Mixing speakers : SAME size but different brands in the SAME cab

[Bass4LifeRS]

Completely off topic, but when I get the cash to buy a new amp and cabs, I want it to be equipment designed by agedhorse!

 

[Jared Houseman]

The only use I can think of for using different 10” speakers In one cab is for having the distortion of a specific cone breakup from one or two speakers on top.

There are some old peavey cabs like this. They have an 18 or 15 in the bottom with two guitar 10s or 8s in the top. They were more suited for bi-amping but I believe you could run it full range but the smaller speakers were high passed. I had one local to me that I was going pickup as a beater cab to use at my school, but I ended up not needing it and figured the size, weight, and sound weren't worth it.

 

[pappabass]

You missed the MOST important set of specifications for speakers working together within a cabinet.

The TS parameters, which define the electro-mechanical and electro-acoustic properties of the speakers.

Since speakers are based on spring-mass behavior, when these parameters are significantly different, the various spring-mass systems can work against each other and can become destructive at lower power levels than drivers with near identical TS parameters.

Sorry.....gee, just keeping it simple with the basic..no need for rebuke here.

 

[agedhorse]

Sorry.....gee, just keeping it simple with the basic..no need for rebuke here.

There are forum members that are looking to understand this stuff, and when the most important information is left out, the simplification becomes less than useful because it's missing that critical info.

 

[pappabass]

There are forum members that are looking to understand this stuff, and when the most important information is left out, the simplification becomes less than useful because it's missing that critical info.

Sorry for responding to post....if I knew you were testing me I would included every single specification, all parameters, even the color. Pigment density can affect the sound.

 

[Omega Monkey]

Everytime I see consensus telling someone not to break the established rules, it makes me think there might be a lot of room for innovation. Do the experiment(s). Just realize that innovation can get expensive and know when to throw in the towel.

Most people would get the opposite lesson that it's really hard to come up with something new that will actually work as expected.

define “same specifications”

If the specs are the same, might as well just get identical speakers in the first place, otherwise what are you hoping to gain?

I’d like to innovate by building a rocket that can get to Mars faster than the current state of the art. Unfortunately I don’t know anything about building rockets, and therefore my ability to innovate is somewhat restricted.

Just like, make it faster. But make sure not to underpower it. Overpowering is fine.

I guess I must be lucky. I have a Epifani UL410 that I got cheap because there were 2 bad drivers. I had a pair of Deltalites with almost identical TS perimeters as the B&C neos that were in the cab. They are also all rated at the same wattage. I've been rocking it for about 5 years with no issues and it sounds great.

Yeah, but you apparently don't have anything to compare it to, ie 4 deltalites or 4 of the stock drivers. My guess is 1 or both of those would be much better.

 

[agedhorse]

Sorry for responding to post....if I knew you were testing me I would included every single specification, all parameters, even the color. Pigment density can affect the sound.

Sorry, not a test but you left out THE most important factor, which is important if not critical to the discussion.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Yeah, but you apparently don't have anything to compare it to, ie 4 deltalites or 4 of the stock drivers. My guess is 1 or both of those would be much better.

You haven't heard the cab. It kicks some booty. Also, Epifani went to a version of the Eminence drivers in their second series cab. Some like the series 1 and some prefer the series 2. I have the best of both.

 

[Omega Monkey]

However good it is currently, I find it hard to believe it wouldn't be much better with 4 matched drivers, especially the stock ones (and especially 4 bought together and used/broken in together).

Also, as a sound guy, I basically trust zero musicians' idea of what sounds good or not (no offense). Probably 95% of bands can't even get a basic stage mix together without a lot of cajoling/threats/violence.

Plus, even though the Epifani guy has said some monumentally clueless (or at best dubious) things about audio physics/speaker design/etc... I do think he more or less knows what he's doing. The idea that a simple off the shelf replacement of half the drivers in one of his cabs would make the cab BETTER is just about inconceivable.

If you like the sound, great. But it's hardly an argument for doing the same thing, it's an unsubstantiated subjective anecdote that flies in the face of design conventions, common sense, and physics.

 

[Omega Monkey]

O

Sorry I left out THE most important thing. OP, please forgive me of my ignorance...

Again, if you were going to get "identical" spec'd speakers (which I posit is impossible unless someone can produce at least ONE pair of corresponding driver that match to a high degree) why not just get ACTUAL identical drivers (ie same make and model)? If they have the "same" specs, they have the same behaviour, and if they have the same behaviour, they have the same sound, and if they have the same sound, why would you use different ones?

 

[Chef]

closed for review

 

[smperry]

I’ll reopen, and close or thread ban folks if they won’t follow TB rules.

 

[Papuzzo]

Most people would get the opposite lesson that it's really hard to come up with something new that will actually work as expected.

Most people should just follow the herd, it's safe right up to the point when their head gets cut off. But, I know two buotique cab makers here in Italy who tried to innovate and the results were great. ATS started mixing speakers that have different dispersion properties to yield cabs that sound phenomenal anywhere. BH Amps created cabs that have one speaker voiced more vintage and another that is voiced modern. So, in one cab you can get a punchy vintage tone. These are just two small companies here, I am sure in the rest of the world there are many who are experimenting to go beyond what the herd will settle for. But, unfortunately, we live in an age where people trust the Internet more than they trust their own ears.

 

[MobileHolmes]

with guitar the cab is just there to keep the speakers off the floor, with bass the speakers are just there to move the air inside the cab properly

I think this is mostly true, but sealed vs open back cabs perform pretty differently (the open back is pretty much just keeping speakers off the floor) and there are some size based differences in sound for sealed cabs (although I don't think any of them sound truly bad)