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Best max speaker area/min weight & cost cab options?

#41
Yes, that's at +/- 3db for both the Eden D112XST's and the DNA DNS112 speaker cabs.

You have to remember that David Nordschow has been designing speakers and cabs since the mid-70's (originally designing PA gear) and is always coming up with new and better things. He designed all the Eden cabs when he owned Eden and for a period of time after he sold it. He personally designed all the speakers that were used in them including the XLT and XST speakers. He also designed the Eden Nemesis series of amps and speakers with a different sound in mind for them. He then built the speakers in-house until he sold Eden to USM.

Before David left, USM decided not to make the speakers in-house any more and sent the designs to Eminence to manufacture them. And Eminence built/builds them perfectly to spec. Any new Eden XLT or XST speaker merges perfectly with any older existing ones. You can't buy them through Eminence though, you have to go through an Eden dealer. After Marshall bought Eden, David was contracted to consult with the design of their small combos (basically practice gear). So he's been at it for a long time.

When David left Eden to start DNA, he had some very specific ideas on designs he wanted to perfect. Those new speakers ended up with huge voice coils and extreme excursion lengths (xmax) enabling them to handle more power and produce lower notes more precisely without muddying up the mids or highs. Add to that he came up with a new porting design and tuned crossover for them and I really think they are superb. I LOVE my 410!
 
#42
Flawed question per post #2. You might as well as ask what is the best cab for bass.

The variables are strongly anti correlated. Hence infinite equally valid solutions for 'best' intersection that can be nothing alike. Beat up old fridge v pair of Thunderchilds v fearless v Markbass 212.

You have to hard limit one or more max and one or more minimum to get a chance of a small selection of ''best''.

Posters often specify ''must keep up with loud rock band no PA support'' leaving aside that volume being less than specific it's totally useless without price. If the price is high you get boutique small light new. If the price is low you get used donks you need a van to shift. In between you get everything else.

So you need to spec a loudness genre and size / weight limit as well as a price.
 
#46
Downunderwonder said:
Flawed question per post #2. You might as well as ask what is the best cab for bass.

The variables are strongly anti correlated. Hence infinite equally valid solutions for 'best' intersection that can be nothing alike. Beat up old fridge v pair of Thunderchilds v fearless v Markbass 212.

You have to hard limit one or more max and one or more minimum to get a chance of a small selection of ''best''.

Posters often specify ''must keep up with loud rock band no PA support'' leaving aside that volume being less than specific it's totally useless without price. If the price is high you get boutique small light new. If the price is low you get used donks you need a van to shift. In between you get everything else.

So you need to spec a loudness genre and size / weight limit as well as a price.
Click to expand...

Metal or whatever the loudest genre is, no bigger than 1 average person can easily carry unaided in 1 trip, and under $1000US
 
#50
I went to the 4x10 in the very early 90s (as did everyone else) when SWR hit the market big time. And I still think nothing save for an OG 8x10 SVT cab sounds better. But those cabinets, no other word for 'em, are backbreakers. I have tried 2x10s, but you need two of them to get everything moving nicely. Really considering going back to two single 15 cabinets, as they're quite light in comparison and the form factor for the smaller ones is just as easy to carry as a 2x10.

Plus...2 single 15's - you're gonna move a massive amount of air even if you don't push 'em with hi-wattage amps. Can always unload one for small gigs.

ETA: age absolutely makes a difference in your equation. I could do a 2x15 or 8x10 easy in one trip back in my twenties. I'm not in my twenties anymore.
 
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#52
Same as buying shoes. Go to the store and try a few. Once you find one that feels right walk a lap around the shop with it.
Alt; if ease of movement is your top priority walk around the sore with all cabs then play through the ones that were ergonomically a good fit... You can skip gym that day

We're all different shapes and sizes so we will differ in what loads will be comfortable
We have gear other than cabs to schlep which is different for each of us so we may still have 2 trips after the cab/cabs + helping the drummer. if your d class head and bass are over your shoulders then you may be more comfortable with either a single 112 in each hand or a 212 in both hands as 1 trip solution
Loudest for size/weight and cost is irrelevant it just needs to be loud enough
And as aged horse said just cos it's light and loud and hopefully cheap doesn't mean you'll like the sound. 1 mans ampeg is another mans ampeg
Cost effective is subjective also I might have 2 k to put into cab/s I want bang for my buck. Someone else might have 600 for bass and rig
 
#54
Downunderwonder said:
new or used? Not that I know much about that end of the market.
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It's not really that important. I'm not looking for specific brand reccomendations. I'm looking for configuration reccommendations. (i.e. 115, 210, 310, 212 etc...) ...Unless a particular brand has accomplished something noteworthy (i.e. Barefaced, Greenboy Designs, Phil Jones, Billfitzmaurice) And in *those* cases, which of their specific designs (current or retired) yielded the best oomph vs. schleppability ratio.

I'm not looking to buy a cab here. I'm looking for input from various opinions on the subject to educate myself and refine my own opinion which is this:

As far as I know so far, the basic 2x12 is the optimum ergonomic design for a 1 cab system. More powerful than a 115, not quite as powerful as a 410, but much easier to carry than either of those. (typically)

What I'm not sure about is some of the more unusual configs (3x10s, full range compact 1x18s, 8x8s, compact light 2x15s) some of which probably don't even exist.
 
#56
Nev375 said:
I'm not looking to buy a cab here. I'm looking for input from various opinions on the subject to educate myself and refine my own opinion which is this:

As far as I know so far, the basic 2x12 is the optimum ergonomic design for a 1 cab system..
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Really?
 
#58
Nev375 said:
Yeah that's really what I think. I'm probably wrong. Educate me wise one.
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A few of us here have tried, really.

It depends entirely on what your SPECIFIC needs are, including maximum SPL, size, weight, power handling, impedance, low frequency extension, tonal needs, etc.

There are some pretty nice 15" cabinets that can beat most (if not all) 212's, depending very specifically on what is important. There may in fact be 2 different "best" cabinets if you have 2 different sets of "one cabinet" needs.
 

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