Putting a new driver in my cheap bass cab

Bass cabs are not like guitar cabs. They are designed to work with specific drivers. So no matter what, any replacement is a crapshoot.

 

I'm guessing it's a Rockson by Fame 115, which seems to be popular in Ireland? I'm not finding a manufacturer's website. It might be the house brand for MusicStore.de in Germany: give them a shout.
+49 (0)221 8884-0
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If the construction is solid and you liked the way it sounded before, you have a couple of options:

1. Find someone to recone the current speaker. This would probably be the least expensive path.
2. Measure the internal dimensions of the cabinet and consult with a speaker expert to find a good match for replacement. Having a speaker that matches the cabinet is essential to getting good results.

Or you could sell it as-is for a 6-pack and then it becomes SEP (Somebody Else's Problem).

 

My vote is to find a used cab of better quality.

 

If you want to do this, do some searching on TB for threads about how to select a speaker for the enclosure. Put the wrong speaker in there and it may sound like poop.

There are free programs which you can use to calculate the qualities of the cab and choose a speaker. Don't just paste something in there.

 

Looks like a fairly normal bass cabinet
With about 2.8 to 3.2 cubic feet or 80 to 90 liters of air space.

As long as it doesn't rattle and works. Driver choice is up to your budget.

Speaker is what a speaker is.
Eventually if you plan on expecting a single speaker application to work. I'd imagine your pushing it hard.

So higher quality and something with high sensitivity will help you keep up.

The difference between 96 dB driver and a 99 dB driver is huge.

Difference between a budget stamp steel small magnet speaker which has 3mm of Xmax. ( Maybe what's in there)

Is huge compared to a 4mm to 5mm driver. Which is cast frame and larger magnet.

Neo like the Eminence Kappalite 3015 is pushing 6 mm and keeps a decent amount of high-end. Would be a huge step up , depending what's in there. Alot over head if you need to push a single driver hard

Once you start asking for more power handling. High end drops. Sensitivity drops. So 3015 about the end of the line for high power and good highend.

I can't tell if it's rear ported or sealed. Don't see any ports.

Legend CB158 a cast frame that may be equal or better than what's in there.

Or Kappalite 3015

Matter of opinion if that fits your budget. Both do fine ported or sealed in the airspace you got.

If the current driver looks more similar and affordable like a stamp steel Eminence Beta 15
Then it will sound the same but new.

And the larger magnet cast frame CB158 would be a definite step up. But more affordable than the neo.

 

Hey, first rule I assumed make it bass cabs: don.t use bass drivers for bass instruments. Bass drivers are for multiways speakers networks. Use a full range with bass capabilities. If more bass is desired need to use x2, x4, x8 acoustically coupled, meant on the same front, no a low freq one.

 

You have confused low frequency drivers made for PA with low frequency drivers made for electric bass. The difference between the two is clearly seen in the driver data sheets, and how the driver is marketed by the manufacturer.

 

...maybe...with the mention almost all Eminence speakers recommended here for bass aplication are not bass guitar speakers but recomended as Professional series Public Adress.
"There are 24 unique models available in our American Standard series. Each was designed for versatility in a range of applications. From 6.5-15” models with applications ranging from standard sub-woofers, two-way enclosures, and coaxials, to truncated line array models, monitor woofers, and high performance midranges setting records for output in car audio, no other loudspeaker line provides more choices, power handling, performance, and reliability for the price. As with our Professional series, each product comes with a Seven Year Warranty against manufacturer’s defects*. With over 1,200 USA dealers and distributors worldwide you can easily find them in a store near you."
Eg. Eminence Beta 15A is declared PA woofer ,by Eminence standards, no matter what You and I or whole TB community thinking about it

 

Actually, you are wrong here.

The Beta 15A makes a very good bass guitar speaker for applications where less than say 200 watts RMS is required. In fact, many (but not all) of the speakers in the American Standard series make excellent bass guitar speakers. The difference is that some of us know what we are looking at and are not foolish (or naive) enough to make a statement like you did.

 

I think we have a language barrier here. That is exactly what I wanna say. It is a excellent bass guitar driver, no matter Eminence classified it like a PA woofer. It is ? No worries, who cares ?
This is what I consider a poor statement :
"You have confused low frequency drivers made for PA with low frequency drivers made for electric bass. The difference between the two is clearly seen in the driver data sheets, and how the driver is marketed by the manufacturer."
Eminence Beta 15 was not designed as bass guitar driver but as PA instead by Eminence standard. So is nothing to confuse over here. I use a PA woofer (aka Beta 15) for bass guitar aplication at any hour of day.

 

Yes, sorry, it does appear that there is a language issue here.

There are low frequency PA drivers that make terrible bass guitar drivers in the American Standard series. A driver like the Lab 15 would be awful, and the Kappa Pro 15LF is not a whole lot better.