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Avatar SB112 with MID !!!!!! The SB126

#201
genesound said:
My SB126 arrived yesterday and it sounds great! It makes a nice fat low B; the porting/tuning of the cabinet agrees with the Delta 12 and the mids are smooth. It makes a good extension for the Genz Benz Contour 500 210. I like the tone of the SB126 better than the dual 10s that come in the combo (I wish the combo had the 126 components in it), but the SB126 and the dual 10s do combine quite well and hit hard for the size, and the efficiency is a close match.
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Which crossover did you get? The 2.5 kHz or the 1.6 kHz?

genesound said:
The cabinet is very well built. I used to work with a PA cabinet builder here in LA, and I can't fault the build. I'd say it's built better than the combo's cabinet. ;)
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Good to know.

MM
 
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#202
I went with the standard 2.5K. I asked Trevor about it, he didn't seem to think the difference was going to be noticeable. It's only about 1/2 an octave difference in the xover center freq, and I can't see it being that big of a deal either. I used to build and design passive crossovers and have been a live soundman for 40 years, just to say I have some experience with this sort of thing. IMO, if I was playing something that had fundamentals in that range, or was using it for sound reinforcement I think it might be worth considering, but I can't see it being much of a consideration when only playing a bass through it. If I could A-B the difference I might prefer one over the other, but it really sounds fine the way it is, there is no apparent hole or aberration that I think changing the crossover would effect, again, IMO.
 
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#203
I modded my Contour 500 and added a preamp out. Just for grins I powered the SB126 with a channel of my Carvin DCM3800L fed from the preamp out, and the SB126 handles the extra power real well. I almost wish I hadn't tried it, because now I'm going to be spoiled, it sounds great! :lol:

P1020431_1.jpg


This is just a temporary stack for testing in my cramped area here. I actually prefer it with the SB126 on top of the GB combo.

I may need to re-think my small setup, I might just go with 2 of the 126s (easy to carry) and the Carvin amp and a preamp. I have a Behringer Bass V-Amp to experiment with.
 
#205
Not really sure how the box would work with different speakers. You can't just stick any speaker in any box and expect the low end performance to be tuned right or as well as it was for the speaker that was in it before. A ported cabinet is kind of like a whistle. Resonances and various loading properties need to be taken into account that determine how well the cabinet will compliment the speaker and at what frequencies. If it's built well, it's not a question of quality, more a question of tuning.

I used to help design and build PA speakers between TV gigs for several years. We'd start with a low end driver we wanted to use like an EVX-180, a really heavy duty 1000W 18", then design the box for it using box design/porting software using the published Thiele Small parameters for the driver, try it, then modify several things to see if we could improve what we were trying to achieve. We usually did modify the design a bit. The box for this sub was about 12 cubic feet, fairly large. But the rappers loved them and were putting loads of them in rehearsal studios. One thing is pretty certain though, sticking a different 18" speaker in there would have probably been a total bust.

You might call Avatar and ask them if they've tried them with your Kappas.
 
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#207
I still recommend talking to them like I did. Trevor kind of talked me out of the Kappa... I was interested in the lighter weight, but he said that to him the tone was better with the ceramic Delta.

I'm half tempted to get one of the Kappas and switch it and hear for myself. If I do decide to buy any more of these, I probably will do that.
 
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#208
scottfeldstein said:
Seeing as they offer the Kappalite as an option on the SB126 page, it probably stands to reason that they think it's an acceptable combo.
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Scott, I would really caution you against assuming too much about Dave's degree of design and engineering sophistication. FWIW, my take is that Dave comes from the guitar world's "stick a speaker in a box and hope for the best" approach to cabinet building. Sometimes he comes up with a winner (most likely the SB126), and sometimes not (likely the B412).

Frankly, I'm not surprised to hear that the SB126 sounds better with a ceramic Delta 12 LF that it does with a Kappalite 3012 LF - at least according to Dave's man Trevor. The Delta has been around a lot longer, and I'm guessing it was the woofer that was used initially in the SB126's predecessor, the SB112. So if any thought at all has been given to matching cab to speaker, is was probably just at that point of inception years ago. I doubt very much that the size, shape, interior dimensions, bracing or tuning has ever been tweaked to optimize the cab's performance with any of the other current woofer offerings.

If the Kappalite 3012 LF happens to sound good in the SB126 - and I wouldn't be surprised if it does - my guess is that most of that impressive performance would be due directly to the strengths of the driver itself, not so much due to anything really exceptional about the design of the cab.

MM
 
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#212
I just bought and took delivery of 2 - SB126 cabs. Reverse baffle on the 2nd cab. Nice for a vertical or horizontal stack. Mid drivers line up nicely. I went with the ceramic Delta 12LF and the 1k6 crossover. Trevor and I had some good conversations concerning the different driver options. The box that is the SB112/SB126 is indeed designed around the Delta LF specs. Every other driver offered still sounds good but is a bit of a compromise.

Great cabs for $$ spent....
 
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#213
bluesrx said:
I just bought and took delivery of 2 - SB126 cabs. Reverse baffle on the 2nd cab. Nice for a vertical or horizontal stack. Mid drivers line up nicely. I went with the ceramic Delta 12LF and the 1k6 crossover. Trevor and I had some good conversations concerning the different driver options. The box that is the SB112/SB126 is indeed designed around the Delta LF specs. Every other driver offered still sounds good but is a bit of a compromise.

Great cabs for $$ spent....
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Wow. When I inquired about the SB126 directly to Avatar several months ago, Dave told me that he would not offer a reverse baffle on this model - though he freely offered it last fall, at the time he first announced the introduction of the SB126. Wonder what persuaded him to change his mind - again?

I would be very interested in your detailed impressions of the SB126 stack, tone as well as overall performance, as you continue to gain more experience with it. Were I to invest in a pair for myself, I would get the very same configuration as you just did: Delta 12LF with the 1.6k crossover, and a reverse baffle for the top cab.

MM
 
#214
I will keep you informed. The driver surrounds need to loosen up before I can give an accurate description. They sound a bit tight at the moment.

Regarding the reverse baffle.... I was initially told they couldn't do it. Then I spoke to Trevor and he told me they could. I also asked him if it was ok to post on talkbass mentioning the reverse baffle (to make sure I wasn't overstepping my bounds) and he assured me it was ok to post.

I also have 2 - SB112 cabs loaded with Deltalite II 2512 Neos. I took one of the Deltalites and put it in one of the 126's. It did not sound as good as the ceramic DeltaLF. It also sounded different in the 126 box than the 112 box.... probably due to the lower crossover.
 
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#217
bluesrx said:
I will be pushing the 126 stack with either a GK MB500 or 1001RBII.

When I use a single cab for smaller gigs it'll be the MB500.

I also have a GK 400RB-IV that might enter the picture.
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For high-octane rock performance, that SB126 stack could pair very nicely with your 1001RB-II. Those Delta 12 LFs can take a lot of juice before fart-out, so you could pretty well crank the GK head without blowing your woofers. It would be LOUD. But it would be nice.

If you play your cards right, you might be able drive the Deltas right to the threshold of breakup...just as the 1001RB-II is hitting the rails: a hint of smooth harmonic ceramic speaker distortion + organic amp overdrive and growl = rock tone nirvana.

Three weeks ago, I hit the rails for the first time (never as good as the first time) on my 700RB-II with Mesa Powerhouse 1x12s. It was delightful. :cool:

MM
 
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