Who's making the favored 2x10 these days?

[Lex P.]

I love the Bergantino ref210. The only thing I found better is two of them.

 

[shoot-r]

Years ago, I owned a pre-Fender SWR Goliath Jr. II 2x10 cabinet. It sounded killer (had that tight 80s/90s L.A. bass tone), was built like a tank (beefy plywood, stout metal grill) and was easy to move around. The attenuator for the horn was sweet and now seems to be standard on bass cabs with horns or tweeters.

I sold the Goliath Jr. a few years back with some other gear and am now looking for a similar cab.

Anyone have any ideas as to who's making the favored 2x10 these days?

Thanks!

The Avatar B210 cabinet sounds VERY much like a Goliath Jr. 210 to my ears.

Differences, the Avatar is capable of a little deeper tone, not quite as much sparkle up top as the SWR, and the Avatar will go MUCH louder before distortion than the SWR cabinet.

I've been gigging two Avatar Neo 210's stacked as a vertical 410 for almost 10 years in a LOUD outlaw country band, very happy with them.

I'd suggest checking into them, they may have what your looking for at a very reasonable price.

www.avatarspeakers.com

 

[mesaplayer83]

Not mesa boogie!!!! Ordered the power house 2X10 and it was thin and runny and had absolutely no grunt!!!! At 900$ it was a massive dissapointment and a rippoff from reverb.com i ended up out over $200 from reverb over that deal!!!! Terrible. If you get a chance build your own. I got the figures for a shelf port cab from US Speaker in jersey. I ordered eminence kappa pro 10's and they were kind evnough to send dimensions for a shelf port cap based on the thiele small parameters for those drivers with a center of 80hz. I had a cabinet maker build it from baltic birch plywood like they use in kitchen cabinets. All up total with drivers was $550 plus some carpet from a homestore and a couple grills. No need for a tweeter and the cab stomps!!!!!! It has enough low end hooked up to my walkabout scout to blur your vision!!!! Just an idea, but stay away from mesa powerhouse theyre overpriced junk.

I would suggest there was something wrong with that particular PH210, as I've owned every 10s loaded Mesa Powerhouse cab ever made, and your description doesn't even begin to resemble any of them, IME...

In fact, I had an SWR Goliath Jr and a Mesa PH210 at the same time, and the Mesa stomped all over the SWR - I flipped the SWR and kept the PH210...

 

[mesaplayer83]

Well, for what it's worth, I've been gigging a Mesa Powerhouse 600 watt 4ohm 210 for the last 6 years and while I've never compared it side by side with other 210's, I can say, that with my Mesa M9 Carbine, it puts out a huge, deep, clear and punchy sound with more volume available than I usually need (even on some open stages) ; contrary to the findings of the venerable @hombass. My only gripe with the cab is it's weight, which at 69 lbs is a bit hefty for my lazy arse at 2am.....Frankly, 2 of the Powerhouse 210's would just slay with depth and punch, but I recently played a Subway 210 that easily held its own against the Powerhouse 210 but at a much more manageble weight and compact size. I'd really like to hear the Fearless 210 and the Barefaced 210 to get a sense of what these newer cab designs are capable of. Until then, it's me and the Powerhouse holding down the fort.......

Yeah, my only complaint about my PH210 is it's weight - other than that, it has been a great cab to me... I'll typically set it upright on one end, and tilt it back as a stand alone - or, stack it on a PH115 for a great combination - especially when pushed by a Genz-Benz Shuttlemax 12.0:

 

[alexclaber]

Barefaced Two10 would be my choice

For what I'd say most people wanting a 2x10" want (i.e. tweeter, ported style bottom end, more 'modern' sound) I'd say our best 2x10" is the Big Baby 2. Yes, technically it's a 1x12" but in terms of tone and feel and output (actually its much more like a 4x10" in that respect) and so on it ticks all the boxes. For those with more old school leanings (those who want something with a sealed 810 vibe - or a 15" vibe) then the Two10 is the one.

 

[shoot-r]

technically it's a 1x12" but in terms of tone and feel and output (actually its much more like a 4x10" in that respect)

Hopefully someday I can hear/play through one of your 1-12" cabinets and confirm this for my own ears.

I'll be honest, I've a hard time taking seriously some of the "superman" claims that are made about Barefaced and Fearful/Fearless cabinets.



....

 

[Plutonium244]

Hopefully someday I can hear/play through one of your 1-12" cabinets and confirm this for my own ears.

I'll be honest, I've a hard time taking some of the "superman" claims about Barefaced and Fearful/Fearless cabinets seriously....

