Ideal speakers for 5 string bass (low B)

[greenboy]

Duh. I never saw the 2dB figure. That's better than I thought.

Yeah, it looks real good in print... ; }

 

[JustDavid]

Yeah, it looks real good in print... ; }

It does. Hey, I'm willing to be wrong if I can learn while doing so

Greenboy, you seem a good person to ask this of. I'm up on how to read a response curve, but am missing the gross difference between a flat-ish response curve & a flat-ish frequency spec.

I've got one of those cabs & it seems to go plenty deep (35" low B Chromes). It's sound is NOT my cup of tea, but I can't fault it for depth.

 

[greenboy]

It does. Hey, I'm willing to be wrong if I can learn while doing so

Really though, it's not you who is wrong - it's their marketing department ; }

Greenboy, you seem a good person to ask this of. I'm up on how to read a response curve, but am missing the gross difference between a flat-ish response curve & a flat-ish frequency spec.

I'm not sure I am understanding you but consider this: two cabs with identical referenced honest numbers,

50 Hz to 5K Hz, +/- 3 dB, halfspace.

But one of those if seen properly graphed could be very full below 100 Hz, riding near or even above the 0 dB hairline, while the other has been below 0 dB since 100 Hz. Provided the drivers have sufficient xmax and are tuned correctly not to waste it when fed with a typical bass guitar signal, the first one will typically sound much fuller though the referenced numbers are the same.

I've got one of those cabs & it seems to go plenty deep (35" low B Chromes). It's sound is NOT my cup of tea, but I can't fault it for depth.

Sure. But that could just as easily be because there is a relative dearth of energy presented in some higher band of frequencies, and that makes areas where there is more output sound prevalent... And it is often the case that a strong midbass response is mistaken for good LF extension and fullness - often an octave or more of discrepancy can be accounted for in this fashion. Marketing departments like that because then, at least, their ficticious unreferenced numbers seem to be somewhat believable to those who aren't aware of what I said above.

 

[JustDavid]

Thanks. Well put, well conveyed.

I agree that the best expression is full expression, starting with a response plot & other information I should be learning from them & not here. But I do give some points to Eden; "+/- 2 dB" is a LOT more info & a LOT tighter spec'ing than a lot of other manufacturers.

It's sad that those few characters "+/- 2 dB" look so good in comparison.

 

[rpsands]

Nothing I've played (And I mean nothing) has come close to the low B that my 3015Lf cab produces. I think the Acme Low B4 is about the only thing that can produce as much low B fundamental that also is full range (but I haven't tried one so I can't speak to it other than its numbers).

Also, the number you want to look at for the low B is probably closer to 62hz. Most commercial bass cabs roll off significantly before even 62hz - the Ampeg 8x10 starts rolling off rapidly below 100hz IIRC.

I look for my cabs to produce evenly from 45-300hz or so (and obviously above that). Most cabs on the market have one of the following qualities if not multiple:
1) Rapid rolloff below 100hz
2) Massive low-mid bump around 80-120hz
3) Massive midrange scoop from ~1.2khz to 3.5khz.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

Duh. I never saw the 2dB figure. That's better than I thought.

It's also impossible.

 

[greenboy]

But I do give some points to Eden; "+/- 2 dB" is a LOT more info & a LOT tighter spec'ing than a lot of other manufacturers.

Yes - it does show how shameless someone at Eden was capable of being, and perhaps they would have been more than welcome at AIG or some other bailout greed atrocity before the Big Realization hit last fall ; }

 

[JustDavid]

It's also impossible.

Falsified specs on Eden's website?

 

[rpsands]

Falsified specs on basically every single major bass cab manufacturer.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

Falsified specs on Eden's website?

No 1x12 can achieve what Eden claims, nor remotely close to it.

 

[dhomer]

At one time I too was searching for the low B fundamental. I wound up designing and building what's in the picture. The 18 is a Dayton Pro, and the cab is an optimum alignment. According to the chart WinISD gave me the -3db response was 27Hz. The 4-10 is a twin closed chamber with BP102's. I let the 4-10 run full range (started dropping off about 150Hz), and I put an Eminence low-pass filter on the 18. Ran the whole thing through a DCM600 in bridge mode.

In the real world, sure this rig sounded awesome.. it also created a subsonic mess when we tried to patch my rig through the PA. Had to put a 35Hz high-pass filter on my pre just to tame the monster..

I'll be selling this rig shortly to raise the cash to build one of Bill's cabs...

 

[alexclaber]

But I do give some points to Eden; "+/- 2 dB" is a LOT more info & a LOT tighter spec'ing than a lot of other manufacturers.

Unfortunately those specs are horrifically far from reality. Like claiming a 4 door $20,000 saloon can do 200 mph and 100 mpg.

Alex