eminence beta-12A-II vs. Basslite S2012

How many speakers are you replacing? One, I'd go with the beta. Two or more and I'd go basslite. They have the same sensitivity too for electric bass anyway (until you get to the upper mids, the s2012 is equal).

Another thing is that the 2012s have lower vas, which I believe will translate into needing a slightly smaller box - so if you're using an old 4x12 cab it should be friendlier to that than the betas.

 

Model them both in the cab. When you do compare not only the SPL chart but also the maximum SPL chart, which should seal the decision.

 

If you look at the SPL chart of the Neo and the Beta, you'll notice they are basically a very very similar graph. there's not an inherent mid burp to neos necessarily.

I believe the specs for figuring out how something will sound in a sealed cab are QTS and VAS - the QTS is roughly the same on those speakers, but the VAS is much loser on the S2012s.

You want to model both sets of speakers in a sealed cab of your dimensions and compare the MAXSPL and Sensitivity charts.

For you, if you're using a V4B 100w tube head, you will be far more concerned with the sensitivity chart than the Maxspl chart. If you're putting lots of watts in, maxspl is important.

 

You'll want to use winisd pro (alpha). check greenboy's sig for the neo data files for that.

With four big drivers like that I would not waste my time worrying about maxspl - they are both the same sensitivity and similar xmax, so unless you're drop tuning I wouldn't worry.

With four drivers, you will save something like 20-30lbs by going with Neos. Definitely get the neos.

 

There is no sensitivity difference if you check the SPL charts from 100-1800khz or so it looks like. I doubt you'll notice much at all difference overall.

Up around 2khz or so I believe it is, the Betas have a slight edge, which boosts their "average" sensitivity, but on the low end side it looks around the same.

 

And chart sensitivity in a particular region isn't always an advantage. Sometimes one could say instead that it may sound harsher, or boomier, or icepicky in polar response (because it's easy to spot what is breakup modes at the top of these drivers) and just not as balanced.

 

(I think) What he's saying is that having a +3-5db spike in the upper mids like the Beta does (a bit earlier than the S2010) is not necessarily good.

 

Not necessarily bad either, especially when a 4x arrangement seriously detracts from midrange output.

Perhaps not as good as a driver with lower EBP, but lower EBP drivers tend to have other issues. Personally I'd vent it, especially if you have a V4 amp, which needs a higher sensitivity speaker.