Eminence Basslite drivers

[pete.young]

The Eminence Basslite C2515 seems just about ideal for a small reconing project that I
have in mind. 300W 4 Ohms and very light weight.

[url="http://www.eminence.com/guitar_speaker_detail.asp?model=BASSLITEC2515&speaker_size=15&SUB_CAT_ID=5"]http://www.eminence.com/guitar_speaker_det...mp;SUB_CAT_ID=5[/url]

The only problem is that Eminence UK don't import them, and it's hard to
find any reviews or information other than what is on the Eminence web site.

I'll talk to Blue Aran about importing one, and I could import one myself. In
the meantime, does anyone know anything about this range of drivers?

[RichardH]

You may want to suck the pertinent comments from [url="http://basstalk.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26054"]this thread on BT[/url] and post it within this thread before it gets blipped - I'd considered doing so myself...

[Dood]

ah yes.. you beat me to it, re the previous threads. Infact the drivers have been discussed on other threads too. Another good place to find info is over at Bill Fitzmaurice's site.

When it comes to getting hold of eminence speakers, I *think* JPJ can. I'm not sure though.

[Alien]

Try going over the heads of the UK guys, get in touch with Eminence in the US. That's what I had to do when I wanted to get some B102s (which they have now started to import) They were more than happy to stick 'em on the next shipment, and put my name on them. Bottom line is, they want the sales, so if Eminence UK are dragging their feet, bypass them.

Andy

[Dood]

Wise words Andy.. defintely worth doing. It'd just take longer to get sorted out, if the UK side of distro is slow.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

The Basslite Vas is very large and makes the driver one of the least desireable of the Eminence neo line. The Deltalite II 2515 and Kappalite 3015 are far superior.

[Dood]

I'm glad you have said that, as my 'fiddling' with WINISD made the Deltalites the more desireable out of the lot.. though for looks alone (yes I know...) the CA2010 is my cup o' tea! MMMM Alu cones!

[pete.young]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='11858' date='Jun 4 2007, 02:34 PM']The Basslite Vas is very large and makes the driver one of the least desireable of the Eminence neo line. The Deltalite II 2515 and Kappalite 3015 are far superior.[/quote]

Thanks Bill,

I'd like to ask what the significance of the Vas is, but I'm not sure I'd understand the answer!

The Delta Lites are easier to get hold of, but are 8 Ohm rather than 4 Ohm which is what
I would have preferred.

As far as importing it goes, Eminence UK were actually quite helpful, happy to have
Eminence US stick one on the next shipment provided I went through one of the
dealers, their suggestion being blue aran.

usspeakers.com sell the basslite for $99 , plus $66 shipping, 3.9% tax, 17.5% vat,
handling fee, it's starting to get expensive! What a great country we live in.

[alexclaber]

[quote name='pete.young' post='11903' date='Jun 4 2007, 04:08 PM']I'd like to ask what the significance of the Vas is, but I'm not sure I'd understand the answer![/quote]

Vas represents the equivalent volume of air to have the same spring compliance as the woofer. Basically the higher the Vas, the larger the cab needs to be to get full bass response (i.e. resonant frequency of speaker in cabinet equal to resonant frequency of speaker in free air).

The reason that few bass cabs have the lows they claim is that the speakers have too high Vas for the cab they're in. To get a lower Vas without giving up sensitivity is difficult, hence the "loud, low, small, pick any two" law of speaker design.

Alex

[Dood]

hoffman's law?

[pete.young]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='11907' date='Jun 4 2007, 04:17 PM']Vas represents the equivalent volume of air to have the same spring compliance as the woofer. Basically the higher the Vas, the larger the cab needs to be to get full bass response (i.e. resonant frequency of speaker in cabinet equal to resonant frequency of speaker in free air).[/quote]

Welcome back Alex, what would we do without you? Thank you for that explanation, which even a numpty like me can grok.

According to Eminence's web site:

Deltalite II 2515 -

Vas 204 litres
Recommended enclosure sealed: 42.5 - 48 litres

Basslite C2515

Vas 260 litres
Recommended enclosure sealed: 45 - 82 litres !

Hmm. Something doesn't seem to add up here. Finally I'm beginning to understand what Bill means when he
says that designs don't specify big enough cabinets for the driver parameters.

So in order to get the optimum bass response, you need a cabinet volume equivalent to the VAS ? It
can't be that simple, surely.

