 1855 or the two 1203s, the 1544 just sounds boxy and thin. With the right head (something big and meaty), this cab can sound great especially when you throw some overdrive at it. But when I compare it to your other cabs, I definitely prefer the 1855 and 1203.
