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Why Didn't Powered Cabs Catch On?

#41
Wasnex said:
Each powered PA cabs requires power and a signal cable. Unpowered cabs only require speaker cables. So systems with powered cabs typically require more connections.

IMHO the biggest benefit of powered PA cabs is reduced weight and volume on a macro/system level. Amp racks in large systems tend to be big and heavy. Also I think the combined weight and volume of all mic and power cables can work out to be less than the combined weight and volume of all speaker cables. At least that is how it worked when we changed from traditional amps and cabs to powered cabs. To some extent the actual benefits will depend on how well you package the system.

We used a motion labs power distro, rather than running a bunch of extension cords. This is what the stage boxes looked like:
Invalid Link Removed
So we had rather big and heavy power lines, that carried three phases off power from a centralized power distro that was tied into a disconnect. The idea is we could run one or two lines with break out boxes, instead of wasting time running a bunch of extension cords from wall outlets.

I was actually surprised by how much less work was required to transport, load, and set up the powered speaker system.

You don't necessarily get the same benefits from using one powered bass cab.
Click to expand...
Nice! Dat be some serious distro!
 
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#42
Drzejzi said:
I have a GK MB410 combo with a MBP410 powered cab and I really like this setup. I don't have to worry about the impedance and matching amp's power with cabinets' power.

The only downside is, as you said, compatibility. I'm not sure what I would do if the combo would break.
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A plex, a mb200 or 500 head, plus that powered cab would work. Plex + MBP212 cab is my dream situation, and almost what I'm about to go to rehearsal with: Plex + MBP115
 
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#43
Riff Ranger said:
I will add Bag End to this list, similar to Bergantino in terms of not-cheap, not-light.

I wonder whether a pedalboard-friendly power amp might do better. I’ve seen 44-watt ones the size of a typical MXR enclosure. How much bigger would something 200, 300, or 500 watts have to be? Could it run on 9v? If I could get 300 watts from something the size of a wah or volume pedal and running on 9v, I think I’d go for it.
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Add that to a 500w cab and you'd be golden
 
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#44
Riff Ranger said:
I will add Bag End to this list, similar to Bergantino in terms of not-cheap, not-light.

I wonder whether a pedalboard-friendly power amp might do better. I’ve seen 44-watt ones the size of a typical MXR enclosure. How much bigger would something 200, 300, or 500 watts have to be? Could it run on 9v? If I could get 300 watts from something the size of a wah or volume pedal and running on 9v, I think I’d go for it.
Click to expand...


Running on 9V is not practical. Power is calculated from the voltage (V) X the current (I): P = V x I

So if the voltage goes down the current must go up.

Let's assume 400W as our power level and solve for current. I = 400/120 = 3.33A

Now lets drop the voltage to 9V and solve for I. I = 400/9 = 44.44A. That's a lot of current and it would require heavy gauge wire.

For context, the high current outputs on my Voodoo Lab 2 + can only supply 0.250A at 9V. The total current available from all eight outputs is 1.1A at 9V.
 
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#45
ProbablyTooLoud said:
In GK's case, I think the whole proprietary thing was a mistake. A gamble on their part that didn't pay off. If they'd played like Android/PC instead of Mac/iPhone I think they could have sold a lot. But I'm not really an expert, nor do I have as many years checking out cabs and amps as a lot of y'all around here do.
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I have the little stack of the GK MB112 combo and the MB112 powered cab. Great little (LOUD) rig. My only complaint is indeed the proprietary chain thing. I use a pedal preamp for my tone. If for some reason the combo should bite it, it sure would be nice to be able to just use my pre and the powered cab. The only way to do that would be to use the GK PLEX preamp apparently which is not a unit I'm interested in--happy with the pre I've got!
 
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#46
pbass2 said:
I have the little stack of the GK MB112 combo and the MB112 powered cab. Great little (LOUD) rig. My only complaint is indeed the proprietary chain thing. I use a pedal preamp for my tone. If for some reason the combo should bite it, it sure would be nice to be able to just use my pre and the powered cab. The only way to do that would be to use the GK PLEX preamp apparently which is not a unit I'm interested in--happy with the pre I've got!
Click to expand...

Yeah I wish they played well with others, but there ya go: they don't. I hope my cabs last cause I'm a headless horseman right now. Well I do have an old 400RB but it doesn't really count.
 
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#47
Riff Ranger said:
I will add Bag End to this list, similar to Bergantino in terms of not-cheap, not-light.

