Berg CN212 - Negatives?

[WaldoNova]

Not sure exactly what you meant; but, 2x Berg 212 cabs is a smoking rig for big applications. Of course, you need the correct amplification for the two 4 ohm cabs. Sure, you can get a 212 and then have a separate 412 for bigger shows; but, that config has a bigger storage footprint at home. Which may not be an issue for some, but is an issue for me.

2 CN212's with an amp that can run at 2 ohms would sound great for sure! It also makes sense to have 2 instead of a 412. My point is that one CN212 can cover a lot of ground and sound great in the process. Someone mentioned not being available in 8 ohms as a negative.

 

[hennessybass]

That's not a bad summary of the AE212; except the scooped mids part. You may have perceived it that way because the lows were running away a little bit. My sense is the AE is very even but somewhat enhanced on the low end; which CAN run away with certain amps driving it. The solution I found with the AE's is to add an HPF to get control of that pillow. Using an amp with appropriate HPF control, the AE212 is very even elsewhere and does just fine in the lower mids area.

IME

You are probably right on. I didn't own the AE212 for long, and thinking about it, at the time, the amps I was using tended towards big bottom, and scooped mids.

 

[bucephylus]

You are probably right on. I didn't own the AE212 for long, and thinking about it, at the time, the amps I was using tended towards big bottom, and scooped mids.

LOL; I had the opposite experience. I was using a Shuttle 9.0, which has a pretty active HPF hidden behind the scenes and couldn't understand what all the brouha concerning the low end bloom with the AE212 was all about. More recently, I switched up to Demeter amps, and, holy schnikes, got educated real quickly at an audition about the low end issue. Uh huh, got it. No doubt, that was one issue Jim B addressed with the CN design.

 

[hennessybass]

LOL; I had the opposite experience. I was using a Shuttle 9.0, which has a pretty active HPF hidden behind the scenes and couldn't understand what all the brouha concerning the low end bloom with the AE212 was all about. More recently, I switched up to Demeter amps, and, holy schnikes, got educated real quickly at an audition about the low end issue. Uh huh, got it.

My feeling is that the CN is more friendly as far as the mix and match vs the AE.
I've had several amps that all sound great with the CN.

 

[IanA]

To date the Cn212 is the best cab I have owned by some margin, I love that more aggressive voicing as it really helps me to hear myself in a live setting.
sounds awesome with the Puma!

 

[bucephylus]

My feeling is that the CN is more friendly as far as the mix and match vs the AE.
I've had several amps that all sound great with the CN.

Exactly. I believe that was the idea. Ken Jung's early posts set that out pretty clearly. Great cab.

I still adore my AE's, though this low end characteristic has caused me to get one of fdeck's HPF boxes to get that under control. If I were going after a new cab today, I'd grab the CN212 in a heartbeat; though I must admit the CN410 also looks very interesting. For my purposes, the AE212 is more than good enough, and I am not into flipping gear anymore.

 

[BartmanPDX]

I have from time to time thought about selling my AE410 and AE210 to get a CN212. I do prefer the 212 form factor and right now the AE210 gets no use except for practice (if that; lately I've just been taking the AE212) and the 410 gets no use at all and is my backup cab in case something ever happens to my AE212. I'd love to A/B the AE212 and CN212 myself before pulling the trigger though.

Bottom line however is that I'm perfectly happy with the AE212. If I weren't, maybe I'd make more of an effort to try out a CN212, but I've got too much crap going on right now to make it worth the effort.

 

[Munjibunga]

I think that the CN212's are fantastic cabs and can't think of any negatives. I will say however that personally I like the sound of the AE-410 better.

I've heard that they have a similar sound. One of these days I'll break them both out and A/B them.

 

[Dave W]

2 CN212's with an amp that can run at 2 ohms would sound great for sure! It also makes sense to have 2 instead of a 412. My point is that one CN212 can cover a lot of ground and sound great in the process. Someone mentioned not being available in 8 ohms as a negative.

Agreed.

I have never needed more than what a single CN212 can dish out in a loud rock band. I've even done a few outdoor gigs with no PA support and surprisingly it did plenty fine.

