stevie

Beer, if the budget is limited, try for one of these on eBay: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CELESTION-TRUVOX-1525e-15-EXTENDED-BASS-SPEAKER-DRIVER-/280566084688?pt=UK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL&hash=item41530ab450"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CELESTION-TRUVOX-152...=item41530ab450[/url] The chap is selling two and one of them doesn't have any bids yet, with the auction ending today. They are better than the ones you are considering.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' post='973104' date='Sep 30 2010, 07:45 PM']Cheers for the suggestions. The price of the Beta is definitely attractive compared to the 3015. So higher Qts is a desirable property in this situation? Is the Delta also worth looking at, or does the bigger Xmax of the Beta make it a better option?[/quote] A high Qts is not desirable at all. On the contrary; it's what you get when you reduce the size of the magnet in an attempt to build a speaker as cheaply as possible. In your cabinet, the Beta will give you one-note bass centred on 100Hz with nothing below that. To see what I'm talking about, go and have a look at the cabinet suggestions for this driver on the Eminence site. The optimum cabinet size for this speaker is around 800 litres, which should tell you something. When you try to get a little fatness out of your sound by boosting the fundamental, you will have very little power left to do anything else. Trace Elliot get away with that approach (the Trace Elliot contour), but their amps are more powerful than yours. At the moment, the best specification 15" driver on the UK market is the Fane Sovereign Pro 15-500, which costs about £80. There is also the Fane 15-500, which is cheaper (£68) but doesn't have a cast chassis - which is worth the extra IMO. I know that you don't need the power handling, but high power handling is a characteristic of a good quality driver nowadays. Any of these drivers will be considerably heavier than your Celestion, by the way. AFIAK, if you pay less than £70 for a new 15" driver it will have been built down to a price. If you're not in a rush, you could keep your eyes open in the For Sale section here. Used 15" cabinets don't seem to retain their second-hand value as well as others, and there have been some real bargains on here lately for £100 and under.

Our own major-minor has generously produced the very thing you need. You'll find it here on the site: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=74284"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=74284[/url]. You won't find anything of this quality anywhere else.

[quote name='BassBen' post='972706' date='Sep 30 2010, 02:08 PM']Have you heard one? I just want to add a little sharpness to the sound.[/quote] No, I haven't heard one but I'm not very keen on the sound of piezos and fifty quid strikes me as a bit excessive. You may well be happy with it, but if you can't hear one first, make sure you can return it for a refund if you don't like it.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='972711' date='Sep 30 2010, 02:12 PM']I'd use a midrange driver, just as Alex does in the Big One.[/quote] So would I, but that would need some form of crossover.

It's a piezo - it shouldn't damage anything. You might like to listen to it first though.

Yes, that Beta is great for recreating the vintage sound of your grandad's radiogram.

Really excellent review! Thanks for that. I will now wait for the used ones to start appearing.

Done

I could use that. What do I have to do?

Bought a cab from Pete, which he had maintained in immaculate condition. It was well packed and shipped out quickly. The whole transaction was very easy with zero hassle. One of the good guys.

They're not actually worth the money they fetch (IMO), because it's fairly old technology and newer drivers can do a lot better. However, the LS3/5a has been praised so often by cloth-eared idiot reviewers in the hi-fi press that they have gained cult status and this status has been conferred on the drivers used in that box.

[quote name='noelk27' post='965829' date='Sep 23 2010, 05:04 PM']In fact, there's more information printed on a personal cheque than is usually required for direct bank transfer.[/quote] Thanks for pointing that out. I do believe you're right.

If I'm not mistaken, those drivers often fetch around £100 on eBay.

[quote name='Beedster' post='964328' date='Sep 22 2010, 12:03 PM']As Harry Callaghan would say "Check out the developing 'Help: Lichfield' thread, and ask yourself, do ya think that 4% would be worth it, do ya punk?" [/quote] I particularly liked the bit about the Swedish guy with no hair. I'd have more faith in him than PayPal but I see what you mean.

I've never had to claim but I've heard lots of stories about people who've tried to claim and were left high and dry. If PayPal provided reliable insurance against being ripped off, I certainly wouldn't mind paying them. EDIT No, I tell a lie: I did try to claim a small amount once but the seller had used weasel wording in his ad and I was unsuccessful.

[quote name='Beedster' post='964254' date='Sep 22 2010, 11:18 AM']..... to be honest, I don't think the change is a great loss.[/quote] Dunno about that. I found it quite useful. And if you have money in your PayPal account, somebody has already paid PayPal commission to put it there. Four percent commission makes cheques look attractive again. There's always bank to bank transfer but I'm a bit wary about giving a complete stranger my bank account details.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='964264' date='Sep 22 2010, 11:23 AM']Paypal balance to paypal was free, but if you were going via a card, gift just meant the sender gets charged instead of the receiver.[/quote] Aha - that's interesting. I only paid part of the amount with my PayPal balance. So maybe if I'd had the entire amount in my PayPal account I wouldn't have been charged.

I just tried to make a payment to a fellow Basschatter using the usual "gift" option and they've now changed it. It looks like they won't let you transfer funds for free any more. I expect Ebay is not making enough money.

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='964117' date='Sep 22 2010, 09:17 AM']Allparts do the Badass III for £86.16p.[/quote] I got £72 for my used one on eBay last month. Which was quite a surprise, I can tell you.

Yes, that's the one. By William Perry and Leon White. It comes up on eBay occasionally.

The easiest song I ever learned was Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater. Three notes only. Play strictly on the one and three. If there's an easier one, I'd be surprised. EDIT: Aha - I see Thunderbird just beat me to it :-)

[quote name='spongebob' post='959727' date='Sep 17 2010, 05:54 PM']In the meantime, they rang Proel for a quote for a speaker - were given a price, but also told that in the case of a cab, speakers are not covered under warranty!![/quote] Interesting. B&C, which supplies MarkBass speakers and which Proel also distributes, actually offers a 3-year warranty on its products.

If you're willing to put in the time and effort, I'd suggest creating a decent vent area somewhere near the front of the case - probably on the top or at either side of the front panel. Then turn the fan round and have it pulling air in from the front and venting through the back. Block up any other vents at the back to prevent short circuits. Even with a slow, quiet fan you can pull half a cubic metre of cold air a minute across the heat sink to cool it down, which should be more than enough as the Trace heat sink is quite decent. Papst do temperature controlled fans with a sensor that could attach to the amp's heat sink. I think they cost about ten to twelve pounds. The temperature control would then be automatic rather than via a pot. You might need to experiment with this arrangement, but temperature controlled would definitely be the ultimate, as the fan would only need to get up to speed when you're hammering the amp. The rest of the time it would just be idling and would be inaudible. And I'd definitely install the silicon spacers as I described in my earlier post. A quid well spent IMO.