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AudioKinesis Cabs V!!!!

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#181
I've spent a lot of time thinking about my 'dream rig', which of course is somewhat of an exercise in futility since tastes, needs, and dreams can change. That being said, my current dream rig would be something light, loud, and modular that I can adapt to a variety of situations. I'm thinking a pair of TC115s would do the trick (composite would be killer for weight, still undecided about AF or no). From what I've read one TC115 is enough for most situations, but it'd be nice to have the capability to add more support if needed. Plus I'd most likely end up using them for home audio too! :bassist:

My question to those who have gone this route is what micro head are you using to drive this 2 Ohm load? My GB Shuttle 9 can't go lower than 4.
 
#182
If you really intend to play two, just get a Shuttle 12.0 - they're cheap and great EQ sections.

Personally though, with the exception of super heavy stoner rock without a PA, I think the TC115 is loud enough for almost everything.
 
#183
rpsands said:
If you really intend to play two, just get a Shuttle 12.0 - they're cheap and great EQ sections.

Personally though, with the exception of super heavy stoner rock without a PA, I think the TC115 is loud enough for almost everything.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion! And of course you're probably right, two would be overkill for most situations I would find myself in. Thats one of the plus sides of a modular rig- you can build it piece by piece.
 
#184
If you're gonna be rocking two TC115's, there's no need for the AF option, which is great for low volume stuff, and very "drowned out" at high volume stuff.
IMO.
Love it for DB work though.
 
#185
Chef said:
If you're gonna be rocking two TC115's, there's no need for the AF option, which is great for low volume stuff, and very "drowned out" at high volume stuff.
IMO.
Love it for DB work though.
Click to expand...

Tough call. The AF is really cool on quiet to medium-loud gigs. I'd want at least one to be AF in a modular rig, but the extra cost is significant when you're buying a pair. And I doubt you'd hear it in a stack on a loud gig.

But if I was planning to use them at home as well (which is a really attractive idea), then I'd want AF's for that use as well. I love the 3-d quality for music playback, acoustic guitar, etc.
 
#186
A thought: for home or studio stereo use, it would be nice to drive them with more than the 100 watts a side of a lot of stereos.

Since we're talking the 115 rather than the 112, you're not going to actually need a pair on the gig all that often. Sure, a Shuttlemax 12.0 would drive pair nicely, but most people would find it overkill on a single-cab gig.

Why not choose a 500-600 watt micro of your choice for small gigs, and a nice power amp for home use and the odd time you have to bust out both cabs for an outdoor festival?

A class D power amp and a micro is a little more work to carry and set up than the SMax, but you wouldn't be do
ing it all that often...
 
#187
steve_rolfeca said:
Tough call. The AF is really cool on quiet to medium-loud gigs. I'd want at least one to be AF in a modular rig, but the extra cost is significant when you're buying a pair. And I doubt you'd hear it in a stack on a loud gig.

But if I was planning to use them at home as well (which is a really attractive idea), then I'd want AF's for that use as well. I love the 3-d quality for music playback, acoustic guitar, etc.
Click to expand...

I should have mentioned that I'd be using this rig for DB as well as electric, so it seems that at least one AF would be optimal if not absolutely necessary. And of course, having two of the AF cabs would be unreal for home audio. :bassist:

The reality is that I'll probably end up waiting for a 115AF to pop up on the used market and use my current amp for the time being. If/when I complete the set, I would have to look for a different amp. So I guess my initial question still remains, any micro head favorites for powering a pair of TCs?
 
#188
steve_rolfeca said:
A thought: for home or studio stereo use, it would be nice to drive them with more than the 100 watts a side of a lot of stereos.

Since we're talking the 115 rather than the 112, you're not going to actually need a pair on the gig all that often. Sure, a Shuttlemax 12.0 would drive pair nicely, but most people would find it overkill on a single-cab gig.

Why not choose a 500-600 watt micro of your choice for small gigs, and a nice power amp for home use and the odd time you have to bust out both cabs for an outdoor festival?

A class D power amp and a micro is a little more work to carry and set up than the SMax, but you wouldn't be do
ing it all that often...
Click to expand...

