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The Cyclops, a tweeterless 115

#162
Yesterday evening was incredible fun!
We had two poweramps and a DBX crossover so I could also put a lowpass on the Cyclops to use it as a sub with the 210.
Let me say that this combo sounded MASSIVE and extremely clear, at the end of the evening a few people we're listening in the hall so we told them that they could come in, they're jaws dropped :D We tried several stack combinations and also running the Cyclops fullrange together with the 210, but when used with a lowpass on the Cyclops the whole combo sounded clearer and with more punch (duh, else it'll suffer from the mixing cabs syndrome ;))

WP_20160122_007.jpg


The Cylops can take quite a beating, I couldn't get it to it's knees with the poweramp (600watts RMS @ 8ohms). The whole floor rumbled when I tried a low B (I detuned my bass for that), it sounded even more hefty then the regular E :laugh:
The Cyclops on it's own sounds very good too, of course it will never ever have the clarity of the 210 with the coaxial driver (some may even find it to revealing) but it's sound is completely usable for all different kinds of playing styles, especially if you eq a bit.

WP_20160122_009.jpg


I also tried out out the Ampeg BA-115 that was standing there, meh, it had that typical piezo tweeter sound and a big hole in the mids, I quickly unplugged my bass...

There was also an ol' 115 Yamaha combo amp which sounded surprisingly good, it has a relative sharp sounding mid/high that cut's through pretty good, sort of like the ol JBL's with the aluminium dustcaps (the driver in the Yamaha also has such a dustcap). I couldn't go loud before distortion kicked in though.

WP_20160123_001.jpg


Hmm, when I'm going to play lots of gig I really have to get me a poweramp again, why oh why did I sell that Bell 9024 PCX!!!

Cheers :bassist:
 
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#163
Arjank said:
There was also an ol' 115 Yamaha combo amp which sounded surprisingly good, it has a relative sharp sounding mid/high that cut's through pretty good, sort of like the ol JBL's with the aluminium dustcaps (the driver in the Yamaha also has such a dustcap). I couldn't go loud before distortion kicked in though.
Click to expand...
Aren't those Yamaha bass amps only 100w?

I have the amp chassis out of the 50w version sat on a 410 in my workshop. It probably gets the most playing time of any of my rigs.
 
#165
delta7fred said:
Aren't those Yamaha bass amps only 100w?

I have the amp chassis out of the 50w version sat on a 410 in my workshop. It probably gets the most playing time of any of my rigs.
Click to expand...

It could be 100 watts but I haven't checked the rating, the sound though was much better then the Ampeg (IMO)
Edit: the Yamaha is a 115B, the manual states 100 watts Invalid Link Removed
I doubt if the speaker in the yamaha from the rehearsal room is the original one since the JA-3802 doesn't have an aluminum dustcap.
 
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#166
Arjank said:
Yesterday evening was incredible fun!
We had two poweramps and a DBX crossover so I could also put a lowpass on the Cyclops to use it as a sub with the 210.
Let me say that this combo sounded MASSIVE and extremely clear, at the end of the evening a few people we're listening in the hall so we told them that they could come in, they're jaws dropped :D We tried several stack combinations and also running the Cyclops fullrange together with the 210, but when used with a lowpass on the Cyclops the whole combo sounded clearer and with more punch (duh, else it'll suffer from the mixing cabs syndrome ;))

View attachment 779826

The Cylops can take quite a beating, I couldn't get it to it's knees with the poweramp (600watts RMS @ 8ohms). The whole floor rumbled when I tried a low B (I detuned my bass for that), it sounded even more hefty then the regular E :laugh:
The Cyclops on it's own sounds very good too, of course it will never ever have the clarity of the 210 with the coaxial driver (some may even find it to revealing) but it's sound is completely usable for all different kinds of playing styles, especially if you eq a bit.

View attachment 779828

I also tried out out the Ampeg BA-115 that was standing there, meh, it had that typical piezo tweeter sound and a big hole in the mids, I quickly unplugged my bass...

There was also an ol' 115 Yamaha combo amp which sounded surprisingly good, it has a relative sharp sounding mid/high that cut's through pretty good, sort of like the ol JBL's with the aluminium dustcaps (the driver in the Yamaha also has such a dustcap). I couldn't go loud before distortion kicked in though.

