I recently purchased the PF-500 head and absolutely love it. The tone is outstanding. It is, in my opinion, easily the best 500 watt class D head on the market for the price.
I've been running it through a Peavey TVX-412 as my main gig rig. I wanted something more portable. Recently, I decided to purchase the matching PF-115HE (1x15) cabinet to go with it, since they are designed for one another. The package showed up today and I unboxed it, hooked it up, and started jamming.
Unfortunately, the experience was unsatisfactory. The head is great, but it seems like Ampeg kind of cut corners on the cab. The tone is lacking, as is the low-end. Also, the driver seemed to have very limited excursion and began to distort earlier than I had anticipated.
Now I know you can't expect a $300 1x15 cabinet to compare to the volume, power handling, or low end of a 412, so that was not even a basis for comparison.
For a more realistic comparison, I A/B'ed it against my Acoustic B200 1x15 200 watt combo and came to the following conclusions:
Where the Ampeg wins: High frequencies. The tweeter in the PF-115HE is far better than in the B200. I had the Ampeg's tweeter set at the middle position. The highs were clear and pronounced. The tweeter produced no "sizzle" or "hum". Impressive, but for me, a tweeter is the least important feature of a bass cabinet.
Where the Acoustic was superior: Overall volume, mid-range presence, and low-end capabilities before driver distortion. I don't have a decibel meter or anything like that, but based on my most honest estimations, I would conclude that the combo could get about about 25% louder than the Ampeg. The tone was also better, and had a punchier, "growlier" personality (which is ironic because, when ran through the Peavey cab, the Ampeg tone is far superior to the Acoustic tone - I actually felt like the PF-115HE detracted from the outstanding tone of the PF-500!)
I tried to be as neutral with this A/B testing as possible. Both amps were set flat, the gain at noon, and I used the same bass for each amp and tried to the best of my ability to play with an equal amount of attack. The bass is a Schecter Raiden 4, passive, and all volume and tone controls were full on.
I know "volume" capabilities shouldn't be the deciding factor on a rig. For me, and I assume most of us, the most important feature of bass guitar equipment is tone. Unfortunately, (and I don't know if it's just cheaply made, not tuned to my taste, or what) the PF-115HE does not do its head justice. Volume is important, however. I can keep up with a full band while jamming on the Acoustic B200. I do not feel that the PF-115HE could have done this. Also, I expected the mid-range to be more pronounced. The cabinet just sounds "thin" and frail, to my ears.
So, unfortunately, I am shipping back the PF-115HE. I will certainly be keeping the PF-500, as it is easily one of the best sounding heads I have ever owned. The cabinet, sadly, fell short.
I've been running it through a Peavey TVX-412 as my main gig rig. I wanted something more portable. Recently, I decided to purchase the matching PF-115HE (1x15) cabinet to go with it, since they are designed for one another. The package showed up today and I unboxed it, hooked it up, and started jamming.
Unfortunately, the experience was unsatisfactory. The head is great, but it seems like Ampeg kind of cut corners on the cab. The tone is lacking, as is the low-end. Also, the driver seemed to have very limited excursion and began to distort earlier than I had anticipated.
Now I know you can't expect a $300 1x15 cabinet to compare to the volume, power handling, or low end of a 412, so that was not even a basis for comparison.
For a more realistic comparison, I A/B'ed it against my Acoustic B200 1x15 200 watt combo and came to the following conclusions:
Where the Ampeg wins: High frequencies. The tweeter in the PF-115HE is far better than in the B200. I had the Ampeg's tweeter set at the middle position. The highs were clear and pronounced. The tweeter produced no "sizzle" or "hum". Impressive, but for me, a tweeter is the least important feature of a bass cabinet.
Where the Acoustic was superior: Overall volume, mid-range presence, and low-end capabilities before driver distortion. I don't have a decibel meter or anything like that, but based on my most honest estimations, I would conclude that the combo could get about about 25% louder than the Ampeg. The tone was also better, and had a punchier, "growlier" personality (which is ironic because, when ran through the Peavey cab, the Ampeg tone is far superior to the Acoustic tone - I actually felt like the PF-115HE detracted from the outstanding tone of the PF-500!)
I tried to be as neutral with this A/B testing as possible. Both amps were set flat, the gain at noon, and I used the same bass for each amp and tried to the best of my ability to play with an equal amount of attack. The bass is a Schecter Raiden 4, passive, and all volume and tone controls were full on.
I know "volume" capabilities shouldn't be the deciding factor on a rig. For me, and I assume most of us, the most important feature of bass guitar equipment is tone. Unfortunately, (and I don't know if it's just cheaply made, not tuned to my taste, or what) the PF-115HE does not do its head justice. Volume is important, however. I can keep up with a full band while jamming on the Acoustic B200. I do not feel that the PF-115HE could have done this. Also, I expected the mid-range to be more pronounced. The cabinet just sounds "thin" and frail, to my ears.
So, unfortunately, I am shipping back the PF-115HE. I will certainly be keeping the PF-500, as it is easily one of the best sounding heads I have ever owned. The cabinet, sadly, fell short.
