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Xsonics Club

#441
U4EA said:
I did notice their website rating was very conservative for a two speaker cab, but real world players seem to be getting serious volume from their rigs, so there must be something to these cabs.
Still interested to see the results from BGM and if Tom can gauge their performance with a low powered head such as the Walkabout, that would be very much appreciated.
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I have a walkabout and a 212CF. I'll try it out. I'll say this for now. The 212CF is as loud as my 410 I have. The tone is dramatically different than my Bergantino AE410 but volume wise they seem on par. That goes for my two Mesa Scout 12's as well. To date I only used my Eden WT400, WTX500, and Markbass LMT 800. It's hard to tell in a basement jam how loud it actually is. I'll be gigging the 212CF next weekend in a busy bar with a large stage and PA support. I'm not concerned if I'll be heard at all.
 
#442
MuthaFunk said:
I have a walkabout and a 212CF. I'll try it out. I'll say this for now. The 212CF is as loud as my 410 I have. The tone is dramatically different than my Bergantino AE410 but volume wise they seem on par. That goes for my two Mesa Scout 12's as well. To date I only used my Eden WT400, WTX500, and Markbass LMT 800. It's hard to tell in a basement jam how loud it actually is. I'll be gigging the 212CF next weekend in a busy bar with a large stage and PA support. I'm not concerned if I'll be heard at all.
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How did you like the WTX500 with the Xsonics ? This head always interested me.
 
#444
If you guys want to keep this thread, you'll address each other respectfully and politely.

If you can't, I'll be glad to wipe this thread, and infract the lot of you.
 
#446
MuthaFunk said:
I have a walkabout and a 212CF. I'll try it out. I'll say this for now. The 212CF is as loud as my 410 I have. The tone is dramatically different than my Bergantino AE410 but volume wise they seem on par. That goes for my two Mesa Scout 12's as well. To date I only used my Eden WT400, WTX500, and Markbass LMT 800. It's hard to tell in a basement jam how loud it actually is. I'll be gigging the 212CF next weekend in a busy bar with a large stage and PA support. I'm not concerned if I'll be heard at all.
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I'm one who did not care for the tone of the AE410, though only what I heard at the music store I tried one at a couple years ago. Though I really dug the Aggie DB cabs they had.

But since then, I instead went with NeoX 212T, UL410,TB153 cabs I still use and my now much missed 410XLT. IIRC, a couple here told me these Xsons' were sorta modeled after the XLT cab.

Just wondered if you can describe the tonal differences btw your AE410 and your Xsonics cab? Not bashing the Berg cabs, I know many on TB love theirs. And there's one FS locally to me, may give it second listen. But whenever you get time to reply is cool, thanks in advance. ernie.
 
#447
jnewmark said:
How did you like the WTX500 with the Xsonics ? This head always interested me.
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I liked it a lot. I thought the inherent tone if the WTX500 really brought the Eden sound out of the 212CF.

The WTX has a truly fat and round low end with really zippy highs. For me, this is Just what the 212CF needs from an amp. The 212CF really controls the WTX lows which I find other cabs can sound mushy. I often have to use my FDeck HPF to tidy the lows up on gigs with the Berg AE410 or my Mesa Scout cabs. I don't feel I need the HPF with the WTX500 and the 212CF sonically, although set to 35 Hz it still helps squeeze a little more volume out of the amp.

I find the 212CF a little light in the treble range. (read warm) I keep the horn on max. Again, the Eden WTX500 blasted the treble out of the 212CF like none of my other amps I played that day. Markbass F500, LMT800, Eden WT400, and Mesa Walkabout. I also have a few SWR amps but haven't tried them yet.

With the 212CF, my WTX500 was my personal favorite. It doesn't have the same headroom of my Markbass LMT800. I was able to get some great tones out of the LMT800. It took some eq'ing and the HPF set to 35 Hz but I think I'll end up using it more than the WTX for gigs just for the added headroom. The WTX will be my backup or even my main head if it will be loud enough. I won't know that until I get both of them out on a gig.
 
#448
MuthaFunk said:
I find the 212CF a little light in the treble range. (read warm)
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I have, taken from others, categorized the 2155 as "old school" which basically is warm as well. I am not sure how a amp/bass with more high end bite would do through it as my entire setup is a more old school - but the Xsonics gives it with great punch and clarity.
 
