• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Kappalite 3012HO vs Deltalite 2512II?

Hi TB:)

year ago I bought pair of 3012HOs which were intended for a simple and light 12" boxes, but found kappalite's are somewhat weak in low end so put them for a sale now. I got a trade offer for two new 2512II's, but don't know what to except from these as standalone speakers in 112" or 212"...

In meantime I bought high end 410 so I don't need this any more, but no many cash offers these days, and backup 112 or 212 would be nice.

I'm just not sure if deltalites can go much lower than 3012HO, I wanna BASS, not mids, high mids, and all other kind of mids :D:ninja:

any suggestions?

thanks
 
2512 II's haev a lot more low end than the 3012HO and will sound more like a bass speaker out of the gate. They also respond better to a slightly bigger box than the 3012HO (2cf per woofer roughly vs. 1.2 for the 3012HO).

That trade should come with 50 bucks your way, even used.
 
  • Like
Reactions: iualum
The 2 have very different response curves/tone profiles but the Deltalites have a lot going on in the upper mids too. Might not like them either.

Sounds like you might like how a basslite or a delta12LF sounds run fullrange...or a Legend CB12 if there was such a thing.

Could get what you want out of a 3012LF based system but they need a mid, so choose one that is not more than equal to, probably a little less than the woofer in spl.
 
2512 II's haev a lot more low end than the 3012HO and will sound more like a bass speaker out of the gate. They also respond better to a slightly bigger box than the 3012HO (2cf per woofer roughly vs. 1.2 for the 3012HO).

That trade should come with 50 bucks your way, even used.

Tjey do reach deeper and sound more like a bass guitar, but still, plenty of upper mids.

+1 on the price difference. DL's + cash for KL's.
 
I agree with the above posts, the 2512-II is an excellent speaker. I've used those in a few builds, specifically 1-12 and 2-12s, which can hold their own against a good 410 IME.

The upper mids are actually quite nice, can eq to taste. Plenty of low end, you want 2 to 2.5 cu ft per driver.
 
  • Like
Reactions: iualum
The Deltalite II 2512 is voiced better for bass guitar because it has more low end, while the Kappalite 3012HO has higher effiicency and higher power handling (both thermally and mechanically). So if you have the ability and inclination to crank in a lot of low-end EQ the 3012HO will ultimately go louder, but within its SPL limitations (more a matter of x-max than of rated power handling), the 2512 is a better bass guitar speaker.
 
You're saying if you tune it properly a HO will go louder and lower, but the deltalite sounds better if you don't need the last little bit of volume?

You can't get there just with tuning.

If you tune the 3012HO quite high you'd get good low end loudness down to the tuning frequency, but that would result in a very low fartout threshold. So you either have to tune low enough for fartout prevention and then boost with EQ, or tune high enough to have loud bass but then use an aggressive high-pass filter to protect against fartout. Or some combination thereof.
 
Boosting EQ is easy, but just for clarity, which driver has a bigger potential bottom end sound?

The 3012HO has about 2 dB worth more excursion than the 2512 (6.2 mm vs 4.9 mm), so that's how much more bottom end potential it has, given suitable EQ.

The 2512 is really a sweet woofer for bass guitar, and I haven't used it mainly because my specialty is crossover design, and if we're going to use a crossover anyway, we're throwing away the nice top end that the 2512 inherently has. Imo it's a strong candidate for a crossoverless DIY build.