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Harley Benton BB210T Driver Upgrade

FonkBass

FonkBass

Jun 10, 2010
46
34
Forest Gate London
#1
I have a Harley Benton BB210T cab. The cab sounds surprisingly good for the price, and the cab build is good. I use a Hartke LH1000. Im thinking of replacing the drivers. Arjank's builds have been interesting using the Oberton 10" Drivers. The problem with the 10B200 is that it is hard to come by, it never seems to be in stock (good sign they are good). My second choice would be the Legend BP102's for the low end. Do you think either the legends or the 10B200's would work in the Harley benton cab?

cabinet, SPL: 98dB, frequency range: 45 - 17 kHz, 15 mm plywood enclosure
Cab dimensions whd: 586 x 486 x 465 mm, weight: 22,9 kg...
 
#4
You seem to be under the impression that a driver will work at its best in an existing box 'cos it's the same size as the old one. This is completely false. The driver you pick to install could well be so uncomfortable it'll tear itself to pieces. The same is true for high range drivers. The existing crossover would need to supply a signal suitable for the new high drivers characteristics.
 
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#5
BassmanPaul said:
You seem to be under the impression that a driver will work at its best in an existing box 'cos it's the same size as the old one. This is completely false. The driver you pick to install could well be so uncomfortable it'll tear itself to pieces. The same is true for high range drivers. The existing crossover would need to supply a signal suitable for the new high drivers characteristics.
Click to expand...

No! i know about the THIELE & SMALL PARAMETERS etc..and Box size. I just don't think i could build a box like this. It may need more baffle or strengthening. I downloaded some images from Snoopy from Onlybass.com, these will give you an idea of whats inside the box...
I'm willing to change the horn and the cross over if necessary too!
 

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#6
What's the price of this Harley Benton cab? Can't believe they actually put a lowpass on the woofers :thumbsup:
Construction looks solid.
The internal volume is approx. 90liters (3 cu ft) which is a tad to large for two 10B200's (my cab is 66liters), this will create a slight bump around the tuning frequency. When the tuning is around 48hz the bump will be 2dB which is nothing to worry about, but when the tuning gets higher the bump gets bigger. So if you can measure the port dimensions I can determine the tuning frequency of the enclosure and see if it will work out for the 10B200. The BP102 will have no problem with the larger enclosure, but I wouldn't use it in combination with a tweeter cuz the midresponse isn't really good.
 
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#7
Current price on Thomann = €148 £106.06 - Real good value for money. It wont go that low and sounds a bit scooped...but handles volume well on stage, i could easily drown out the guitarist with his Marshall stack lol...wonder who makes the drivers. Also the cab sounds better if you stand 2 meters plus in front of it ??
I'll measure the port dimensions later on and report back. ;)
 
#9
Thanks for the dimension, the tuning of the cab is approx 42hz. It seems they aimed for the fundamental of the low E.
Well, this tuning works pretty wel for the 10B200 when put in a larger cab. There's a slight bump around 40hz but that's nothing to worry about, you could minimize that by adding lining around the transition area between cab and port. It will surely get that low B going.

If you want to get rid of the scooped mids (if they are still there after installing the 10B200) just remove the capacitor (C1) and remove / replace the inductor (L1) with a wire. This will remove the lowpass on the woofer. It may also be the case that you need to change the polarity on the tweeter (just swap the wires going into the tweeter).

My prediction is that the modification will bring you enough bass that will rival many 410's.

Edit: one important question, is the cab 8ohms? it looks like the drivers are 16ohms, so keep in mind that when you swap the drivers the cab will get a nominal impedance of 4ohms instead of 8. I recommend to do the crossover modification I mentioned in the 2nd paragraph.
 
#11
Excellent..Thanks Arjank, I'm not too concerned about the low B as i only play 4 string and the low E seems well catered for. I'll still add extra lining between cab and port like you mentioned.
Also i will experiment with the tweeter. The cab is 8 ohms, but i'm happy to go to 4 ohms with the Obertons, this way i can use my LH1000 in full range bridged!
I'll just have to wait for the drivers now :sleep:

I'll report back soon as i get hold of the Obertons..watch this space:D
 
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#13
FonkBass said:
The cab is 8 ohms, but i'm happy to go to 4 ohms with the Obertons, this way i can use my LH1000 in full range bridged!
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that the LH1000 can put out 1100watts @ 4 ohms and the 10B200 can handle 200watts continues power....
That said, I ones tested my 210 cab with a 800watt poweramp and it's clipping lights blinked and the cab still worked so these drivers can handle quite some power.
 
#15
Hey Grtz, i finally got my Obertons at long last...:hyper: Blue Aran received a shipment. I swapped the drivers over this morning, just a straight swap out.
I wanted to see how the Obertons performed and all i can say i WOW! they are fantastic drivers...as an A B between the Harley the Harley just sound thin. Now there's tons of punch low end and nice mids - i dont think at this point that i want to remove the low pass.
Also the horn still sounds good.

I cant believe the transformation. Solid low end, i've not heard the LH1000 sound like this yet! the real test will be next Thursday, i have a gig and i'll give the cab a good workout then. I use a stock 75 fender jazz bass - non active. Be nice to try an active bass through this rig.

Man you were right, so far it beats all the 4x10's i've tried so far...Thanks!!

Makes me feel like getting the Harley Benton 1x15 and upgrading that too! drool

Malcolm.
 
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#19
FonkBass said:
That 15MB500 sounds good...currently £110.00 Blue Aran...

I'm also interested in the Fearful builds, the Fe 12+6.
I know Greenboy recommends the Kappalite 3012LF and Alpha 6A's. Are there Oberton equivalents for these?
Click to expand...

Yes, there are but their 12" line is more focussed on the mid-bass range then the lows below 50hz, making it sound more lean and punchy. It depends on what you're after. The cab gets way smaller though and I would change the component values of the xover a bit. If you're interested I can design that for you.
 
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