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Question about speaker sizes - are they all created equally?

J

Just Wrong

Mar 30, 2023
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#1
Say I try Brand A's 10"-, 12"- and 15"-speaker cabinets and prefer the sound of the 12"-speaker cabinet. Can I make a general assumption that I will also prefer Brand B's 12"-cabinet? Put differently, are speaker sizes like basses where if I prefer a Fender Precision to a Fender Jazz, I can safely assume I will prefer a Lull Precision to a Lull Jazz?

Now, if I try 10"-, 12"- and 15"-speaker cabinets with Amp A and prefer the sound of the 12"-speaker cabinet, can I make a general assumption that I will also prefer the sound of the same 12"-speaker cabinet with Amp B? More specifically, local stores have the Aguilar Tone Hammer in stock, but I want the AG, and they don't have Aguilar cabinets in stock. My intention is to test different Aguilar cabs using the IR on the Tone Hammer. Can I assume the one I prefer with the Tone Hammer will also be the one I prefer with the AG?

Thanks!
 
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#4
Just Wrong said:
Say I try Brand A's 10"-, 12"- and 15"-speaker cabinets and prefer the sound of the 12"-speaker cabinet. Can I make a general assumption that I will also prefer Brand B's 12"-cabinet?
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No. Emphatically not. There is nothing about the diameter of a speaker that will inform anything about how it sounds.
Just Wrong said:
Now, if I try 10"-, 12"- and 15"-speaker cabinets with Amp A and prefer the sound of the 12"-speaker cabinet, can I make a general assumption that I will also prefer the sound of the same 12"-speaker cabinet with Amp B?
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This is closer to being true, but some amps really do have a 'baked in' sound, so it depends on which two amps you're talking about. With two amps from the same manufacturer, it seems more likely that it would be so, but I wouldn't make a decision based on the scenario you've described, especially not if it involves using an IR emulation. You need to hear the amp you want with the cab you want to be sure it's going to work out for you.
 
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#6
Just Wrong said:
Say I try Brand A's 10"-, 12"- and 15"-speaker cabinets and prefer the sound of the 12"-speaker cabinet. Can I make a general assumption that I will also prefer Brand B's 12"-cabinet? Put differently, are speaker sizes like basses where if I prefer a Fender Precision to a Fender Jazz, I can safely assume I will prefer a Lull Precision to a Lull Jazz?

Now, if I try 10"-, 12"- and 15"-speaker cabinets with Amp A and prefer the sound of the 12"-speaker cabinet, can I make a general assumption that I will also prefer the sound of the same 12"-speaker cabinet with Amp B? More specifically, local stores have the Aguilar Tone Hammer in stock, but I want the AG, and they don't have Aguilar cabinets in stock. My intention is to test different Aguilar cabs using the IR on the Tone Hammer. Can I assume the one I prefer with the Tone Hammer will also be the one I prefer with the AG?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
No, it's a very common mistake. People tend to generalise, ideas like "10 inch cabs are tight", "15 inch cabs sound deep" etc.
Wrong. It depends on the designer's goals only. Each cab is different, no relation between sound and speaker size.

I've got a good example:

Barefaced has 2 lines of cabs:
- 10 inch cabs sound colored, warm and fat
- 12 inch cabs sound uncolored, honest, neutral

Jad Freer Audio has made the exact opposite choices :
- Venere, their line of 10 inch cabs have a "flat response" (= uncolored)
- Minerva, their line of 12 inch cabs sound "fat"
 
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#8
Just Wrong said:
Gotcha. Of course trying the actual cabs with the actual amps in person is key, but it isn't all that easy to find a store that has all the combinations in stock.
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True.

I bought a few amps and cabs without trying, and I'm happy with all of them, but:
  • I only buy from trusted brands
  • I read a lot of gear threads (mostly on Talkbass) in order to get a good knowledge from the community
  • And I have a good prior experience of many famous amps and cabs I have used in rehearsal studios (Ampeg, Fender, Markbass, Hartke…), so when I read a comment on Talkbass I can put it in perspective with other gear I already know. Also it helps me understand what I'm looking for, and more importantly what I want to avoid
  • And maybe I was lucky? :cool:
 
#10
gtirard said:
True.

I bought a few amps and cabs without trying, and I'm happy with all of them, but:
  • I only buy from trusted brands
  • I read a lot of gear threads (mostly on Talkbass) in order to get a good knowledge from the community
  • And I have a good prior experience of many famous amps and cabs I have used in rehearsal studios (Ampeg, Fender, Markbass, Hartke…), so when I read a comment on Talkbass I can put it in perspective with other gear I already know. Also it helps me understand what I'm looking for, and more importantly what I want to avoid
  • And maybe I was lucky? :cool:
Click to expand...
Yeah, I don’t think the amp will a be a huge problem. It’s the cab situation that is delicate. One store I want to try a few amps only has Trace Elliot and Peavey cabs, two brands I've tried before and never cared for. Most other stores have Fender and Ampeg cabs. I'm not really interested in Fender only really because they don't seem all that popular. I've never liked the Ampeg tone. There are a few MarkBass cabs around, but there are so many MarkBass products I'm not all that interested in getting into it. Either way, I'll definitely try Ampeg, MarkBass and Fender, because you never know, but yeah.
 
#11
As said above, really depends on the other factors involved. Cabinet size, driver design, porting, etc....

While we get more options to purchase in the age of the internet, sadly it's even harder to try out a lot of these in-store since most of them are pretty light on physical stock. Fortunately reviews and articles on the cabs may be easier to come by. Maybe try reaching out to sales from the company in question with your inquiries? Not unheard of for potential paying customers to get that kind of info.
 
#13
I'm sure there was a time where speaker size meant something, as cabs were created somewhat equal even between different manufacturers. But especially nowadays, you can have cabs that look puny, completely outperform the giants of the past.
I think it's fun to make an analogy between speaker cabs and something like cars. Of course the speaker size can make a difference, even in a way that seems intuitive to an absolute layman, in the same way that engine size can make such a difference. But nowadays we have cars with 3 cylinder engines in cars that go 0-60 in under 9 seconds, and we have speaker cabs that weigh nothing but have a usable frequency band way into the 40hz range, while also being carryable with one hand.
So do you need a V8 to go fast? No, not at all. Do you need a 215 to get good bass response? No you don't. Can it still be nice to have a V8? Sure, the same way that big 15 inch speakers can be nice to have.

It all really depends on what exact combination of speaker and amp you like. You can make guesses, you can look at graphs, you can read reviews. But what you hear, what you want to hear, in your environment, can't be known until you've actually tested it.
 
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#14
Even if speaker size doesn't matter, or is just one of many variables, my ears tell me (even if it's just in my head) that manufacturers tend to voice cabs differently depending on the speaker size in a way that often correlates between brands. Maybe just based on consumer expectation or conventions? Again, it could be my eyes fooling my ears though.
 
#17
DuluthDank said:
Even if speaker size doesn't matter, or is just one of many variables, my ears tell me (even if it's just in my head) that manufacturers tend to voice cabs differently depending on the speaker size in a way that often correlates between brands. Maybe just based on consumer expectation or conventions? Again, it could be my eyes fooling my ears though.
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In some ways this is true, because it can be easier and/or more effective to achieve a particular goal with a larger driver versus smaller driver under certain conditions. It depends.
 
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