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Best cab pairing?

#21
It's not just that the 3015LF is more sensitive than most other woofers out there. There are and have been others that sensitive, or even a bit more efficient yet.

But take a woofer (like the 3015 or 3015LF) that's more sensitive than many, and that can also be fed a lot of watts and not choke on them and possibly die - that's why the fEarfuls have the potential to go so loud. They don't fart out until other drivers have long since bent their voice coils or hit the backplates, and you don't have to turn down your bass EQ to baby them when you begin to use a lot of power.

So, with modest amps they are only going to be as loud as decent 310 or 212 cabs are with the same amp (appoximation). But bring more watts into the picture and the fEarfuls can keep getting louder after those 310 or 212 cabs have had to have the bass EQ rolled off, and maybe even are just as loud as they can get.

So yeah, with real wattage, the fEarful can sound as loud 610... if you happen to know of a 610 that can actually make that much bass and that much non-distorted upper midrange and lower treble.
 
#23
I wouldn't pair anything with unless you have a head that can do 2 ohms. In that case you could do two vintages, but you'd risk killing people in immediate vicinity of the cab :D


Also, it's good greenboy's here now; he's far better at this stuff than me. I've probably said several incorrect things so far.
 
#24
UncleBalsamic said:
I wouldn't pair anything with unless you have a head that can do 2 ohms. In that case you could do two vintages, but you'd risk killing people in immediate vicinity of the cab :D


Also, it's good greenboy's here now; he's far better at this stuff than me. I've probably said several incorrect things so far.
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Oh I didnt realize it was 4 ohms. In that case Ill stand behind the cab and just play :D
 
#26
Reynolds 101 said:
How exactly do fEarful cabs work or how are they made so that they are as loud as a 6x10?
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Their secret weapon is cone excursion, but there is a tradeoff.

The limiting factor for bass cabs is almost always how much air the woofers can displace, rather than how much wattage the voice coils can take. The woofers will almost always fartout long before the voice coil cooks.

The 15" woofersused in fEarful cabs has over twice the excursion of most 10" woofers (Avatar and Acme being exceptions). Here's the math:

The typical 10" woofer has 340 square cm of cone area, and 3.5 to 4.2 mm of excursion. Using the upper excursion number, six of them will displace 340 x .42 x 6 = 856 cubic centimeters.

A single Kappalite 3015LF woofer has 881 square cm of cone area and 9.6 mm of excursion. 881 x .96 = 846 cubic centimeters.

The tradeoff is, the Kappalite 3015LF is not as efficient as the 6x10, so you'll need more amplifier power to get there. Fortunately it can take it.
 
#29
Reynolds 101 said:
Another thing. Would my GK 400 RB-IV be enough power to feed to 2 15/6s to be as loud as it is with my Ampeg 810?
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Yes and no. The frequency response of a sealed 8x10 and a pair of 3015LF is completely different. The 8x10 has far more sensitivity above 100 Hz, the 15s far more below 100Hz, so the 8x10 will sound a lot louder in the mids, the pair of 1x15 a lot stonger in the low end. As for the 3015LF, if you're not putting at least 300 watts into each you're better off with the regular 3015, which has higher sensitivity.
 
#30
billfitzmaurice said:
Yes and no. The frequency response of a sealed 8x10 and a pair of 3015LF is completely different. The 8x10 has far more sensitivity above 100 Hz, the 15s far more below 100Hz, so the 8x10 will sound a lot louder in the mids, the pair of 1x15 a lot stonger in the low end. As for the 3015LF, if you're not putting at least 300 watts into each you're better off with the regular 3015, which has higher sensitivity.
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All of this info is really making me rethink even getting 15/6 or Barefaced cabs, but instead just having don build something simple and classic. I know literally nothing about this stuff and by how it sounds, it seems like this kind of build would be way more expensive than what I plan on.
 
#32
Reynolds 101 said:
All of this info is really making me rethink even getting 15/6 or Barefaced cabs, but instead just having don build something simple and classic. I know literally nothing about this stuff and by how it sounds, it seems like this kind of build would be way more expensive than what I plan on.
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I've heard that they're not all that expensive, like around $600. That's not an exact quote, but it's in the ballpark from what I've seen about it in other threads.

They're definitely different from what I'm used to, but if you want to downsize, it's a great way to go because it's able to throw so much air. I'm going to give them a shot. Duke is going to be making some really cool 212 + mid cabs in a similar but different fashion, and I've decided to get a couple. Can't say I'll end up liking them more than my Ampegs, but they're definitely worth trying out. If I end up liking the vintage stuff better, I'll still use Duke's cabs for small PA, but I do like what I hear in his prototype.
 
#33
Would this be a good choice without getting too complicated?:

Two 2x12's, each with two 3012LF. But set them up so they're a bit wider and look better when stacked. Both would have rubber feet and removable casters if I want to take one instead of two, but most of the time it would be two. Each cab would be 8 ohms so I could pair them together with my GK head.

They would look something like this:

bfmmth.jpg


Is this ok? I like a vintage tone so is there anything that I could add or do to these to make sure they are what I want in tone?
 
#34
Reynolds 101 said:
Is this ok? I like a vintage tone so is there anything that I could add or do to these to make sure they are what I want in tone?
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I wouldn't put the drivers like that. Vertical is better. The last thing you'd want is 3012LFs. It's not a driver that works well on it's own, it has less sensitivity than the standard 3012, and if you have less than 300 watts into each driver there's absolutely no benefit to them. If you plan on a pair of 2x12 I wouldn't even use the standard 3012, not unless you've got more than 800 watts available. With up to 800 watts even the 2012 will work as well, at a third the price. The 3012 and 3012LF drivers are nice, but they only make sense when used singly or in pairs, and then only when driven with enough power to make use of their capabilities.

As for the tone and all the other particulars, those can be accurately mapped out in advance using speaker modeling software. One can easily model the basic response of the 8x10 and then model other driver configurations that will come reasonably close to it. A really good acoustical engineer can even come up with a ported box that comes very close to the response of a sealed box, while taking advantage of the sensitivity and excursion benefits of ported. As to whether LDS can provide this level of engineering, providing you with comparison charts between what you've got now and what he can make for you, only LDS can say.
 
#36
UncleBalsamic said:
...Not the best way to go about designing cabs.



And as ever, +1 to what Bill said.
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It doesnt matter that much, but I just cant stand the look of really narrow stacked cabs.

BLEH:
drckkx.jpg


I love stacks and I know its better for the sound and it probably sounds great but I just cant get past it. What can I do or how can I set up two 2x12s to where they're wider yet they're still mostly vertical and has the height when I stack them?

And what speakers should I use since the 3012s are out of the question?
 

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