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Low Down Sound 15/6.5 Cab

#421
Farthest I ever took it was around 700-800 watts (depends on whether you use EIA or AES spec) into the woofer, and maybe half that much available to the mid cone. Pregain suitably filled, and maybe 3 dB of compessionlimiting with makeup gain on an average attack (an apparent doubling of average power).

I couldn't stand it. Even with treble rolled way back it was drowning out the rest of the band (two LOUD guitarists) and punching the drums to smithereens, and I just couldn't in good conscience do that.

It's rather decieving when you are using more modest power, as I said awhile back. Why? Because close to sources the ear tends to judge loudness somewhat on distortion. But this type of design decouples a lot of the cone distortion, so in the final mix in audienceland you might be suitably dominant and clear, but nearby you just aren't getting cues you are used to getting that it is PDL (pretty damned loud). Though the transient punch and LF wallop will begin to make you realize after awhile...
 
#422
Ukiah Bass said:
Is the 15/6 an 8-ohm or 4-ohm cab, and how much power can it handle? Couldn't find any specs on the LDS website. Are all these cabs custom made? Anyone know the lead time. Thanks for comments by all!
Click to expand...

The impedance depends on the crossover design but it's approximately an 8 ohm cab. Real world power handling is huge, I wouldn't be scared of using a 1000-2000W power amp. I don't know about LDS but I presume it's sort of custom as they're using greenboy's open source fEarful design. Mine are in regular production but I'm the wrong side of the pond for you.

Alex
 
#423
I don't think Eminence makes a 4 ohm model of either the LF or 3015. Same goes for the 12" models, I believe. I know my LDS 12/horn is 8 ohms.
 
#425
greenboy said:
Kinda busting my balls there.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but only reluctantly so. I strongly disagree that all things subjective can or should be kept out of threads such as this. At the end of the day, this is all about what each of us hears. And I absolutely agree with you about "bests". Comparative differences, however, properly qualified and expressed by commenters whose past impressions and preferences are well-known, IMHO are not only appropriate, they are desireable.

greenboy said:
I did mention Ken though, because he always qualifies his statements and makes it clear to most who read that he is not a final arbiter of personal tastes, and he has lots of experiences with lots of cabs, fine ears and well-spoken observations.
Click to expand...

Once again, I fully agree; and you cite the very reasons his comments shouldn't be hustled off to the private message board.

I'm not trying to pit you against Don or Jim or do anything else of the kind. I know there are differences among your products, however, and I think audible impressions of those audio differences is a completely proper request. No cabinet is the absolute "best". There is too much variation in tonal goals. I know, however, that each of these cabs is better than the others at producing certain, well-defined audio characteristics and I'd like to read the impressions of those who have heard both.

Regardless of the foregoing, I would be remiss if I also failed to thank you for the excellent work you've done on the fEarful cabinets, and your generosity in sharing their design with the rest of us. Thanks to your efforts, as well as fine-quality design and execution by others like Don and Jim, we bass players have improved equipment options on an almost constant basis.

Has anyone done an actual side-by-side comparison yet?

Bluesy Soul :cool:
 
#427
Bluesy Soul said:
Perhaps, but only reluctantly so. I strongly disagree that all things subjective can or should be kept out of threads such as this.
Click to expand...

Didn't say they should be, and the only reason I suggested PMing KJung was to point him at the thread in case he hadn't noticed at that point in time that another cab he might have played was mentioned.

My god, you'd think I never posted a subjective comment here ; }
 
#428
greenboy said:
Farthest I ever took it was around 700-800 watts (depends on whether you use EIA or AES spec) into the woofer, and maybe half that much available to the mid cone. Pregain suitably filled, and maybe 3 dB of compession with makeup gain on average signal (an apparent doubling of average power).

I couldn't stand it. Even with treble rolled way back it was drowning out the rest of the band (two LOUD guitarists) and punching the drums to smithereens, and I just couldn't in good conscience do that.
Click to expand...

Hmm.. I must be playing at stupid loud volumes if this is the case for other kappalite owners.

You're right on about the distortion cues. It doesn't seem very loud until someone shouts at the top of there lungs to get your attention. :bassist:

(Don't forget your earplugs)
 
#429
fast slapper said:
Hmm.. I must be playing at stupid loud volumes if this is the case for other kappalite owners.
Click to expand...