Depends on what you mean by "superman".... when I first got my Barefaced One10, I hoped it would be "Superman" and that I could play loud gigs with just the One10. I was temporarily disappointed that this One10 could not do it in a normal loud band setting with multiple instruments. it does not defy the laws of physics-- no cab can. A 12"x13" box can't produce super fat, subwoofer lows. Then I adjusted my expectations fpr the One10 from "most incredible futuristic cab ever, 50 years ahead of its time" to simply "really great sounding, surprisingly loud cab for small gigs and rehearsals" and was then quite pleased. When I purchased a Big Baby 2, a Super Midget, and a Four10, I was very very pleased and found it to outperform everything I'd used of similar size/configuration by a wide margin. So-- it's not "Superman"-- it's just very, very awesome. Think Michael Jordan playing basketball, not Superman playing basketball, and you won't be disappointed.

 

[shaft311]

The Avatar B210 cabinet sounds VERY much like a Goliath Jr. 210 to my ears.

Differences, the Avatar is capable of a little deeper tone, not quite as much sparkle up top as the SWR, and the Avatar will go MUCH louder before distortion than the SWR cabinet.

I've been gigging two Avatar Neo 210's stacked as a vertical 410 for almost 10 years in a LOUD outlaw country band, very happy with them.

I'd suggest checking into them, they may have what your looking for at a very reasonable price.

www.avatarspeakers.com

Kinda what I did when I had a couple Avatar 210s. Gig-car was a 99 Accord. Perfect for two 210 cabs in the back seats

The sound was killer.

 

[alexclaber]

Hopefully someday I can hear/play through one of your 1-12" cabinets and confirm this for my own ears.

I'll be honest, I've a hard time taking seriously some of the "superman" claims that are made about Barefaced and Fearful/Fearless cabinets.



....

Whereabouts in the world are you?

I can see the problem because on the outside all you see is a 12" speaker. Behind that speaker is a motor which is vastly more powerful (excursion, thermal handling and magnet strength) than those found in the old benchmark cabs. But you can't see it! It's like a generic family car with a supercar drivetrain.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

The Eden D210XST is an excellent cab especially when paired with the D210XLT. The XST gets the super solid lows and the XLT has the built-in low-mid hump. They are an absolutely great sounding combination when you use both and the XST is a great cab on its own. All of those cabs including the XLT were designed by David Nordschow. The XLT and XST were designed by him when he owned Eden and the DNS cabs after he sold and left Eden.

They are a chain of constantly improving products. The XLT doesn't go as low as the XST or DNS, but that built-in low-mid hump gives it a sound that is much desired. The XLT was the earliest of the three and frequency response doesn't go as low and power handling isn't as high as the XST.

The XST's were the next cabs he designed and he also designed different speakers for it. The frequency response goes lower and you really get a tight and full low-end - super for use with 5-strings and their low-B string. The XST's do NOT have the low-mid hump but rather a very flat "Hi-Fi" response (you can get the same sound out of the XST by boosting the mids at ~250Hz). It also has significantly higher power handling than the XLT does and sensitivity is the same as the XLT (103db @1W/1M) - great cab! So the XST was a definite step up and a revolutionary change in the evolution of Eden cabs. However, the XLT's are still around because people really like the sound of that cab in the mix. David was quite surprised that the XLT's continued to out-sell the XST's when he still owned Eden. He thought the XST cabs would totally replace the XLT's.

DNA's DNS speaker cabs are David's latest designs and he changed a number of things. He designed totally new speakers and they include some long-throw speakers with huge voice coils (4" IIRC), textured ports, and a different crossover to better suit their sound. The textured and flared shelf port allows for much faster and higher volume of air movement through it and the long-throw 10" speakers have higher power handling (700-watts vs 500-watts for the XST) while still having the same sensitivity as the XST (103db@1W/1M). Max SPL on the DNS210 is 134db. The DNS210 is 3" taller than the D210XST primarily because the flared and textured shelf port takes up more room that the normal shelf port on the XST. There's a big difference between the DNS210 and the D210XLT, but less difference between the DNS and the XST. I would call it an evolutionary difference as opposed to a revolutionary difference.

The final difference is that the Eden cabs went up in price a bit and now the D210XST has a street price of $949 vs the DNS210 street price of $749. That's why I said if you're buying new get the DNS210 but if you find a good used price on the D210XST snag it!

Amen to this! I have a pair of Eden EX110's and they're unbelievably potent and sound excellent for their size. One of these days I'm going to buy a pair of the DNA 110's and David's new 800 watt head. If this stuff is the next evolution from Eden, it's got to be pretty excellent sounding stuff.

Somebody on TB recently said that Neo 12's are the new 210's and 115's. I really believe that anymore. Everyone is making a 112 Neo cab now.

So yeah, the Eden 210's are going to be a great solution, especially a pair like @Rip Van Dan talked about.

 

[Buzz E]

Check out the Revsound. Not heard the the 2 x 10, but the 115's are buttery smooth, deep and clear! Nothing else like them.

 

[Downunderwonder]

The Avatar B210 cabinet sounds VERY much like a Goliath Jr. 210 to my ears.

Differences, the Avatar is capable of a little deeper tone, not quite as much sparkle up top as the SWR, and the Avatar will go MUCH louder before distortion than the SWR cabinet.

I've been gigging two Avatar Neo 210's stacked as a vertical 410 for almost 10 years in a LOUD outlaw country band, very happy with them.