#450

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#451
People can post what they like, where they like; ask questions, disagree, etc.
As long as they do it politely.

A club thread doesn't, in principle, exclude everyone else.
 
#452
ErnieD said:
I'm one who did not care for the tone of the AE410, though only what I heard at the music store I tried one at a couple years ago. Though I really dug the Aggie DB cabs they had.

But since then, I instead went with NeoX 212T, UL410,TB153 cabs I still use and my now much missed 410XLT. IIRC, a couple here told me these Xsons' were sorta modeled after the XLT cab.

Just wondered if you can describe the tonal differences btw your AE410 and your Xsonics cab? Not bashing the Berg cabs, I know many on TB love theirs. And there's one FS locally to me, may give it second listen. But whenever you get time to reply is cool, thanks in advance. ernie.
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To put it simply, the AE410 comparatively sounds much deeper with way more cutting treble. The AE410 seems to lack mids when A/B'ing with the 212CF. I dont think I would have ever described the AE410 as a modern sounding cab untill I did this comparison. The 212CF really articulates each note through its present mids. I was able to EQ the 212CF to get all kinds of sounds. It takes well to EQ'ing but it couldn't ever hit the deep lows of the Berg. I sometimes struggled to get proper mids out of the AE410 on gigs but it's tweeter and crossover are sooooo sweet I always heard what I was playing and felt the low notes.

I think the 212CF will be a great gigging cab. It can bring some fine low end presence to the mix with some eq but I personally don't think I'd use it for recording... Actually, it's too early to tell for sure. It may sit really well in the band mix and warrant some recording experimentation. I love the form factor. I'll post up some pics tomorrow of the Xsonics 212CF compared to some of my other cabs.

Oh, I'll add that I much prefer the tone of the XSonics 212CF on its side as opposed to vertically. I thought I'd have a hard time hearing it while standing close to it but naaa, that's not the case at all. I love the way the sound emits off this cab. Very even throughout th room including when your standing right beside it. The added floor coupling really helps to fatten the tone of the 212CF. I think it's lows will be plenty for the gigs I do. (sadly, no reggae gigs for this player)
 
#453
MuthaFunk said:
To put it simply, the AE410 comparatively sounds much deeper with way more cutting treble. The AE410 seems to lack mids when A/B'ing with the 212CF. I dont think I would have ever described the AE410 as a modern sounding cab untill I did this comparison. The 212CF really articulates each note through its present mids. I was able to EQ the 212CF to get all kinds of sounds. It takes well to EQ'ing but it couldn't ever hit the deep lows of the Berg. I sometimes struggled to get proper mids out of the AE410 on gigs but it's tweeter and crossover are sooooo sweet I always heard what I was playing and felt the low notes.

I think the 212CF will be a great gigging cab. It can bring some fine low end presence to the mix with some eq but I personally don't think I'd use it for recording... Actually, it's too early to tell for sure. It may sit really well in the band mix and warrant some recording experimentation. I love the form factor. I'll post up some pics tomorrow of the Xsonics 212CF compared to some of my other cabs.

Oh, I'll add that I much prefer the tone of the XSonics 212CF on its side as opposed to vertically. I thought I'd have a hard time hearing it while standing close to it but naaa, that's not the case at all. I love the way the sound emits off this cab. Very even throughout th room including when your standing right beside it. The added floor coupling really helps to fatten the tone of the 212CF. I think it's lows will be plenty for the gigs I do. (sadly, no reggae gigs for this player)
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This comparison is not surprising. For those not familiar with the AE410, it is very tight down low, mid present in the mid mids, and evenly extended into the upper midrange through the tweeter, which emphasizes the lower treble (due to the crossover design).

Putting two big drivers in a very small box results, even compared to the very mid present and punchy AE410, a big band pass that results in a big upper bass bump, and a dip in the upper midrange due to the second driver being 'not front firing'. This matches the above description and comparison very well, and is what would be expected.

Nothing wrong with that. Lots of energy going into the upper bass/lower midrange results in a LOT of perceived volume, and it can sit very nicely in many mixes.