Rather constricted stage area with a low drop-ceiling where I had to be within a few feet of the enclosure... but opening out onto a wider, deeper room...

It doesn't seem very loud until someone shouts at the top of there lungs to get your attention. :bassist:
Click to expand...

With the guitarists glaring and gesticulating I didn't have to hear the cussin' to know what was goin' on ; }
 
#432
Ukiah Bass said:
Is the 15/6 an 8-ohm or 4-ohm cab, and how much power can it handle? Couldn't find any specs on the LDS website. Are all these cabs custom made? Anyone know the lead time. Thanks for comments by all!
Click to expand...

Don estimates the cab is probably actually around 7.6ohms but didn't have time to put a meter on my cab.

I could have ordered a 4ohm 15"KLLF but Tony couldn't tell me exactly what the specs would be until the speaker was completed. In 4ohms it would have lost sensitivity but there's no way to know how much until the speaker was done. Also the frequency response would be different. Not worth the gamble. Oh if I happened to like the 4ohm version and wanted another I'd have to order 50.
 
#434
The Diaper Geni said:
Mystery over. Pulled the speaker.

It's the Kappalite 3015. Non-LF.

I thought Don said it was a LF? No matter. I probably heard him wrong.
Click to expand...

Now I think my 15 is also a non-LF because it has some ribs. I think I'll go in the corner and cry now... :bawl:

Don did tell me I was getting the LF, and he even wrote "15LF" on the back of the cab. I've sent him an e-mail to see what's up.

I just bought a more powerful amp so I could push this beast, and now it seems I got the wrong 15... :(
 
#435
The last order of 15 LF's had at least two std.3015's in by mistake, the Eminence boxes all say 3015 on them and on the opposing side a small sticker designating that it is an LF model. I missed this and you have a non LF. My mistake, Since this was an oversight by the supplier, they are willing to ship direct to you the correct 15.

Don is taking care of me. :)

Diaper Geni, contact Don.
 
#436
Chef said:
the easy answer to the 8 ohm question is twofold:
more power
or
more cabs

well, maybe threefold:
more power and more cabs.
Click to expand...

Power is so cheap and the 3015LF can take so much of it that IMO the only answer to this 8 ohm question is more power. But it's not a quiet speaker, it gets seriously loud with 300W or so. I'm acquiring a micro-amp to go with mine and am expecting that to be used for all rehearsals and most gigs, with the U5/PLX beast kept for recording and scaring punters at outdoor gigs. Makes more sense to me than one small amp and two cabs.

Alex
 
#438
alexclaber said:
Power is so cheap and the 3015LF can take so much of it that IMO the only answer to this 8 ohm question is more power. But it's not a quiet speaker, it gets seriously loud with 300W or so.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it has an average sensitivity that's so close to better non-LF shorter-excursion 15" drivers that I've almost always gigged with 325 watts into the woofer, with maybe about half of that amount also going into the midrange (I biamp and don't even have a "full range" switch). It gets as loud and full-sounding as my previous considerably larger and heavier big rig that got more wattage simply because it doesn't suffer from obvious power compression or run out of xmax.

But in closer to the cab, as I've mentioned, it took awhile to acclimatize to way less driver distortion cues when I was playing "clean".
 
#439
Don just called me up on this (he's not a 'TB posting' type:)) and asked me to further communicate that anyone who got one of the non 'LF' speakers will be taken care of. He is kicking himself that he trusted the labels on the boxes and that he didn't make doubly sure that the speakers he installed were the right ones.

However, there were two things going on. The cab that I tried in this thread (that Chef has) was actually originally spec'd to have a 'non LF' (of course, he said, for all he knows, it has an 'LF' in it, given the chaos in the Eminence box labeling... I'm sure he and Chef will figure it out).

The 'Greenboy' design that I reviewed later was spec'd and did have an LF. So, while I was attributing the larger box and crossover to the 'bigger sound' of that cab and also what to me sounded to be a smoother transition from lows to mids was at least(possibly!) partially due to the woofer difference.

Chef's cab sounded amazing also, and I guess would probably have even more low end extension with the LF installed.

Anyway, Don asked me to post up and say that the few guys who got 'non LF's' when they should have gotten LF's will be taken care of. And also, he will no longer depend on the Eminence box labels as an indication of the actual driver in the box.
 

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