- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
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Bass cabinet midrange distortion?
- Thread starter dubhnight
- Start date
As I read the OP again, I picked up on that word "honky." Yeah, that's definitely a symptom of an unlined cab. So I'll pile on with the other guys and advise you line it, but only if you don't like the sound. And then, neither a 100W Marshall (known for being gritty/middy by default, if it's the tube amp I'm thinking of) or an optimistically rated 185W Behringer is going to drive that CA154 to full output or possibly even 1/2 output before dropping to its knees. So, it could be the sound you're getting (and that you seem to like) is due to a combination of unlined cab walls and your amps running out of power. Not to worry, you won't break anything the way you're using it now.
I have similar experience with other Eminence drivers, both 15", 12", 10" and 6".
Remember that distortion does not necessarily come from exceeding x-max.
The drivers I used for my designs were simply suffering some cone break up problems at higher frequencies as the output level was increased. The transisiton was fairly abrupt, sound going from "clean" to "throaty" / "raspy" / "edgy" just by a rather modest increase in SPL. In cases of the 12" and 15", the centre of the noise was around 600-1200 Hz. Reducing that part of the input caused the sound to stay clean at slightly higher SPL.
The only effective solution was to cross over at a lower frequeny, sending those problematic frequencies to a speaker that would better handle that frequency range.
Oh, and yes they were new (but broken in) drivers in well manufactured and lined enclosures...
(My $ 0.02.)
Remember that distortion does not necessarily come from exceeding x-max.
The drivers I used for my designs were simply suffering some cone break up problems at higher frequencies as the output level was increased. The transisiton was fairly abrupt, sound going from "clean" to "throaty" / "raspy" / "edgy" just by a rather modest increase in SPL. In cases of the 12" and 15", the centre of the noise was around 600-1200 Hz. Reducing that part of the input caused the sound to stay clean at slightly higher SPL.
The only effective solution was to cross over at a lower frequeny, sending those problematic frequencies to a speaker that would better handle that frequency range.
Oh, and yes they were new (but broken in) drivers in well manufactured and lined enclosures...
(My $ 0.02.)