Good suggestion for the stereo application... I admit I had not thought about my receiver's output (which is probably not much, since this thing is an old Onkyo that I inherited from my parents and is older than I am). Seems like a pair of TCs is really much too much.

In my digging through past threads on this topic, there were some words of warning about putting too many watts through one of these cabs. Not that the TC is any more or less likely to be damaged from too much juice, but that because they really don't break up the same way you'd expect a typical cab would its easier to fry the driver without hearing the normal warning signs. Should I be worried about the 900 watts at 4 Ohms that the shuttle can deliver?
 
#189
RobinC said:
In my digging through past threads on this topic, there were some words of warning about putting too many watts through one of these cabs. ...Should I be worried about the 900 watts at 4 Ohms that the shuttle can deliver?
Click to expand...

Only you can answer that.

Based on my experience with the 112AF and a Streamliner 900, you can can hit the warning light occasionally without damaging it. I'm now using an even more muscular G-K MB800, without incident.

So it should be fine if you're careful. Are you careful?
 
#190
You do need to be careful. The thing about the LF's is that we are used to the excursion being the limiting factor. You would run out of excursion way before thermal damage. Now with the insane amount of excursion that these speakers have thermal overload is more the issue. These speakers have an RMS rating of 450 watts. They'y take more than that here and there but if you pump more than 450 watts into the speaker for long amounts of time you can damage the voice coil even before you get the warning signs that we're used to. (fartout, hearing the voice coil whack the back plate)

So be careful
 
#191
I'm pretty careful and I try not to push my gear too hard any time. But say I'm practicing for long amounts of time at low volume, far below gig volume, and not pushing the amp or the cab that hard. Do I still run the risk of thermal overload? Sorry, this is probably a stupid question...:hiding:
 
#192
RobinC said:
...say I'm practicing for long amounts of time at low volume, far below gig volume, and not pushing the amp or the cab that hard. Do I still run the risk of thermal overload? Sorry, this is probably a stupid question...:hiding:
Click to expand...

Not stupid at all. And the answer is no, you won't/can't do damage at low volume.

Look at it this way: your Shuttle has good low passing, a decent limiter, and an accurate power rating. So it's putting out 900 fairly friendly watts.

That's about 3dB over the rated power handling of your cab. With the limiter on steady during an extended slapfest, you would surely blow the driver, or at least weaken it. Especially if you use a lot of low end boost, or a pedal for more sustain.

But even the "junior" Thunderchild is REALLY loud with that amp. I strongly doubt that you'd run your TC to within 6dB of max loudness at home (225 watts), or even half that.

There's no voodoo about owning a "big block" amp. The real danger, is that you'll be on a loud gig where you really need a second cab, and be tempted to push your rig for that last few dB for an extended period. That's when you're going to melt something.
 
#193
Exactly. These speakers function pretty musically near their limit which is why we are sometimes tempted to push them I never hurt it but I was regularly pushing my TC112 to its limit. It still sounded pretty good but the TC115 at the same volume sounded better.
 
#194
RobinC said:
I'm thinking a pair of TC115s would do the trick (composite would be killer for weight, still undecided about AF or no). From what I've read one TC115 is enough for most situations, but it'd be nice to have the capability to add more support if needed.
Click to expand...

Don't know if this is applicable or not, but I do have a high-output 8-ohm Thunderchild-type cab fairly far along in development. It will be in the same weight ballpark as the TC115 widebody, but will move considerably more air.
 
#195
I toured a TC115AF with a silly loud band...I mean really loud. I ran my ShuttleMax 12.0 pretty much wide open on a few gigs and the cab held up like a champ...that's about 600 watts. They can take a good beating.

The only cautionary part, as has been said before, these drivers don't have the typical warning signs before meltdown, so use your brain/ears...I rolled the dice and won, which I would say speaks to how robust these cabs are :)
 
#197
rpsands said:
I dunno, I've hit my TC115 pretty hard and I feel like you start to hear the ports as it approaches the danger zone. I'm talking SD1200 with no high pass hard.
Click to expand...

You have way better ears than me, Ryan! For me to even be that loud means the drums and guitars are screaming loud...not sure I'd hear that...esp when trying to do a rock show for the kids :)
 
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