Building 2x10 bass cab

[Secondhead]

Hi, a few years ago I managed to blow the speakers on my ashdown mag 300. I have been using the pre and power amp from this unit on a seperate cab but now I plan to replace the speakers on the combo and use it as a a seperate 2x10 cab with a 4 ohm load.

I understand that if I put in two 10 inch speakers in parallel, each at 8 ohms this wil reduce the load to 4 ohms. The problem I am now considering is whether to ad a horn and how would this effect the load?

I have two bass heads both with a minimum load of 4 ohm and am looking to make a nice portable 2x10 cab, any help would be much appreciated.

 

[p12bassnut]

If u add a horn you will need a crossover. Look for a phase correcting crossover since you have 2 drivers.
I'm not sure how the horn will affect impedance if at all.

 

[Secondhead]

Phase correction looks pretty complicated.. What might you suggest as a good 2x10 configuration? I am currently looking at eminence as they seem a safe bet.

 

[RickenBoogie]

A 4 ohm 210 doesn't make much sense. An 8 ohm 210 does. What you *think* you gain by using a 4 ohm 210 with your amp is more wattage therefore more volume. BUT, this is NOT the case. An 8 ohm 210 will get just as loud, with the lower power from your amp, PLUS allow you to use 2 cabs, which is where the big volume comes from. Read the faq's and stickies for more info on how bass gear really works.

 

[Secondhead]

Huh? I was thinking seeing as both heads are minimum load of 4 ohms that a 4 ohm cab would be suitable plus if I run the two cabs together in series this will make a load of 8 ohms still possible?

 

[Secondhead]

Just to be clear I have another 4 ohm cab ( an ampeg cab of 8 6" speakers ) which I have the possibility of using alongside this new one but I like the idea of using the smaller 2x10 as a more portable rig.. Plus the 8 6 inch cab lacks any real lows..

 

[funnyfingers]

What is your plan to connect 2 X 4 ohm cabinets in series on the fly?

 

[Downunderwonder]

Then you lose half your advantage of having two cabs. 4ohm 2x10 is a poor choice for exactly the reasoning he gave.

You would probably blow it again because two tens can't handle the peak wattage of a 300w amp.

 

[Secondhead]

Ok, running the two cabs together might not be such a great option any way and I see what you mean by a 8ohm cab being more practical in the long run. Really great to have a few pointers here . So what might be a good combination of speakers and is a tweeter a good idea if I was running this cab alone?

 

[Secondhead]

any idea's on good speaker configurations for a 2x10 cab would be much appreciated, it will mainly be used as a recording amp so the lack of throw isnt too much of a problem.

 

[shaginwagin]

There's no reason you CAN build that cab and it work just fine. And you can run it in series with your other cab. And I'm sure it will sound just fine, if not pretty good! Only one way to find out though... Build the cab and a series cable and plug them in. Don't let the nay-sayers stop you.

I'd personally think a single 210 cab at 4 ohms is not the most ideal box for most people. But this is YOUR gear, and YOU are the one using it.

I really can help with a crossover but I THINK you can just put a tweeter in the baffle with a capacitor or resistor or something that stops the lower frequencies from hurting the tweet. I used to do it all the time with small front speakers in my cars.

Build it dude

 

[BassmanPaul]

As you are loading a cabinet that you already have you should measure the internals to get its volume. Measure the port(s) if any. Feed those measurements into a box program such as WinISD to select a driver that will work well in your box. Just dropping a pair of ten inch drivers into the cabinet only ends up in a crapshoot.

 

[Secondhead]

As you are loading a cabinet that you already have you should measure the internals to get its volume. Measure the port(s) if any. Feed those measurements into a box program such as WinISD to select a driver that will work well in your box. Just dropping a pair of ten inch drivers into the cabinet only ends up in a crapshoot.

thanks paul, i didnt realise things were going to get so complicated.. will give it a go.

 

[Cirk]

Do the math. It's cheaper to do it right once than wrong twice.

 

[basscooker]

Lots of combo cabs are less-than-perfect to begin with. If you use a box program like mentioned you just may be able to do better than the cab already did. Also consider the possibility it just won't sound good at all. You may find a used 2x10 for about what you pay for just speakers to load that cab. It's your stuff, and it's your dough, but either way you go, you've learned something. Post project pics if you do it! Maybe, some progress pics up front will yield some helpful advice, too.

 

[Secondhead]

Ok so after reading a bit I've had a go using win isd, I've put in all the variants I know. using 2 eminence legend b102 s it actually recommends a slightly smaller volume cab of about 5 inches and only one larger vent when I have two smaller ones. I have changed these to fit my existing cab. The eminence deltas ask for an even smaller cab but when I change the variants to suit the existing cab, the deltas have a very similar and actually slightly lower f3.

Not sure really what I am looking at trying to achieve with this program, very complicated stuff, but all a learning curve so any help would be much appreciated.

One thing which confuses me is the tuning, how do I find out the tuning of my box and how does this affect things?