View attachment 779830

Hmm, when I'm going to play lots of gig I really have to get me a poweramp again, why oh why did I sell that Bell 9024 PCX!!!

Cheers :bassist:
Click to expand...
Very, very nice Arjan! That is a killer rig, I am very excited about it! I also read your thread about your 210 superior cab, what a rich thread of information! :) I want to go deeper in loudspeaker design, you will be my guru. :cool:
 
#168
Wow! Arjank that looks awesome....would love to hear it! drool:bassist::thumbsup:


Arjank said:
Yesterday evening was incredible fun!
We had two poweramps and a DBX crossover so I could also put a lowpass on the Cyclops to use it as a sub with the 210.
Let me say that this combo sounded MASSIVE and extremely clear, at the end of the evening a few people we're listening in the hall so we told them that they could come in, they're jaws dropped :D We tried several stack combinations and also running the Cyclops fullrange together with the 210, but when used with a lowpass on the Cyclops the whole combo sounded clearer and with more punch (duh, else it'll suffer from the mixing cabs syndrome ;))

View attachment 779826

The Cylops can take quite a beating, I couldn't get it to it's knees with the poweramp (600watts RMS @ 8ohms). The whole floor rumbled when I tried a low B (I detuned my bass for that), it sounded even more hefty then the regular E :laugh:
The Cyclops on it's own sounds very good too, of course it will never ever have the clarity of the 210 with the coaxial driver (some may even find it to revealing) but it's sound is completely usable for all different kinds of playing styles, especially if you eq a bit.

View attachment 779828

I also tried out out the Ampeg BA-115 that was standing there, meh, it had that typical piezo tweeter sound and a big hole in the mids, I quickly unplugged my bass...

There was also an ol' 115 Yamaha combo amp which sounded surprisingly good, it has a relative sharp sounding mid/high that cut's through pretty good, sort of like the ol JBL's with the aluminium dustcaps (the driver in the Yamaha also has such a dustcap). I couldn't go loud before distortion kicked in though.

View attachment 779830

Hmm, when I'm going to play lots of gig I really have to get me a poweramp again, why oh why did I sell that Bell 9024 PCX!!!

Cheers :bassist:
Click to expand...
 
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#174
FonkBass said:
Have you seen this Eminence driver? :wideyed: Eminence Definimax 4015LF
Click to expand...

It won't perform better then the 15MB500 in that 115 HB cab, it will perform worse.
You also would need to lower the tuning when using the 4015LF, the cab is approx 90liters and then the tuning should be approx 38hz to get a smooth response. In this case the 15MB500 will have 3-4dB more efficiency in the 50-200hz range, what you would gain with the 4015LF is higher efficiency and output below 40hz... That's not what you want for bassguitar.
 
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#177
Arjank said:
It won't perform better then the 15MB500 in that 115 HB cab, it will perform worse.
You also would need to lower the tuning when using the 4015LF, the cab is approx 90liters and then the tuning should be approx 38hz to get a smooth response. In this case the 15MB500 will have 3-4dB more efficiency in the 50-200hz range, what you would gain with the 4015LF is higher efficiency and output below 40hz... That's not what you want for bassguitar.
Click to expand...

Just curious..Sounds like it would be best used as a sub! i'm sticking to the 15MB500...
 
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#179
FonkBass said:
Just curious..Sounds like it would be best used as a sub!
Click to expand...

Yes, it'll be fine for a sub and even then I would recommend other drivers if you really want a sub.
Sometimes a driver looks very impressive at first sight, but when you look closer (with the eye of a good speaker designer) you'll see that there's a caveat or two. The 4015LF has an impressive thermal powerhandling due to the 4" voice-coil, combine that with the relative high mass of the cone and you'll get a driver with lower efficiency which only happens to give you an advantage below 40hz (when you have enough amp power).

The 15MB500 on the other hand is one of the very few drivers that has:
  • good efficiency for bassguitar applications
  • balanced and extended frequency response
  • high xmax (which is perfectly balanced with the thermal powerhandling when used in the appropriate cabinet)
  • well balanced TSP's
 
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