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Switching from a duo of Bergantino HDN210, which in itself is a lightweight, high end cabinet, and a Phil Jones Compact 4 Lite, which is a tiny, lightweight 4x5" cabinet. It's amazing how the Super Compact is about the size of the Bergantino, even lighter than the Phil Jones, which is like 1/3 of the size, and just seems to sound fantastic. And is cheaper than the Bergantino! I can't believe I've spent thousands of dollars in bass cabinets in my life when I could have just spent less than one grand on the Super Compact and been happier.
Obviously, the Super Compact doesn't defy laws of physics. I can put all the watts I want into it, but it doesn't change the amount of speaker cabinet I have, so it won't flap the chest like an entire stack of speakers will. HOWEVER, rooms can only handle so much bass, and I finally have a cabinet that can take the full wattage from a high powered amp, fill up the room as far as it can go, and not suffer in tone at all. On my Bergantino or my Phil Jones, I would reach about the ideal volume at 5 on the head, and then after that, it does get louder, but the cab gets more congested sounding and the tone would start getting boxy, with the low end not keeping up, so I've always hated when I did have to turn up live.
On the Barefaced, I can put the head at 10, and in a solo practice situation, it's hard to tell if it's actually sounding that much louder than at 5 because I suppose my ears aren't that sensitive to volume changes in the low end and without a tweeter, there's no annoying treble that irritates me and lets me know it's too loud. But maybe I can't tell that it's all that much louder because the tone doesn't change a single bit from 5 to 10, and I've never had a cab that does that, so my brain is confused. Yet, everything in the practice room from the shelves to the snare wires rattles wildly to let me know I've long exceeded the amount of bass the room can handle, so it clearly must be much louder at 10. The B string rendering is fantastic as well. I have a show Saturday, and I can't wait to hear it in action in a gig situation when I can really push my 800 watt head (400 watts into 8 ohms).
The tone is very smooth, no matter where I am in relation to the cabinet. I can hear it just as well off or on axis. Plus, the tone feels FAST. This is something that I have always missed, ever since I switched away from sealed Ampeg cabinets. Other cabs can sound great, but they don't sound fast like the Ampeg does. It's hard to describe, but sealed cab fans know what I'm talking about. Finally, though, with the Super Compact, I feel like here's a cab that sounds fast.
I agonized over Super Compact vs. other Barefaced cabinets. Given my tonal (old school sound w/ modern approach) and personal (lazy, don't like to carry stuff) preferences, I feel like I chose the cabinet that would be 100% perfect for 85% of my needs, rather than a cab that would be 85% perfect for 100% of my needs. I am glad I chose the Super Compact over the Super Midget or the Two 10, which were two of my other options. I was torn because the website said the 12XN550 is flat and the 10CR250 is colorful, and I generally like lively tone, but I have to remember that flat or neutral doesn't mean dull and lifeless. I mean, I play flatwounds after all. The only question is whether I should have gone with a Big Baby.
I figure I'll need a second cab some day, then I'll buy a Big Baby. Then if I find out that I prefer that to the Super Compact, I figure I can always just buy a second Big Baby and sell the Super Compact, it seems like it retains value really well and moves fast on TB. But for now, I'm super happy.