AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...

[dmrogers]

Yours has the smoothing switch right?
Does that give the cab an overall thicker tonal balance?

Although your question is directed to Tom, I thought I would respond based on the 1203 switches, primarily to quote Duke's response on them.
I Think that the original 1855 (pre-production) cabs didn't have switches, however they are listed as having switches now:

"Hathor 1855: 4 or 8 ohms; dimensions dimensions 28" tall x 20" wide x 14.5" deep; 50 pounds; 96 dB; 1200 watts; -4 dB at 46 Hz (the first overtone of low F#); pluggable ports offer two ported and one sealed options; top end -3 dB at 6 kHz. Mid and treble switch on production version. Woofer is Faital 18HP1060, either 4 or 8 ohm version; mids are 5" Faital."

But yes, the 1203 has two switches. Although they are reported to be subtle changes to the tone, they are great additions to speaker cabinets.

Here is the response from Duke concerning the switches on the 1203:

The upper switch toggles between full-range (12+ kHz) and a gentle roll-off kicking in at about 3.5 kHz.

The lower switch toggles between a somewhat aggressive upper-mid voicing and more smooth upper-mid region.

UP is LOUDER in both cases, so max SPL is both switches UP, but the most "hi-fi" setting would be top UP and bottom DOWN.

I find this description of the switches functions to be very accurate. I wouldn't think of the lower switch adding anything, but in the down position, it smooths out the upper-mids. Very sweet sounding. Whereas in the up position, more aggressive and driving.

At the flip of a switch, you can go from a smooth ballad type tone, to a driving rock tone. And yes, it is noticeable!

On gigs where I am running both cabs, I generally run both switches up, and use the top cabs mid switch to smooth out my tone. Works great!

I hope this helps.

 

[svtb15]

Im glad that AudioKinesis updated the website with the New bass gear cabs.. NICE!
It only gives me GAS.
The question i ask myself is One 1855 or two 1203s? Im not too worried about weight...

Im not sure why anyone would get something like a gs112 or db112 from aggy or a similar cab when something like a 1203 is less money and most likely more uuumph for less $$$..
My buddy has a TC115 that i played last year... It was quite spectacular.. . it was smooooothhhhh and it thumped you in the chest too..

But for me, i think i prefer the Hathor's format

 

[tombowlus]

How much power do you need to put into your 1855 compared to your more traditional cabs to get a similar loudness?

Given that my main amp is a ShuttleMax 9.2 I don't think I'll be wanting for power, but I am curious given that this sort of design has a lower sensitivity than I'm used. Duke's quoted sensitivity of 96dB puts it at about 3-4dB lower that most traditional "big cab" designs I've used, but the thermal power handling is insanely huge.

Hopefully the 1855 won't feed GAS for something like a 2000W power amp.

Tonally, it sounds great even with lower powered heads, but yes, you do need to give it some gas to open up. Plus, the low frequency energy can almost distract from the midrange presence a bit (not that this is a bad thing, but it does tend to lead me to turn the volume knob up a bit).

IME/IMHO, 500w is probably enough, but 800w is even better. With tube amps, though, 200-300w is more than enough. Again, though, YMMV.

 

[Marial]

Totally off topic: Tom, how are you feeling about last night's game????

 

[MarkA]

Whatever I do in a 15" Hathor cab, and let's assume it's a 1505, it will be designed with the 1203 very much in mind. One of each would give a very modular setup: Use the 1203 for small gigs, the 1505 for medium gigs (in 4-ohm mode, assuming that's an option), and both for large gigs (with the 1505 in 8-ohm mode if your amp's lower limit is 4 ohms).

Another option that might be useful in some situations is to bring both cabs, with the 1505 firing into the house and the 4 dB quieter 1203 aimed wherever you need it onstage.

Excursion-limited power handling will probably be effectively identical, and thermal close enough (the 1505 might be closer to that 550 watt figure).

You state it clearly enough, Duke, but let me restate it both to more fully grok it and because it's an important point:

The 1203 and the proposed 1505 would both, practically speaking, handle roughly the same amount of power. The 1505 would be about 4 dB more efficient (so should put out about as much sound as a 1203 stack, if I understand correctly). Everything else being more or less equal, I usually think of a 15"-based cab handling more juice than a 12" based cab, and that you'd fail to realize the potential of the 15" when stacked with the 12" because the 12" would limit it. This would seem to negate that. Impedance switching on top of that, if practical, would be an attractive option.

I remember Mr. Bowlus' review of the 1855 (or maybe it was a comment of yours, or both) commenting on the "growly lows" of the 1855 vs. the more rounded presentation of the 1203. I wonder where the 15" would fall along that spectrum (tempted to guess "right in-between", but maybe that's too obvious). Wonder, too, where it would fall in terms of size and low extension vs. a Thunderchild 15".

 

[tombowlus]

Totally off topic: Tom, how are you feeling about last night's game????

