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Replacement speaker for - Ampeg B100R?

M

Mad John

Sep 27, 2010
7
0
#1
Hello everyone!

This is my first time here. I found out about you guys from a search that I did trying to find which speaker is a replacement for the Ampeg B100R.

Can someone direct me as to what type of speaker and where I might get one?

Thanks in advance!! :hyper:

Cheers,

John
 
#4
By my models the Beta 15 and the Basslite should sound very similar in that box. The Basslite will have a little less of an upper bass peak but they have a very similar peak shape and rolloff. The Basslite will be 4 ohms (for a bit more power).

The -3db figures are basically the same, but the Beta will be about 2db louder at 100hz, which is really not a good thing.

The basslite will take a little more power before exceeding Xmax but not as much before exceeding Xlim.
 
#5
rpsands said:
By my models the Beta 15 and the Basslite should sound very similar in that box. The Basslite will have a little less of an upper bass peak but they have a very similar peak shape and rolloff. The Basslite will be 4 ohms (for a bit more power).

The -3db figures are basically the same, but the Beta will be about 2db louder at 100hz, which is really not a good thing.
Click to expand...
sez you! ;) in my book, that's a good thing.
 
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#7
Thank you for the fast replies!

I really don't want the wrong speaker and I am using this for recording in the studio coupled with a REDDI direct box. I just pulled the amp out of storage (has not been played in 7 years) and the speaker was not sounding great. I took the speaker out, checked the tubes at the ports...everything was fine, so the speaker needs to be replaced!

I thought this would be a no brainer! I want to suit the amp with the correct speaker!

More suggestions please! I would like to order a new one today if I can!

BTW...I never hear of folks choosing the B100R for recording in the studio, just practice and small to medium gigs. Are the tube models better for recording than the solid state? The 200R sounded too BOOMY for recording from what I have heard.

Now back to the B100R speaker...what was the stock anyway?
 
#8
It's probably a modified Beta but you'd need to email Ampeg to ask for suggestions to get closest to stock. They are helpful.

The Beta will be insanely boomy in either the B200R or B100R, but that sounds "vintage" to most people.

The C2515 will be less boomy but still boomy.

A Kappalite 3015 should be pretty smooth but you may need to reline the box; people have said the 3015 sounds really boxy in small cabs which I would attribute to lack of lining mostly.
 
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#9
Mad John said:
BTW...I never hear of folks choosing the B100R for recording in the studio, just practice and small to medium gigs. Are the tube models better for recording than the solid state?
Click to expand...
my opinion is yes but not by much. the b100r is about as close to a real b-15n from the 60's as i've heard from a solid state amp.
 
#11
Called Ampeg and they are sending me a new speaker for the B100R! Cost $169.00 though. Is that a fair price? While I was checking out 15' speakers the prices on many were like $69-$99. Hey, I am just happy to get the right speaker, but I thought I would ask you guys.
 
#13
Mad John said:
Called Ampeg and they are sending me a new speaker for the B100R! Cost $169.00 though. Is that a fair price? While I was checking out 15' speakers the prices on many were like $69-$99. Hey, I am just happy to get the right speaker, but I thought I would ask you guys.
Click to expand...
i'd have just gone with the beta. that's borderline highway robbery.
 
#16
Mad John said:
Thank you for the fast replies!

I just pulled the amp out of storage (has not been played in 7 years) and the speaker was not sounding great. I took the speaker out, checked the tubes at the ports...everything was fine, so the speaker needs to be replaced!
Click to expand...

Its possible your old speaker is fine and your amps Mosfets just need their bias adjusted by an amp tech. An easy way you could confirm if the speaker is your problem or not is to temporarily connect your B100R amp section/speaker wires to another (known good) speaker cab and see if it sounds better or just as bad.
 
#17
Mad John said:
Called Ampeg and they are sending me a new speaker for the B100R! Cost $169.00 though. Is that a fair price? While I was checking out 15' speakers the prices on many were like $69-$99. Hey, I am just happy to get the right speaker, but I thought I would ask you guys.
Click to expand...


Is Ampeg sending you the actual B-100R 15", or are they just sending you the same one they use in the BA115 or single 15 cabs? I checked with Ampeg about a year ago and they quoted me close to $300 for a B-100R replacement speaker. No S#*t!!! Personally, I would have gone with a 4ohm Eminence Delta and called it good. The Deltas are great speakers and work very well in Ampegs.
 
#18
I realise this is an older thread, but I recently installed a 4-ohm EVM 15L in one of my B100R combos and REALLY like it.

I've got a second B100R that still has the original speaker so I could accurately compare the difference in a side by side comparison test.

I definitely prefer my B100R with the EV speaker much better, Its got tighter lows, more focused low-mids and its also got more punch.

I'm absolutely sure the difference I'm hearing is from the speakers themselves, because I've modded both of my B100R combos to have in-line speaker jacks, and used the same power section/knob settings to compare the differences between these 2 speakers.

So If anyone ever needs to replace their factory speaker, I can honestly report that the 4-ohm EVM 15L still gives the same type of tone, feel and general vibe in these very cool sounding combo's, but just even better!

DSCN1415.jpg


DSCN1705.jpg
 
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#19
My US-made B100R has a CTS driver with a 40 oz square magnet, straight sided paper cone with annular rings and cloth accordion surround. Its modeled response has a 3.5db peak at 110Hz, an F3 of 65Hz and is down 13db@40Hz. Its Fs, Qts, Vas and sensitivity best match the C2515 (vs the Beta 15). The B100R cab volume is substantially lower than the B15 (where the Beta 15 probably works well). The small cab volume causes many 15's to have a strong upper bass peak. I suspect that response profile has a lot to do with the B100R's tone in the bass range. Higher up, in the mids something is going on that contributes to a really nice growl. I imagine that cone breakup modes and resulting response irregularities have a lot to do with this. The OP's best bet for maintaining the original (stock) tone is to get a genuine replacement (if they are still available). Otherwise, for deeper, smoother bass, a 10 or 12 inch with appropriate tuning would be a good choice. For example, the S2010 tuned to 46 Hz yields a response with no peaking, an F3 of about 53 Hz and is down about 8db@40Hz. Choices.

Bob
 
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#20
This is an old thread but thought I'd breath some life in with an update.

The speaker in my B100R was really rattling in the lower registers, especially Low F and G. I tried tightening things but no help. ( I might have overtightened the screws in the recent past and messed up the speaker.) Anyway it was really farting out.

SO I replaced it with a 15 taken from one of the Ampeg B15R reissue. The B15 R speaker is the original 8 ohms, but except for a little less power, its sound pretty good so far, none of the rattle/farting as from the other.

Two questions:
Is this speaker a good match for this amp, in theory and practice. Seems to be but I wonder if 8 ohms might cause a problem. The recommended Eminence Beta was also 8 ohms.

I will play this one for a while but replace with a Beta if needed.
Wonder if anyone has opinions or recent experience in the with the Beta in this combo.

Thanks for any input
 

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