I wonder whether a pedalboard-friendly power amp might do better. I’ve seen 44-watt ones the size of a typical MXR enclosure. How much bigger would something 200, 300, or 500 watts have to be? Could it run on 9v? If I could get 300 watts from something the size of a wah or volume pedal and running on 9v, I think I’d go for it.
Click to expand...
How many 9v ya got?
Might work in a transistor radio, but those were generally milliwatt devices.

Maybe when the universe re-organizes, new laws of physics will allow for it.
Wouldn't hold my breath waitin' though. :smug:
 
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#48
ProbablyTooLoud said:
...or maybe they did and I can't tell.
I'm a few years late to the powered cab party.
I got some GK gear and was psyched to use their powered cabs - but they're now discontinued and not easy to find.

Anyone have any ideas on why the whole powered cab thing didn't get popular?
Seems like a great idea to me. Preamp to cab and that's it.
Am I missing something?
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Makes them heavier? Just a guess..
 
#51
coy garcia said:
If I wanted a powered cab I would just bring a powered floor monitor. I've done this on certain venues where I knew I would have to share a mix with another member on my side.
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I don’t know enough about how cabs are made to know if pa floor monitor sounds close enough to a bass cab. I mean I read all sorts of stuff about the deep voodoo of cab construction and ported this and closed that and whatnot. Would that be as good as a speaker designed for bass? Or is all that talk just marketing fluff?
 
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#53
An 'Active' Powered Cabinet eliminates Speaker Cable power dissipation/frequency loss.
Amp/Speaker can be fine tuned by designer with electronic xover[Amp for Bass/Mid and amp for tweeter]

Here is some info on Active powered Speaker I used from 2006 to 2014 using BBE Preamp and Taurus Silver line preamp.

"To achieve their high-quality sound and amazing performance, the new D-Bass amps employ breakthrough Roland technology: FFP incorporating Active Speaker Control. FFP (Feed Forward Processing) is a DSP-based process that analyzes incoming signal and maximizes it before it hits the speaker."
 
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#54
Wasnex said:
Running on 9V is not practical. Power is calculated from the voltage (V) X the current (I): P = V x I

So if the voltage goes down the current must go up.

Let's assume 400W as our power level and solve for current. I = 400/120 = 3.33A

Now lets drop the voltage to 9V and solve for I. I = 400/9 = 44.44A. That's a lot of current and it would require heavy gauge wire.

For context, the high current outputs on my Voodoo Lab 2 + can only supply 0.250A at 9V. The total current available from all eight outputs is 1.1A at 9V.
Click to expand...

Old Garage-Bander said:
How many 9v ya got?
Might work in a transistor radio, but those were generally milliwatt devices.

Maybe when the universe re-organizes, new laws of physics will allow for it.
Wouldn't hold my breath waitin' though. :smug:
Click to expand...

If it sounds too good to be true … ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I got the idea from having seen these out there, but upon closer inspection, even this has its own dedicated power cord.

44 Magnum | Power Amp - Electro-Harmonix

Maybe running two power cords from a pedal board isn’t that big of a deal, though. Just throw an ELF on the board and get a long speaker cable? :smug:
 
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#55
ProbablyTooLoud said:
I don’t know enough about how cabs are made to know if pa floor monitor sounds close enough to a bass cab. I mean I read all sorts of stuff about the deep voodoo of cab construction and ported this and closed that and whatnot. Would that be as good as a speaker designed for bass? Or is all that talk just marketing fluff?
Click to expand...
It doesn't sound like a bass cab but it takes the signal from my bass amp and makes it louder. On a large outdoor stage I wasn't hearing my amp so I ran a line level signal from my amp to a powered monitor...or if you had a amp simulator like a tech 21 you could use a powered monitor to make it louder. I used a behringer stage monitor and they come in many sizes.
 
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#56
ProbablyTooLoud said:
Yeah I wish they played well with others, but there ya go: they don't. I hope my cabs last cause I'm a headless horseman right now. Well I do have an old 400RB but it doesn't really count.
Click to expand...
The venerable 400RB--especially the old one---one of my fave amps ever. Would indeed be cool if that worked with these cabs. Would you say the PLEX has that GK "thing" like the old 400 or 800RB? Not to totally derail the thread here.....
 
#60
In my view, micro heads solved the portability problem well enough. The entire head is not much bigger than a preamp. I've thought about getting a combo, to further improve portability, but thinking about the three situations:

1. Head plus speaker. Bag for the head, cables, earplugs, stand light, sheet music, etc.

2. Combo. Plus, bag for cables, earplugs, stand light, sheet music, etc.

3. Preamp plus powered speaker. Plus, bag for the preamp, cables, earplugs, stand light, sheet music, etc.

In all 3 cases I'm carrying a box and a bag. So the real difference between these options is just no longer all that important.
 
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