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Sealed 2x15" cab - speaker question

n-j-

n-j-

May 13, 2008
200
316
MN
#1
First things first:

1) I've used the search function extensively, I've read threads back into the dark ages on this site and many others.

2) I don't have any cab modeling software, and know only just enough about speaker specs to be dangerous. I've read about EBP and QTS, and I still need the expert help of this forum.

So: I have a sealed 2x15" cab that needs speakers. Internal dimensions are 28" x 28" x 12", so 5.44 cubic feet. I use mostly old tube amps, Hiwatt 200, Fender Showman, Ampeg V4B, etc. Going for a pretty normal rock tone, passive basses, nothing too hi-fi.

I've tried Eminence BP1525s, and they were very full and deep, but had very little high end, rolling off at 2.1k as they do. I've read threads here about potentially adding aluminum dust caps a la the JBL D140, and might try that path since I already own these speakers.

Any advice? I've looked through the specs for pretty much every offering from Eminence, but there have to be great sealed cab drivers from other brands.

Thanks!
 
#2
Adding an aluminum dust cap isn’t going to help all that much, it works in the JBL D/K series because the dust cap is bonded directly to the bobbin, the cones are light, thin and shallow, the driver itself has parameters that support mid frequency extension, etc. The dust cap also changes the mid frequency polar pattern.
 
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#3
That's exactly what I've been reading, unfortunately. Maybe one of those terrible little coax paper cones from the 70s instead, ha!

My other 2x15" is an old Mesa Diesel w/ Kappalites, and that's a beast of a cab, but has a whole different thing going on than a sealed cab will, of course.
 
#4
There are some very good choices with decent mid extension for a sealed cabinet, just not the driver you tried.

For example, the Eminence Delta 15A has decent LF performance in 1.5-2.5 cubic feet per driver and has very good mid performance as well. It's about as close to the EVM-15L as I have found in the mids (with the best set of compromises).
 
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#5
The Delta 15A does look promising, thanks. Interesting that the BP1525 was such a bummer in this cab, as it was specifically recommended by the good folks at Eminence based on this same dimensional info.
 
#6
Not surprising to me, the mid voicing of the BP1525 is the opposite of what the Delta 15A is, the BP1525 is a very dark speaker by its nature.
 
#9
Basslice said:
Are sealed 15" cabs even a thing? I thought you had to go ported for any type of volume.
Click to expand...
go-away-kid-you-bother-me.jpg
 
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#10
Basslice said:
Are sealed 15" cabs even a thing? I thought you had to go ported for any type of volume.
Click to expand...

It depends on the amount of low frequency SPL is needed. In general a ported cabinet has higher sensitivity between 200Hz and the F10 of the enclosure. The difference can often be between 3 and 6dB.

As there is no free lunch, the low frequency extension falls off faster below ~F6, but because it takes so much more power down there and with the level already being lower the trade off is not nearly as noticeable as it seems.
 
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#11
n-j- said:
First things first:

1) I've used the search function extensively, I've read threads back into the dark ages on this site and many others.

2) I don't have any cab modeling software, and know only just enough about speaker specs to be dangerous. I've read about EBP and QTS, and I still need the expert help of this forum.

So: I have a sealed 2x15" cab that needs speakers. Internal dimensions are 28" x 28" x 12", so 5.44 cubic feet. I use mostly old tube amps, Hiwatt 200, Fender Showman, Ampeg V4B, etc. Going for a pretty normal rock tone, passive basses, nothing too hi-fi.

I've tried Eminence BP1525s, and they were very full and deep, but had very little high end, rolling off at 2.1k as they do. I've read threads here about potentially adding aluminum dust caps a la the JBL D140, and might try that path since I already own these speakers.

Any advice? I've looked through the specs for pretty much every offering from Eminence, but there have to be great sealed cab drivers from other brands.
I have a 15" Bag End in a old Bassman cabinet and it sounds good. Its a 62 Bassman I made a new baffle to replace the tone ring baffle
Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
#14
n-j- said:
First things first:

1) I've used the search function extensively, I've read threads back into the dark ages on this site and many others.

2) I don't have any cab modeling software, and know only just enough about speaker specs to be dangerous. I've read about EBP and QTS, and I still need the expert help of this forum.

So: I have a sealed 2x15" cab that needs speakers. Internal dimensions are 28" x 28" x 12", so 5.44 cubic feet. I use mostly old tube amps, Hiwatt 200, Fender Showman, Ampeg V4B, etc. Going for a pretty normal rock tone, passive basses, nothing too hi-fi.

I've tried Eminence BP1525s, and they were very full and deep, but had very little high end, rolling off at 2.1k as they do. I've read threads here about potentially adding aluminum dust caps a la the JBL D140, and might try that path since I already own these speakers.

Any advice? I've looked through the specs for pretty much every offering from Eminence, but there have to be great sealed cab drivers from other brands.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I built two small sealed 1x15” cabs a couple of years ago, roughly half the size of yours, using Fane Sovereign 15-400 speakers. It works just like I wanted it to, producing a vintage rock/soul/blues sound and loud enough to be heard in any setting.
 
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#15
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
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#16
agedhorse said:
Adding an aluminum dust cap isn’t going to help all that much, it works in the JBL D/K series because the dust cap is bonded directly to the bobbin, the cones are light, thin and shallow....
Click to expand...

You forgot "easily dented" ;-)

Basslice said:
Are sealed 15" cabs even a thing? I thought you had to go ported for any type of volume.
Click to expand...

There is no theoretical reason that sealed 15's can't work, albeit with tradeoffs. The practical isssue is there are few 15 inch drivers designed with the right parameters to work well in a sealed cabinet. Most of the time, when you get that big, people want efficiency and are trying not to take up too much of the truck's space, and ported wins.
 
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#18
Basslice said:
OMG, I've been memed!
Click to expand...
Well Deserved Fingers.jpg
Indeed sealed 15" cabinets were long the normal in bass combos and piggyback amps including the early Fender 2x15 cabinets used with Bassman and Showman heads. Even (*gasp*) open back cabinets were used in some designs. Ampeg, Acoustic Design Corp, Sunn, Marshall, Vox also did sealed 12' and 15" enclosures. It was not until the mid Seventies that ported cabinets became the norm for bass combos and amplifiers.

Sealed versus Ported enclosures a good article on the subject there are advantages and disadvantages to both types of cabs. Sealed vs. Ported Enclosures

Learn something new everyday.jpg
 

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#19
There were ported bass cabinets that were fairly common before the mid 70's, thinking JBL, EV, Peavey, Fender, Sunn, Cerwin Vega, Eden/BagEnd, etc.
 
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