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new speakers for a 70s Ampeg 2x15

#61
blockinlay said:
I have a question a little off topic from the op.
Hope I'm not in the wrong.
Would you pair this 215 with a vintage 810 powered by an svt, or would two 810's be better?
Click to expand...
I greatly prefer matched drivers so I'd go two 810's.

Beast, you can't date 70's Ampegs by serial number, but if the speakers are original Eminences, that would give you a good idea...look for a 67 (EIC code for Eminence), followed by 4 numbers...the 1st 2 numbers after the 67 are the year, next two are the week they were made.
 
#62
Weird how they can date 50s, 60s and 80s+ Ampegs, but not 70s. I guess they haven't broke the code yet.

I've narrowed it down to 73-79 since it has the plastic "A" logo.

I've also read of mid to late 70s B25B cabinets coming with CTS speakers. I'll have to pull one of the speakers out again tomorrow to check for the code.

EDIT: Okay, I compared pictures of old Eminence and CTS speakers, my Ampeg definitely has CTS speakers.
 
#68
This cabinet is NOT 2 separate enclosures. It is one giant cabinet with a piece of wood going only about a quarter of the way towards the back of the cabinet. In other words, the speakers are not isolated from each other. There are 2 vents, one on either side of the pseudo-wall between drivers. The vents are rectangular, about 2 inches x 4.5 inches and are butted up flush against the right side wall.
 
#69
ejmbass said:
For many years I used the EV Black Widow. Lots of power, deep and solid. The price makes the overall cabinet affordable. Anyway, it's your call... EV would be a choice.
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I'm not sure I understand what cabinet and speaker you have.

EV is short for the company, ElectroVoice. They made and still do make numerous speaker models.

Black Widow is a model of speaker made by the company, Peavey.

Both companies make enclosures and they pretty much install their own speakers in them.
 
#70
Here is what I was saying about the cabinet not being 2 separate enclosures:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Here's what the original speakers look like:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Here's a really blurry picture of the speaker manufacturer code: (67-7510)

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


I don't feel comfortable cutting holes and adding PVC pipes to tune the enclosure differently.

I used WinISD to get an idea of how 2 Eminence Delta15s would work, entered all the dimensions including the port size and I got some nice smooth graphs. I'll post them in a little bit if any of you guys care to see them.
 
#72
I don't know how much they'll handle, but I'd guess not a whole lot. They're very similar in size to the CTS that's in my recently sold 77 B-15N, and if I'm not mistaken, it handles 100w. I don't think I'd bother reconing them if they 're broken, though I'd definitely keep them safe if you ever decide to sell it. I wouldn't mind seeing the charts WinISD came up with for the Delta.
 
#73
They're very similar in size to the CTS that's in my recently sold 77 B-15N, and if I'm not mistaken, it handles 100w.
Click to expand...

Yah... but I bet you could up the power handling a bit - to the edge of whatever the magnet can use if 100w isn't already at the limit [maybe tack some Hello Kitty fridge magnets on their asses to "butch" em up].

I bet those 18 Sound 15"'s I linked would work great

http://www.usspeaker.com/eighteensound-15MB700-1.htm

But I hate to see those old dogs hit the porch. Maybe you better ship em to me or Jimmy for safety's sake.

Post your T/S parameters and box dimensions, and WinISD file so Jimmy and I can help make a muddle of this whole thing.

And fix those damned casters... I could spill my beer pushing a dolly around one handed. :bassist:
 
#74
I followed the WinISD help tutorial to do this, so bear with me.

First thing I did was choose the Eminence Delta15. Next, I chose a vented enclosure, because the Ampeg B25B does have a small vent. Next, I entered the outside dimensions of the cabinet, taking into account that the box is made of 3/4 inch wood. This gave me a total internal volume of 6.199 cubic feet. I also changed the port to a square one, 2inchs by 4inches. So once I entered these values, I got these graphs:

Ampeg B25B = GREEN LINE
WinISD Recommended Enclosure = BLUE

Gain:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Phase Plot:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

SPL:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Group Delay:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

If either of you guys would like to run the numbers yourselves, here they are:

Speaker Cabinet Dimensions: 39 1/2 H x 29 W x 11 3/4 D inches

Wood thickness = 3/4 inch

Total Cabinet Internal Volume = 6.199 ft3

Port: 2'' x 4'' rectangular hole, as showed in above picture.


I'm not 100% sure I did this right.
 
#75
I would run the 3015's just to be on the safe side, but it looks like Deltas will give you the classic Ampeg 15" tone to the letter. They are behaving on the frequency chart exactly as Bill said they would. I like the way the lows roll off, too. And that midbass hump gives you that Cliff Williams low end that makes Ampegs rock so hard. Bill I'm sure still disagrees but I think it's a good way to go.

Foz, if he gets rid of the Eminences, I won't fight you for them. I don't have any cabs they could go in...my 15"s have Deltas ;)
 
#76
I do want to retain the Ampeg sound as much as I can. Everyone I've asked has said the Delta is the way to go in order to keep that old-school thump. And at half the price of the 3015, my wallet is liking them too.

I can see the 3015 has a way higher Xmax than the Delta, what exactly does that translate to in the real world?
 
#77
sickest beast said:
I do want to retain the Ampeg sound as much as I can. Everyone I've asked has said the Delta is the way to go in order to keep that old-school thump. And at half the price of the 3015, my wallet is liking them too.

I can see the 3015 has a way higher Xmax than the Delta, what exactly does that translate to in the real world?
Click to expand...
Lower frequency response and more air movement.
 
#78
JimmyM said:
I like the way the lows roll off, too. And that midbass hump gives you that Cliff Williams low end that makes Ampegs rock so hard. Bill I'm sure still disagrees but I think it's a good way to go.
Click to expand...
Depends on what you're using for power. If you've only got 100-150 watts you need that midbass bump for adequate volume, though you get it at the expense of deep lows and potentially boomy tone. But if you've got 200 watts or better you don't need the midbass bump, you can use a longer xmax driver to get some serious low end, and it you want a thinner bottom that's where Mr. Baxandall's invention comes into play.
 
#79
So I guess it's down to different shades of totally badass ;) Looks like you can't lose here either way, Beast. Wish I knew what an Ampeg cab would sound like with a 3015 in it. But a big Ampeg dude on here really loves his 412 Ampeg with neos and modded aluminum dustcaps. Too bad speakers are unreturnable once you mount them, otherwise I would buy one just to try it out.
 
#80
I'd like to finish this thread with a review for anyone who is deciding to do a B25B speaker replacement.

I ended up getting a pair of 8ohm Eminence Delta 15A speakers. I've worked them in over the past few weeks, they sound better then I ever could have wanted. We all knew there would be a slight mid-bass hump which a few TBers thought would make the cab sound "boomy". I was looking for a nice vintage sound, I wouldn't use a negative term like "boomy" to describe it. It's actually not boomy at all.

I play in a really heavy band. Think Shellac & Young Widows meet Burning Witch and Swans. I'm talking disgusting, loud, raunchy, vile, but with enough sweetness to make it listenable. I'm running a Mesa Boogie Buster 200 head, which distorts pretty easily. I'm able to get a LOT of different sounds now. This new rig makes my old Ampeg combo seem like a one trick pony.

In conclusion, I recommend the Eminence Delta 15A as a great replacement speaker for an Ampeg B25B 2x15 enclosure. A great drop in replacement that does not require any extra porting for proper tuning.
 

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