 

[JOE EDO]

I ditched mine for a NVT610. I was just never was a fan of 12" speakers for bass, but I tried it. Bottom line is I like 10"s....and I know many will say speaker diameter doesn't matter, it's cab design. Maybe, but my ears/ brain feel at home with a few 10"s pumping out fast, punchy bass. (I also own 2 HS210's.)
I'm very interested in the new CN210!! 2 of those cabs stacked just might be bliss as far as weight/tone for me.

 

[cfsporn]

I've heard that they have a similar sound. One of these days I'll break them both out and A/B them.

I would be very interested in this competition. From KJung's description, the AE410 is right up my tonal alley, but I don't like the 4x10 format.

 

[leroy diamond]

I love my CN212 cab. I have used it with a TH500, Puma 900 and the cheap and Cheerful Kustom KXB500. The Kustom is just the right match for my application and is my go to amp with the CN212. Why anyone would require two CN212 is beyond me.

 

[slade]

I love my CN212 cab. I have used it with a TH500, Puma 900 and the cheap and Cheerful Kustom KXB500. The Kustom is just the right match for my application and is my go to amp with the CN212. Why anyone would require two CN212 is beyond me.

Because 212s won't cut it for some of my larger, outdoor gigs. They start stressing and sounding like it prior to the stage found preferred by the band. One mans loud is another drummers silence.

 

[leroy diamond]

Because 212s won't cut it for some of my larger, outdoor gigs. They start stressing and sounding like it prior to the stage found preferred by the band. One mans loud is another drummers silence.

And is that with full PA support?.

 

[5StringPocket]

I've found these observations in this thread quite useful:

I've used the AE212, AE112, CN212 and tried the HD212. The ceramics in the HD212 just own the low end in a way that the 12" Neos in the CN212 don't. The HD212 is a bad mofo in a small package.

Indeed - at the last gig I played with MB800/CN212, there was another bass player there (he replaced me in my immediate previous band) and he couldn't believe how that cab was handling the B string when I went down to some Cs and Ds. What the CN212 doesn't have that the HD212 has is a low mid presence that makes the bottom end a little thicker (not quite muddier) to my ear.

After A/Bing them with the HD line I bought the HDs. Mids are brittle to me when pushed hard. That's just my ears though. I think they are badass cabs though, just preferred the HDs

I owned a CN212 for a while, and later bought a Jule Amps Monique 700 to pair with it. The cab did not like being pushed hard by the Monique. It would become very brittle, and lose its warm, clear tone. So I switched to an HD212, and it was a different story. The HD has a ton of rich warmness and heft to its sound, and never loses its composure, even when pushed hard by my Monique.

Well the guys at the berg booth agree with you as well- they told me they all haul around the ceramic loaded cabs.

I have 115 and 215 cabs with 5" Faital mids which I really like but am looking for a more traditional voiced 2-way cab that sits between these to finish out my set. Sometimes a single 15 is not quite enough but two 15's are a bit much when driving them to their sweet spot. I have GK MBFusion 800 and Demeter VTBP-M-800D amps which have pretty good headroom and voicing which seems to work well with either the CN212 or HD212. The HD212 tone profile really makes me want to check this out.

 

[Doug Parent]

Bergantino held off from introducing neo's in his product line for awhile as many will remember. he may be thought of as one of the best audio engineers that ever got into bass amplification. I still think his choice of ferrite loaded cabs that leaned on the Kappa Pro series (HT Series, all of them) still stand on their own. HT322, HT115, HT212 and HT210 HT112ER. Those cabs still own it IMHO.

 

[Quackhead]

My favorite of that series was a pair of HT210s. I still regret selling them.

 

[Quackhead]

Bergantino held off from introducing neo's in his product line for awhile as many will remember. he may be thought of as one of the best audio engineers that ever got into bass amplification. I still think his choice of ferrite loaded cabs that leaned on the Kappa Pro series (HT Series, all of them) still stand on their own. HT322, HT115, HT212 and HT210 HT112ER. Those cabs still own it IMHO.

Don't forget the mighty little HT110!

 

[Munjibunga]

I would be very interested in this competition. From KJung's description, the AE410 is right up my tonal alley, but I don't like the 4x10 format.

The new CN410 weighs 49 pounds or thereabouts.

 

[slade]

What a great weight to performance cab