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Hydrive 115c vs 210c

Z

Zolbol

Jan 26, 2008
127
1
South Africa
#1
Hello bassers:bassist:

Quick one - Hartke Hydrive amps - which is better or what is the difference between the 115 and the 210.

Obviously the 210 has an extra speaker although smaller, sounds better as its pushing 20" of air instead of 15"

Is this a correct assumption.

Any info greatly appreciated

Ta

:hyper:
 
#6
It's not as simple as the 20" vs. 15" formula.

A 10" woofer will respond faster than a 15" woofer since there is less surface area to move. If you are playing fast, up tempo percussive bass lines, then I'd go for the 10's.

On the other hand, a 15" woofer is sort of like comparing a twin turbo V6 to a 454 V8. They can make the same power, but the big V8 has more "punch", more torque, but it's slower to rev. The 15" is going to produce the deeper tones with more clarity, but the bigger the woofer, the more mass you have to move. It can get overwhelmed if you play EXTREMELY fast.

Now, this is GENERAL knowledge and not specific to Hartke gear. This comes from my knowledge of loudspeaker design. I've always been a big believer in having multiple drivers and using crossovers. You might have a single 15" for your really deep stuff, and roll the higher stuff over to two 10's. Of course, now you're looking at a lot of gear and a lot of money.

If it were me, I'd try the two 10's out and see how they handle the deep notes. If you need to EQ a little bottom end in, then you can do that. I think they would sound better than a single 15. But having never heard either, I can't say for sure.

There has been huge advancements in speaker technology over the years and the last speakers I designed were made 20 years ago. They were also home speakers, not bass amps, so my knowledge might not transfer very well.
 
#7
Thanks chad.. yeh i have taken ownership on the 115 and its a monster, loving it..

What you say makes sense though thanks.. Also i'm a mediocre kinda bassist just content on holding the groove and never really get too fancy - not good enough really so yeh the 115 fitting in perfectly.

Just a question on the multiple driver thing... Everything would be coming through all the speakers at the same time?? or can you split the single somehow??

Excuse my ingnoramusness please :)
 
#8
chadhargis said:
It's not as simple as the 20" vs. 15" formula.

A 10" woofer will respond faster than a 15" woofer since there is less surface area to move. If you are playing fast, up tempo percussive bass lines, then I'd go for the 10's.

On the other hand, a 15" woofer is sort of like comparing a twin turbo V6 to a 454 V8. They can make the same power, but the big V8 has more "punch", more torque, but it's slower to rev. The 15" is going to produce the deeper tones with more clarity, but the bigger the woofer, the more mass you have to move. It can get overwhelmed if you play EXTREMELY fast.
Click to expand...
i would suggest reading up on speaker science a little more. all speakers respond at the same speed, no matter what size they are, and this overwhelming a big woofer if you play too fast stuff is really not true. and the size of the speaker is unrelated to what it sounds like because there are a million other factors in speaker driver design that can manipulate tones.

otoh, for years there has been so much blather about stuff like this from audio pros who think they know something but don't that it's hard to separate what's real and what's not.
 
#9
I'm a very new player, so I'm right there with you. If I have to deviate from the major triad or root/fifth, I'm in trouble! :)

I have been fiddling with speakers for years, but not specifically bass amps. I would assume that both speakers play together at the same time.

Don't be fooled into thinking that a dual 10" cabinet will be twice as loud as a single 10". That's not how it works. It takes roughly 4 times the wattage to double the sound. Wattage requirement goes up exponentially to SPL (sound pressure level). The extra woofer will give you about 4db or so more output (which is more than you think it is).

Right now, I'm squeeking around on a Fender Rumble 60W 12". It's farty and can't handle the low B at anything remotely loud. But I'm just learning, and it will be quite awhile before I have to worry about gigging.

My next big purchase will be a nice amp. Really like the Markbass and Hartke stuff. I want the best of both worlds...Earthquaking bottom end, but easily portable. A 15 would probably give me that. I'm no where near being able to slap and pop, tap, or play really melodic stuff. I'm all about the THUMP, THUMP and laying down the groove.

the size of the speaker is unrelated to what it sounds like because there are a million other factors in speaker driver design that can manipulate tones.
Click to expand...

This statement is correct, but you can't get past physics. Bigger drivers DO physically react differently. I attended a seminar at an audio convention and watched speakers in slow motion. There is only two areas where a speaker is "stabilized" . The surround and the magnet. The magnet moves the cone, which moves the surround. It was amazing to see how much the cone of a larger speaker bends and contorts in slow motion.

As I mentioned, my knowledge comes from dealing in high end reference type home speakers. I've listened to speakers costing over $100,000 and I swear they didn't sound as good as a set costing $1,000. It all depends on what you like. One particular reference line I listened to used nothing bigger than 10" woofers. There were 12 of them total. Dear GOD, the system was amazing. I used my Requiem demo CD where the pipe organ plays an 18hz note and I thought the building was coming down. It was jaw dropping.

Here's a shot of those speakers:

billhero1.jpg
 

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