• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Cab/amp doubt. Please help!

Greetings to y'all low frecuency addicts!

I'm about to become the happy owner of a 300 watt all-tube head. My plan is to have a 2x15 cab built loaded with 2 Eminenca Kappa 15 LFA. Given that each speaker is rated at 600 watts I was wondering if the head won't give enough mojo to make the pair sing hence producing a loud but mojoless sound. In that case, wich pair of speakers would you recomend? Where I'm from (Buenos Aires, Argentina) the speakers available are a couple of celestion, eminence and 18sound. I play in two bands: one is a mix of reggae funk and 70's rock and the other one is pure rock classics (little richard, beatles, rolling stones, CCR, elvis, clapton, etc.) Thanks.

Wish you all good gigs!
 
  • Like
Reactions: SirMjac28
Myth. You can make a cab that takes 600w sing with a 25w amp. I've done it before and I'll do it again. You do not need a minimum amount of wattage to power a cab based on the power handling specs of the cab. You need enough power to handle the gigs you're doing and anything beyond that is gravy. And besides, the SVT tube amp is 300w and it's paired up with a cab that takes 800w, and nobody ever says you can't make that rig sing. Can't make a rig like that sing, it ain't the rig ;)
 
I've got Delta 15a's in my B-15 repro cabs and they sound excellent. And while B-String is correct about the reduced xmax, in all practicality I don't think it matters, since I've lit them up really good before and they got extremely loud before they started farting out. So yes, I think they are much better choices, as I couldn't do a cab with woofers that didn't at least hit 4k in highs. You do have a couple other choices, though, albeit rather expensive ones. The Eminence Kappalite 3015 and the Faital 15PR400. But they're neos, so they're considerably lighter expensive choices.

BTW, Jon, I added that part about your xmax comment before I saw you had liked my post. Hope I still get a like after you see the edited version ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: B-string
Myth. You can make a cab that takes 600w sing with a 25w amp. I've done it before and I'll do it again. You do not need a minimum amount of wattage to power a cab based on the power handling specs of the cab. You need enough power to handle the gigs you're doing and anything beyond that is gravy. And besides, the SVT tube amp is 300w and it's paired up with a cab that takes 800w, and nobody ever says you can't make that rig sing. Can't make a rig like that sing, it ain't the rig ;)
:thumbsup:
 
I've got Delta 15a's in my B-15 repro cabs and they sound excellent. And while B-String is correct about the reduced xmax, in all practicality I don't think it matters, since I've lit them up really good before and they got extremely loud before they started farting out. So yes, I think they are much better choices, as I couldn't do a cab with woofers that didn't at least hit 4k in highs. You do have a couple other choices, though, albeit rather expensive ones. The Eminence Kappalite 3015 and the Faital 15PR400. But they're neos, so they're considerably lighter expensive choices.

BTW, Jon, I added that part about your xmax comment before I saw you had liked my post. Hope I still get a like after you see the edited version ;)

Still good, I think he'll be pretty safe. We don't know the tone goals, but those should be a little tighter on the low end and the Xlim is still 11mm.

Should be a darn good sounding, workable cab.
 
As long as top end of 2.7 kHz (relatively on the lower side, although not super low) is O.K. for you, then the Kappas will work well.

If you need/want a higher frequency range (I would), then I'd do the Deltas (to 4 kHz, pretty darned good). Just be aware that you're giving up a good amount of Xmax compared to the Kappas.
 
Last edited:
Much better, but you will lose Xmax (the distance the cones can move), so they will overload easier. The sensitivity of those again is much better (you need less watts to get as loud).
I like the Deltas too, but dB SPL is nearly identical ... Kappas 99, Deltas 100. Instead of sensitivity, I'd take them for range.
 
Last edited:
No kappalites or Faital available. It all goes down to Eminence Alpha 15a Beta 15a Delta 15a and Kappa 15lfa or Celestion Ftr 4080f, BL15 400x and TF1530.
You can order anything off the internet, can't you? Can't be that difficult to get them in Argentina. But OTOH, the Deltas are an excellent and cost effective choice. So are the Betas.
 
Now I'm standing between Betas and Deltas. Betas have bigger Xmax - Deltas are above 95db from 100Hz almost until 4.5kHz. How this 2 values affect the tone? I'm swinging for the motown tone (the amp's preamp is based on Fender's AB764 circuit followed by 6 6550).
 
Last edited: