Two new, identical Subway 1x15 cabs sound different

[pfschim]

I tried a 1X15 cab, exactly once. Hated it.

Went out, and bought an SVT810. Never looked back.

cool story bro

 

[agedhorse]

Intents and purposes, too, I hope.

(Spellcheck so often doesn't, IME.)

Yeah, that was quite a scramble!

 

[themickster]

That's nothing odd at all. I can't find it, but a recording studio YouTuber talks about miking speakers. He recorded off all drivers in a 4x12 one at time. There was a marked difference between them. When voice coils are handwound, that will make a difference from one to another.

With one having warmth and the other having bite, they will work together to give you a wider range than one would. It's like pickups, in that different does not mean wrong. The words you use seem to say you like both. More 'bite' and 'warmth' would be better than speakers that are more 'muddy' and 'tinny'. I would say if you like how they sound, together and alone, you have a right rig for yourself.

 

[Bassgeige]

Voice coils are wound by machine and normally to tight tolerances. If two identical cabs sound different (once external influences have been discounted), there's something wrong somewhere.

 

[Jamie_Funk]

I had an issue with my two Subway 115 cabs - didn't notice until I tried each separately. One cab sounded perfect and full-range. The other sounded a little boxy/muffled. Turns out in one the tweeter has a bad solder joint I believe and it effectively wasn't working- was fixed under warranty by my dealer quickly and now both sound virtually identical as they should (and have for a few years now).

J

 

[Clark W]

Can you post a pic?? I am very curious to see blue 15 Subways. All I ever see is black. View attachment 4447642

There were a couple of red ones on sale on Reverb a couple of weeks ago. Priced a 100 more than norm, I'm guessing for the color. Here's a "Hot White" 112 I found there.. Love the color, don't love the dirt showing capabilities of white though.
https://reverb.com/item/7929167-mesa-boogie-subway-112-bass-cabinet-hot-white

 

[InhumanResource]

I tried a 1X15 cab, exactly once. Hated it.

Went out, and bought an SVT810. Never looked back.

Well of course. Obviously all 15’s sound exactly the same.

 

[Geri O]

While the focus is on the sound difference of the cabs, I’ll be happy to address the stripped screw situation.

Get some Titebond white glue, or good ol’ Elmers white glue and put some down in the hole. Get some toothpicks or wood splinters and push down inside the hole. Let it dry for the designated time, then reattach the badge to the cab. Since you already have the badge off, go ahead and do both or all of the screw holes.

I would definitely take care of this myself and just get it over with.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

While the focus is on the sound difference of the cabs, I’ll be happy to address the stripped screw situation.

Get some Titebond white glue, or good ol’ Elmers white glue and put some down in the hole. Get some toothpicks or wood splinters and push down inside the hole. Let it dry for the designated time, then reattach the badge to the cab. Since you already have the badge off, go ahead and do both or all of the screw holes.

I would definitely take care of this myself and just get it over with.

On a thin metal grille?

 

[Geri O]

On a thin metal grille?

Well…no….

Guess I though a wooden surface was involved.

That’s what I get for thinking….

 

[yodedude2]

I have them both on the floor, side by side. One is clearly punchy but warm and the other has more bite but much less warmth. These came from a store, so I’m hoping that it’s just because maybe one cab was used more on the floor and is broken in more than the other, but would that make that much difference?...!

personal anecdote: i've used used cabs my whole performing 'career', except when i got into assembling fEarfuls. i was shocked to hear the difference that breaking in the speaker made in a brand-new cab. i suggest putting about 6 hours on them and then comparing them again.

also, have you tried playing full-range music through the cabs? if something is off, a full-range source may expose it more clearly.

 

[Addison]

personal anecdote: i've used used cabs my whole performing 'career', except when i got into assembling fEarfuls. i was shocked to hear the difference that breaking in the speaker made in a brand-new cab. i suggest putting about 6 hours on them and then comparing them again.

also, have you tried playing full-range music through the cabs? if something is off, a full-range source may expose it more clearly.

I just heard back from the dealer. They do not have any live rigs set up for demo in the store, so these were never played through until I hooked them up.

I’m going to gig through them either today or next weekend - not sure what I’m working with today yet, so I’m not sure what kind of rig I’ll need.

I’ll try the music idea too - never even thought of that.

Thanks!

 

[agedhorse]

That's nothing odd at all. I can't find it, but a recording studio YouTuber talks about miking speakers. He recorded off all drivers in a 4x12 one at time. There was a marked difference between them. When voice coils are handwound, that will make a difference from one to another.

With one having warmth and the other having bite, they will work together to give you a wider range than one would. It's like pickups, in that different does not mean wrong. The words you use seem to say you like both. More 'bite' and 'warmth' would be better than speakers that are more 'muddy' and 'tinny'. I would say if you like how they sound, together and alone, you have a right rig for yourself.

As I have suggested many times, information on the internet is often wrong… including this.

In the guitar world, it’s not uncommon to use different drivers in different positions in a 412. It is rumored that it produces magical, mystic results indirectly related to unicorns and glitter.

Voice coils are wound by machine in a highly automated process. There is less variation in VCs than in just about every other speaker part.

The most variable parts are the suspension components and cone structural properties. Cone mass is also easy to control accurately.

There are variations between drivers, but even so, they are typically within a couple dB across years of production.

 

[Bob_Ross]

I kind of live in the middle of nowhere

"Nunyo, FB"


Geez, I'm amazed FedEx even delivers there!

 

[mrjim123]

Maybe open the cabs and make sure somebody didn't switcheroo one of the drivers? The stripped badge screw makes me even more suspicious of possible tampering.

 

[dkelley]

Obviously, I don’t expect them to sound identical

... they really should sound identical actually. Just in general, if I buy two identical speakers, my expectation is that I cannot tell them apart by listening, assuming I put them in the same exact spot in the room.

 

[Keger Jupti]

Intents and purposes, too, I hope.

(Spellcheck so often doesn't, IME.)

My recent camping trip was intense. We slept in tents, as was our intents.

 

[Philonius]

Yeah, that was quite a scramble!

I'm still waiting to find out when Thad comes into play.

 

[kesslari]

I tried a 1X15 cab, exactly once. Hated it.

Went out, and bought an SVT810. Never looked back.

I had a similar experience!
Drove a car once. Hated it! Went out, bought a motorcycle. Never looked back.
Especially because objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear...

 

[agedhorse]

Maybe open the cabs and make sure somebody didn't switcheroo one of the drivers? The stripped badge screw makes me even more suspicious of possible tampering.

That's a possibility when any cabinet is purchased used. I warn about this fairly often. I assumed they were purchased new from a dealer, so that's not likely (unless my assumption is wrong)

... they really should sound identical actually. Just in general, if I buy two identical speakers, my expectation is that I cannot tell them apart by listening, assuming I put them in the same exact spot in the room.

"Identical" and "almost identical" is the difference between "in theory" and "in practice".

There will always be measured differences because of the known production tolerances of drivers. Of course, somebody with extremely sensitive hearing might be able to hear the slight differences where most players would not.

In general, and specifically with the Subway cabinets, the differences between production driver samples are very small because the drivers are designed, built and tested to tighter standards than say the average driver sourced form overseas. This is part of what drives the selection, and unfortunately some additional cost.