Needless to say, I am very, very happy! I've been an Oregon fan for a while, as well, so it was cool to see them in the finals (though I'm glad they didn't win!).

 

[DukeLeJeune]

The 1203 and the proposed 1505 would both, practically speaking, handle roughly the same amount of power. The 1505 would be about 4 dB more efficient (so should put out about as much sound as a 1203 stack, if I understand correctly).

I think the 1505 will be approximately the same ballpark efficiency as a 1203 stack, but the 1203 stack will ultimately go louder because it will handle more power. I don't really know about my efficiency estimate though, because I haven't seen the T/S parameters for that custom 15" woofer yet.

Everything else being more or less equal, I usually think of a 15"-based cab handling more juice than a 12" based cab, and that you'd fail to realize the potential of the 15" when stacked with the 12" because the 12" would limit it. This would seem to negate that.

Yup, that's the way I see it too. The two cabs would each have virtually the same motor... imo we can say that the stack could be used with a kilowatt-class amp.

Impedance switching on top of that, if practical, would be an attractive option.

Thanks!

I remember Mr. Bowlus' review of the 1855 (or maybe it was a comment of yours, or both) commenting on the "growly lows" of the 1855 vs. the more rounded presentation of the 1203. I wonder where the 15" would fall along that spectrum (tempted to guess "right in-between", but maybe that's too obvious). Wonder, too, where it would fall in terms of size and low extension vs. a Thunderchild 15".

If all goes according to plan (and at this point there is no indication that it won't), the 1505 will be closer to the 1855 in growliness.

 

[Chef]

Man. You're doing some cool stuff Duke!
I think I'd really like that 1855.
I'm really a "two tall" cab kinda guy for my own reasons...I bet two of those is sweeeeet.

 

[tombowlus]

Man. You're doing some cool stuff Duke!
I think I'd really like that 1855.
I'm really a "two tall" cab kinda guy for my own reasons...I bet two of those is sweeeeet.

Wow, two 1855's might put you into "sonic wrecking ball" territory! One 1855, with some juice behind it, is amazing. What really kills me, though, is how much ground you can cover with two 1203's. If you thought Duke was defying the laws of physics with the TC112, wait until you hear the 1203's!

 

[Chef]

For me, it's not about how loud it can get; but, getting it up high where I can hear myself really well.
Totally personal preference.

 

[tombowlus]

For me, it's not about how loud it can get; but, getting it up high where I can hear myself really well.
Totally personal preference.

Fair enough, but two 1203's really fill a stage, both horizontally and vertically, IME/IMHO. So does one 1855, for that matter. But YMMV.

 

[Chef]

Two 1203's: that would be the sort of height that would suit me and my prefs.

Two of anything also does some sort of cab coupling mojo that I really like.

 

[Handyman]

For me, it's not about how loud it can get; but, getting it up high where I can hear myself really well.
Totally personal preference.

I've not checked stand prices recently, but one of those may be SLIGHTLY more economical and portable than a second 1855.

I'm curious to hear how it sounds to stand next to the 1855 sitting on the ground. Even without a stand, the open mid chamber should get some of the sound at my head.

 

[Chef]

"stands"

certainly more cost efficient, but, no thanks. I know some folks like that/do that.
I'm not one of them....ymmv; etc.

 

[Handyman]

"stands"

certainly more cost efficient, but, no thanks. I know some folks like that/do that.
I'm not one of them....ymmv; etc.

Get a few of these, and stick the real 1855 on top!

A stack of cabs does look cooler than a stand, I admit.

 

[Chef]

How did you get back stage at my last show...those pics aren't supposed to be out there broheem....

 

[nostatic]

Fair enough, but two 1203's really fill a stage, both horizontally and vertically, IME/IMHO. So does one 1855, for that matter. But YMMV.

It does, but you should also try H1203 on top of a TC112-8.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Two 1203's: that would be the sort of height that would suit me and my prefs.

Two of anything also does some sort of cab coupling mojo that I really like.

The other factor with the 1203's, is that top and side porting on the back of the midrange chamber. Throws a lot of sound up towards the player's head, allowing you to stand closer, even almost above the cabs...

 

[maisbass]

^^^^This is true

 

[Selta]

Just exchanged messages with Duke... my TC118 should be on its way to me within the next couple of weeks . I've been excited about this cab for nearly a year now (no hold up on Duke's part, mind you. Entirely my own doing). Paired up with my QSC and my Axe-FX II, and my EBMMs, I'm going to be set for a long, long time. I still have things on my "wish list", but they're things I can't justify with my level of involvement with bass (i.e. a Wal MkII or MkIII 5er, Pedulla Pentabuzz).
I'm pretty dang excited for the cab, and to be "done" with buying stuff like this for a while. The Axe-Fx II was my previous big purchase, which after selling my amps/pres, I came out a little ahead on, both financially and tonality wise. I'm going to off load a couple of cabs which should let me break even on the TC118 too. Then I just need to find good deals on the new Sennheiser IEM and Wireless systems I want to buy...