It also does not surprise me that the current batch of VERY impressive 12 and 15" neo drivers removes some of the boxiness that was inherent in this sort of design in the past.
 
#454
The Berg has deeper lows than the Xsonics?

Well, that sure does make it sound "as though it would in fact sound similar to a Schroeder,'' which have a nice low mid bump, but not a ton of low end. I certainly wouldn't call the AE410 a cab chock full of deep bass, though, it has enough. The Berg isn't tuned for booty like say an Epi 410UL
If the Berg has "higher highs," than the Xsonics, then, in that regard, I wouldn't say the Xsonics would sound like a Schroeder, as Jorg has always used horns/crossover design that really had quite a lot of high end presence.

MuthaFunk said:
To put it simply, the AE410 comparatively sounds much deeper with way more cutting treble. The AE410 seems to lack mids when A/B'ing with the 212CF. I dont think I would have ever described the AE410 as a modern sounding cab untill I did this comparison. The 212CF really articulates each note through its present mids. I was able to EQ the 212CF to get all kinds of sounds. It takes well to EQ'ing but it couldn't ever hit the deep lows of the Berg. I sometimes struggled to get proper mids out of the AE410 on gigs but it's tweeter and crossover are sooooo sweet I always heard what I was playing and felt the low notes.

fwiw, I gigged a Schroeder 410, and then, 2x 212 for years. having similarities is not a bad thing.
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#456
I wonder how the 2155 compares to the AE410 tonewise. It seems to go really deep I can say that. Last night we played a club we have played at dozens of times, so I know the room well. That was the first time that our drummer mentioned that he could "feel" the bass, not just hear it. Solid and deep but articulated and for our style sits in the mix pretty well. Not a ton of highs, but that is fine with me.
Below you can see it fits nicely in the back of my Frontier, and is a small load in one trip.
 

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#457
And ready for the show. As usual I boosted the 2.5k on the Streamliner, very slight treble boost and had to cut the lows to 8:30 - 9:00, which is also pretty typical. Pretty high gain, I do love how this amp sounds with more preamp overdrive happening, maybe someone can explain a potential reason why? Never liked it on any other cab I have used, usually a clean tone freak, but love it on the Xsonics.
 

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#458
Gab124 said:
And ready for the show. As usual I boosted the 2.5k on the Streamliner, very slight treble boost and had to cut the lows to 8:30 - 9:00, which is also pretty typical. Pretty high gain, I do love how this amp sounds with more preamp overdrive happening, maybe someone can explain a potential reason why? Never liked it on any other cab I have used, usually a clean tone freak, but love it on the Xsonics.
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A mid driver is a very nice thing when you want a bit of grind from your amp. Combine that with a tight low end and low mid bump (which the Streamliner really benefits from... gigged on for a couple of years with the AE410), and I be that just kills! Nice rig!
 
#459
Thanks KJung. I have had other mid driver cabs, the mid in this one is soooo smooth. I try to hear bumps and dips etc, but other than not going really high in upper freqs it seems to be pretty even. I do believe that it could easily get out of control on the lower end but nothing that can't be eq'ed out. I really would like to hear it through a more modern head just to see. I need a new backup anyway, maybe a GB9.2 or something is in my future :)
 
#460
Gab124 said:
Thanks KJung. I have had other mid driver cabs, the mid in this one is soooo smooth. I try to hear bumps and dips etc, but other than not going really high in upper freqs it seems to be pretty even. I do believe that it could easily get out of control on the lower end but nothing that can't be eq'ed out. I really would like to hear it through a more modern head just to see. I need a new backup anyway, maybe a GB9.2 or something is in my future :)
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Some of them can be a bit harsh. My guess is this one is crossed over a bit higher so that you don't get so much of that '1K ganky brightness' coming through it. That can sound VERY nice up top... very paper cone top end that works great with those who want some 'brightness and definition' up top, but not the classic 'tweeter sizzle'.

I think these powerful new versions of these neo drivers really help a box like this work well... decent low end, nice bump in the 'meat area' of the bass, tons of power handling and volume, and the mid driver in your particular execution brings the upper midrange/lower treble response back into the frequency response. Pretty slick.
 

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