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Cab Combination Question

#22
They do have crossovers, it's just that the high side is a little 50 watt amp made for driving a tweeter. When you get a GK package, it comes with a 4 conductor cable that when you plug it in the cab, there's actually one set of speaker wires driving the woofers their 480 watts or whatever and another set connecting the little 50 watt amp to the tweeter. Technically bi-amped, just in a lopsided way it seems to me. The 800 makes more sense to me, can be crossed over lower with enough power to drive a midrange down to the 500hz-1khz region.
 
#23
It seems most guys running the more powerful 700's and 1001's just ignore the tweeter amp and plug fullrange into a cab or two and use the lpad on the cab to adjust the tweeter. Seems like a "why bother" with the little tweeter amp.
 
#26
The "You have to have matching drivers" and don't mix a 15 with 10s is a bunch of baloney.
I have a 2x10 and 1x15 with an LM3 and it sounds fantastic.
Plus the bigger 1x15 cab ads more bottom end.
The 15 with your 4 10s might sound great.
 
#29
BassNGuns said:
The "You have to have matching drivers" and don't mix a 15 with 10s is a bunch of baloney.
I have a 2x10 and 1x15 with an LM3 and it sounds fantastic.
Plus the bigger 1x15 cab ads more bottom end.
The 15 with your 4 10s might sound great.
Click to expand...

The 15 sounds deep because it's midrange is flying past you at knee level where you have no ears. Put your 210 on the floor and your 15 at ear level and see which sounds deeper.
 
#33
georgestrings said:
Sounds to me like a better cab is your best bet - I've played the 700rb-II thru plenty of quality cabs, and it always sounded great - with power and low end to spare...

Inversely, I've always found Avatar cabs to be pretty "meh" sounding... Plenty of top name pros have toured with the 700rb-II, but the same can't be said for Avatar cabs - I'm just sayin'...


- georgestrings
Click to expand...

Everyone is entitled to their opinion of Avatar and what their ears tell them about Avatar's sound, (same as with ANY manufacturers bass cabinet), but, this type of recuring answer about Avatar's bass cabinets "always" brings a smile to me. I think people feel that since Avatar's are inexpensive compared to the brand-names they must be missing something.
Bottom line...
Avatar uses the same Baltic Birch plywood, the same Tuff-rug or Tolex coverings, the same Foster horns, ect., ect. as the brand-name bass cabinet manufacturers. They use Eminence's top of the line cast framed Neo drivers, (many of the brand-name/high dollar manufacturers use the cheaper Eminence stamped steel framed drivers.)
If Avatar maintained a retail store network as other manufacturers do their prices would be 2 times or more higher than they are, which would put them at roughfully the same prices as the brand-name cabinets.
I'm guessing here, but it is a educated guess, (years ago with a country touring/tv act, I was furnished with, and paid to use, one manufacturers bass head and cabinet)...you don't see many pros with Avatar cabs cause Avatar isn't payin'/providing anyone to use their equipment. Avatar is a small company that wants to keep expenses low to maintain their inexpensive selling price.
 
#38
shoot-r said:
Everyone is entitled to their opinion of Avatar and what their ears tell them about Avatar's sound, (same as with ANY manufacturers bass cabinet), but, this type of recuring answer about Avatar's bass cabinets "always" brings a smile to me. I think people feel that since Avatar's are inexpensive compared to the brand-names they must be missing something.
Bottom line...
Avatar uses the same Baltic Birch plywood, the same Tuff-rug or Tolex coverings, the same Foster horns, ect., ect. as the brand-name bass cabinet manufacturers. They use Eminence's top of the line cast framed Neo drivers, (many of the brand-name/high dollar manufacturers use the cheaper Eminence stamped steel framed drivers.)
If Avatar maintained a retail store network as other manufacturers do their prices would be 2 times or more higher than they are, which would put them at roughfully the same prices as the brand-name cabinets.
I'm guessing here, but it is a educated guess, (years ago with a country touring/tv act, I was furnished with, and paid to use, one manufacturers bass head and cabinet)...you don't see many pros with Avatar cabs cause Avatar isn't payin'/providing anyone to use their equipment. Avatar is a small company that wants to keep expenses low to maintain their inexpensive selling price.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I saw Bill's speech too - and regardless of all the "same drivers, same wood" stuff you guys say, to *my* ears, Avatar cabs have never sounded as good as those by Mesa, SWR, Eden, Begantino, Ampeg, etc... - they just don't... I listen with my ears, and not eyes - and DEFINITELY value saving a buck - and *if* Avatar cabs gave me the same performance as those other brand names, I'd be all over them...

Again, the 700rb-II has been used on many, many tours - I highly doubt that "upgrading" in that area is going to get the OP's desired results... To each their own, though...


- georgestrings
 
#39
Hey George,
I really appreciate your rebuttal. I can definitely see your argument as a good one considering the high demand for "higher quality" cabinets. However, I was hoping that upgrading my 700rbii to the Fusion 550 would give me a bit of a smoother and warmer tone with the tube preamp. I love the punch and grind of the 700rbii but wanted something that could potentially smooth out the edges of it. It seems that because I at least have some clarity on what amp I want to upgrade to, I should go ahead and do that first. I'm definitely not out-ruling upgrading my cab, though. Thanks again for your input.
 
#40
georgestrings said:
Yeah, I saw Bill's speech too - and regardless of all the "same drivers, same wood" stuff you guys say, to *my* ears, Avatar cabs have never sounded as good as those by Mesa, SWR, Eden, Begantino, Ampeg, etc... - they just don't..
Click to expand...
There's a big difference between 'different' and 'better'. I'll grant that Avatar doesn't necessarily sound the same as other brands, but that's not a matter of quality. If the OP just doesn't care for the sound he has and wants something different then by all means do so. But he should not assume that there's necessarily any connection between price and sound.
 

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