stevie

Here are a couple of quick pics. The more glamorous ones will take a bit longer.

Phil plugged the BC110T in and we had a quick listen during our auditions. In view of the cost of the self-build cab, It held up surprisingly well. It was clear and well balanced but you could easily hear the effect of the higher quality components used in the Monza, which took everything to the next level. Considering the 110T took me an hour to design, and the Monza several months, I'd jolly well hope so, too.☺️

I'm on it.....

I'm not sure what Bill's problem was with Celestion but they've provided TS parameters for their bass and PA drivers for as long as I can remember. They don't usually publish a full set of parameters for their guitar drivers, however, as there's not much point. But they are available. Marshall used this speaker in a 2x15" reflex bass cab, the 1551, but I don't expect it went very loud.

I think ChatGTP mined Talkbass for that info. It's a mixture of factual information and complete tosh (well written tosh, mind you). You'll only know the difference if you have some knowledge of the subject. But then why would you ask ChatGTP?

You're welcome, @fretmeister☺️

Another Plus 1. Ahermmm..... https://www.lfsys.co.uk/bassguitarproducts "Driver compliment is a cast-chassis Faital Pro 12" driver crossed over at 2kHz to a Celestion compression driver on a vertically aligned, cast aluminium CD horn. This arrangment generates a dispersion pattern that enables players to hear every detail of their sound even when standing right next to the cabinet." Off-axis response is critical in sound reinforcement, which is why high-end PA speaker manufacturers pay a lot of attention to it. This video explains it really well, albeit from a hi-fi perspective. It does get a bit techical though:

It must have been good if you're thinking about next year already.☺️

This is my second trade with Mike - this time I sold him an amp. Mike is very easy to deal with and I can recommend him to anyone wishing to buy or sell. Thanks again, MIke.

Thanks for the interest, @tubbybloke68. @Phil Starr's right - I'm fitting out the first couple of production models as we speak. The design is a more compact version of the Monaco, using the same CD horn/neo compression driver combo and the 10" equivalent of the bass driver. Genuine 600W AES (max. 1200W) thermal power handling. Like the Monaco, the low end has been tailored to go deep while preventing boom even at high SPLs. Full two-way crossover at 2kHz with HF protection. Weighs just under 11kg and kicks like a mule. I'll announce availability on here as soon as I have sorted the photography. Any questions, please ask.

There's some debate on the forums as to whether the later versions are actually 400W drivers. However, they have a 2.5" coil and even with today's technology a 2.5" coil is normally limited to 300W.

What's the volume? You can test the cab's tuning frequency using the rice-on-the-cone method and a downloadable frequency generator. I did post a link but the forum didn't like it. Do a Google search for loudspeaker rice grain test. Here's an online tone generator: https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/

The answer to the question is, yes, you could upgrade your cab using a modern driver and achieve a worthwhile performance boost. As good as the EV driver was in its day, it's only rated at 200W and has a relatively modest xmax. You'll need to find out a bit more about the cabinet, however, such as its internal volume and tuning frequency, so that you're not working in the dark and can select the optimum replacement.

I agree with @jrixn1's post. As the OP already has a preamp, buying a powered speaker is definitely a sensible option. But..........I must take issue with the cost comparison with the LFSys Monaco. Although the Monaco is an FRFR speaker and works well as a vocal or general-purpose PA and monitor, it was designed specifically to handle bass guitar. Most of the cost of the speaker has therefore gone into the bass driver and cabinet. The RCF, on the other hand, is a general-purpose PA cabinet whose main aim is to reproduce midrange frequencies, i.e. vocals. The manufacturer's money has therefore gone into the very nice midrange/HF driver and horn - which is perfectly understandable and good. Now, if you take a close look at the 12" driver used in the RCF cab, you'll discover that it's a 300W, ceramic magnet speaker with a pressed steel chassis and relatively short voicecoil - good for midrange efficiency, but not for bass power handling. The driver in the LFSys, by contrast, not only has twice the power handling (same AES rating) but twice the excursion. This means that it would take *two* RCF cabinets to achieve the same excursion-limited SPL as the LFSys. If you want a wooden cabinet, you'll have to spend £1200 on the NX 32a, which has the same driver complement (although its 12" woofer gets a cast chassis).You'd then be looking at spending £2,400 and you'd be carting over 40kg to your gigs. And if you don't have a Kemper or a preamp, you'd have to buy one. So, while the RCF could be a good solution to the OP's specific problem as long as he's happy with the output levels available from the 732-A, it won't do what an LFSys Monaco with, say, a Veyron BC1001M will do for a total of about a grand. I thought I ought to mention that. 😊

The volume of the lockdown cab is about 30 percent less than the BC112. Some twelves will work in that volume but will be a bit bass light.

There's no availability problem with LFSys cabs - at least at the moment.🙂

What about Homebase? https://store.homebase.co.uk/belfast/drumkeen-complex/wood-cutting

Looks great!

Bill's post highlights the dangers of choosing a cab based on the manufacturer's specs. Sensitivity and maximum SPL are certainly not as simple as some people think. I note that nobody has mentioned power compression. Even if you have xmax and you understand the different ways of quoting it, without a figure for power compression, you can't calculate maximum SPL.

You cynic, you. Although you're probably right.😄

Phil's little practice cab is brilliant. If I weren't planning to do my own version, I'd have built one ages ago.

@Lozz196, there's a demo Monaco currently doing a tour of the country. If you'd like to be put on the list, just send me a pm and I'll arrange it.

They've now all been taken and will be on their way to good homes shortly.

This is a back-of-the-envelope job. Try a cab with an internal volume of 70 litres and use either two 100mm or one 150mm ports, 160mm long. Most commercial ports are a bit shorter than that - so you may have to extend them with some cardboard. The drivers themselves look pretty good to me.

Thanks to the generosity of Basschatters, I may have a very small number of PH-170 horns available shortly. I know some folks have been pulling their hair out trying to locate these. Send me a PM.