I'd suggest checking into them, they may have what your looking for at a very reasonable price.

www.avatarspeakers.com

$ to loud (enough) ratio is favourable with Avatar.

 

[BasementWarrior]

Played thru a new Traynor 210 recently and it sounded great.

I'm currently using 2 of the Traynor TC210's and I'm happy.

 

[phillybass101]

I'm running two Trickfish 210 V's. Some of the Peeps behind Trickfish were with SWR Years ago. IMO to each his own, play what ya like.

 

[friskinator]

Depends on what you mean by "superman".... when I first got my Barefaced One10, I hoped it would be "Superman" and that I could play loud gigs with just the One10. I was temporarily disappointed that this One10 could not do it in a normal loud band setting with multiple instruments. it does not defy the laws of physics-- no cab can. A 12"x13" box can't produce super fat, subwoofer lows. Then I adjusted my expectations fpr the One10 from "most incredible futuristic cab ever, 50 years ahead of its time" to simply "really great sounding, surprisingly loud cab for small gigs and rehearsals" and was then quite pleased. When I purchased a Big Baby 2, a Super Midget, and a Four10, I was very very pleased and found it to outperform everything I'd used of similar size/configuration by a wide margin. So-- it's not "Superman"-- it's just very, very awesome. Think Michael Jordan playing basketball, not Superman playing basketball, and you won't be disappointed.

View attachment 2825773

That's a great description of the One10. Not superhuman, but way better than it should be! I have a feeling I'll be purchasing another Barefaced cab at some point (maybe another One10, maybe one of the 12" models), but for now, it suits my needs just fine.

 

[hombass]

Please, don't hold anything back. Tell us what you really think

You bet i didnt. I love mesa and for that tin pan piece of junk to show up and crackle and rattle on low volume while the 2x10 i built kicked its but around the block was embarrasing to mesa. And then the box boys at reverb adding the insult of return shipping and a restocking fee on top of that to the tune of 250$ was simple theft. Also i noticed wben i got the damn thing the box had been opened and retaped 4 times befor me, so reverbs made a nice turn of profit yo yoing that junk around the country. I wish it was possible to show what my homemade 2x10 could do but i live in an apartment building now. I sent a 20hz signal though it and the guy below mes antique collection on shelves were falling of everywhere. Firm knock on the door after that one. Im serious if you want a good cab that slams build it yourself or as i did have a cabinet. Shop make the carcus and finish it out yourself. You wont believe how good the results can be!!!

 

[Pbassmanca]

Whereabouts in the world are you?

I can see the problem because on the outside all you see is a 12" speaker. Behind that speaker is a motor which is vastly more powerful (excursion, thermal handling and magnet strength) than those found in the old benchmark cabs. But you can't see it! It's like a generic family car with a supercar drivetrain.

Not "Super cabs", they're "Sleeper cabs!"

 

[Zbysek]

I have been using two MB Traveller 210ps for several years. I like them even though they are probably not the best 2x10s on the market. Currently, I bought Epifani D.I.S.T. 210-haven't had much experience with it so far-I played it only once. One of my bandmates told me it is much better than my MB cabinet. I had Gallien Krueger Neo 210 for some time-it was a very good cabinet- It was probably louder than MB and more bass-treble oriented (MB traveller is more mids oriented). The first 2x10 which I bought back in the ninetees was Ampeg SVT210 PRO. I still consider it the best sounding cabinet which I ever had. But it was too heavy so I let it go several years ago...

 

[MarkA]

You bet i didnt. I love mesa and for that tin pan piece of junk to show up and crackle and rattle on low volume while the 2x10 i built kicked its but around the block was embarrasing to mesa. And then the box boys at reverb adding the insult of return shipping and a restocking fee on top of that to the tune of 250$ was simple theft. Also i noticed wben i got the damn thing the box had been opened and retaped 4 times befor me, so reverbs made a nice turn of profit yo yoing that junk around the country. I wish it was possible to show what my homemade 2x10 could do but i live in an apartment building now. I sent a 20hz signal though it and the guy below mes antique collection on shelves were falling of everywhere. Firm knock on the door after that one. Im serious if you want a good cab that slams build it yourself or as i did have a cabinet. Shop make the carcus and finish it out yourself. You wont believe how good the results can be!!!

Your cab might very well kick the PH 210's butt -- and I applaud your initiative in building it -- but might the PH 210 you received have been damaged? From your description ("crackle and rattle at low volume") it sounds like that's at least a possibility.

 

[mesaplayer83]

Your cab might very well kick the PH 210's butt -- and I applaud your initiative in building it -- but might the PH 210 you received have been damaged? From your description ("crackle and rattle at low volume") it sounds like that's at least a possibility.

Exactly - it sounds to me like he got ripped off by an unscrupulous seller and is blaming it on Mesa and Reverb - although I understand why he would be upset if things happened as he described... I also highly doubt he built a 210 that is better than the PH210 I currently have, to be honest...