[alexclaber]

[quote name='pete.young' post='12164' date='Jun 4 2007, 11:10 PM']So in order to get the optimum bass response, you need a cabinet volume equivalent to the VAS ? It
can't be that simple, surely.[/quote]

I'm still getting my head around the inner workings of speakers but that's certainly the gist of it. I haven't dealt with any sealed cab designs because they don't work well for bass unless they're huge or for very low volume use (Ampeg 810 and AI Contra respectively).

What size cab are we specifically dealing with, is it ported or not, how much power do you have to play with and do you need it to be a standalone or just to add bottom?

Alex

[Dood]

[quote name='pete.young' post='12164' date='Jun 4 2007, 11:10 PM']Welcome back Alex, what would we do without you? Thank you for that explanation, which even a numpty like me can grok.

According to Eminence's web site:

Deltalite II 2515 -

Vas 204 litres
Recommended enclosure sealed: 42.5 - 48 litres

Basslite C2515

Vas 260 litres
Recommended enclosure sealed: 45 - 82 litres !

Hmm. Something doesn't seem to add up here. Finally I'm beginning to understand what Bill means when he
says that designs don't specify big enough cabinets for the driver parameters.

So in order to get the optimum bass response, you need a cabinet volume equivalent to the VAS ? It
can't be that simple, surely.[/quote]

I'm far from 'in the know' when it comes to cab designs, but certainly from the specs, 2x10 cones would be far more capable in a cab the size of an 810 than squashed into a 24x24x18 box. again, WINISD was the software of choice to play with!

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='pete.young' post='12164' date='Jun 4 2007, 06:10 PM']So in order to get the optimum bass response, you need a cabinet volume equivalent to the VAS ? It
can't be that simple, surely.[/quote]
It's not, and stop calling me Shirley. For instance, a Beta 10 with a Vas of 82l works best in a 156l Vb. But 'best' is to a 38Hz f3, which is far lower than electric bass requires. A perfectly adequate 55 Hz f3 can be obtained with only 60l. The bad news is that most manufacturers will use the Beta 10, or the equivalent thereof, in only 30l, so not only is f3 up above 60 Hz but there's also a response hump around 140Hz that results in a boomy tone.

[pete.young]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='12522' date='Jun 5 2007, 02:34 PM']It's not, and stop calling me Shirley.[/quote]

Sorry ;-)

I thought it couldn't be that simple.

At this point, I'll probably have to own up to wanting to do something that is
frowned upon, if not beyond the pale.

I have an old HH Bass Baby 15" cab, which is very well made, nice and compact
if I didn't want to carry bigger and heavier cabs, but only rated at 100W. It goes
against the grain to accidently damage the driver by shoving too much power
through it, and I was thinking about putting a more highly rated driver into it.

The cab is sealed and the volume is about 45l, probably way too small for a
15" driver by Bill's reckoning . But it doesn't sound too bad at low volumes
with the existing unbranded driver.

The sensible thing is probably to get rid of it, but I don't imagine it's worth
a lot and I've grown rather fond of it over the years.

[alexclaber]

[quote name='pete.young' post='13183' date='Jun 6 2007, 06:05 PM']I have an old HH Bass Baby 15" cab, which is very well made, nice and compact
if I didn't want to carry bigger and heavier cabs, but only rated at 100W. It goes
against the grain to accidently damage the driver by shoving too much power
through it, and I was thinking about putting a more highly rated driver into it.[/quote]

I'd leave it as it is - no 15" I've modelled in that size is any good and although it may only be rated at 100W it'll handle much larger amps. Listen and you'll hear when it isn't happy.

If you simply have to do something, try a DeltaLite 2510-II - that's not a bad volume for a 10" and add a port to tune it to 45Hz.

I do wonder though how much this HH cab weighs - my experience of them is that if it's well made it's also heavy which makes neo drivers a bit pointless.

Alex

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='13229' date='Jun 6 2007, 02:06 PM']I'd leave it as it is - no 15" I've modelled in that size is any good and although it may only be rated at 100W it'll handle much larger amps. Listen and you'll hear when it isn't happy.

If you simply have to do something, try a DeltaLite 2510-II - that's not a bad volume for a 10" and add a port to tune it to 45Hz.

I do wonder though how much this HH cab weighs - my experience of them is that if it's well made it's also heavy which makes neo drivers a bit pointless.

Alex[/quote]
Chances are along with the low power rating is a low xmax, and you won't get much out of it. As to what to do with it I agree with Alex. A fifteen in 45l won't work as well as a ten.

[pete.young]

Gentlemen, thank you for your excellent advice which I intend to take. I'll leave it as it
is for now. Sticking a 10" in it would require building a new front panel, which I'll consider
if the original driver gives up the ghost.