Compact Cabs, BiG sound, small(ish) budget...?

[brensabre79]

I've been lugging round my SWR Goliath II 4 x 10 for years and it serves me well, but these days I am looking for something smaller and lighter.

My current head is a Hartke HA3500, so I get 350w @ 4ohms / 200w @8ohms and I'm thinking about getting either a 2x10 4ohm cabinet or two 1x10 8ohms that can handle this. I might consider swapping the head too though.

I've heard all sorts of recommendations of compact cabs, MarkBass, Ibanez etc. but trying in a shop is no substitute for a gig situation.

So my question is, what would you recommend? what have you tried and tested?
bearing in mind the huge sound I'm used to from my SWR and the watts handling. I don't want to get something that will be lacking in the low frequency or power department! i don't want something that says it will take 500w all day long but in reality farts at anything below 100Hz.

I'd like to get all this for around £500 (if I can use it with my Hartke Head) or £750 with a shiny new head too.

So whats the best bang for my bucks?

Cheers
Bren

[Lozz196]

I`d suggest a Barefaced Compact - currently on offer of a £100 less than usual. It won`t match a 410 - not many 115s can or do - but they are very good cabs, and will take what you throw at them. In reality it`s probably more like a 212. And they are so easy to cart about - a one handed lift/carry.

And, they do a "try for a month, if you don`t like it give it back" deal. Can`t say fairer than that.

[markstuk]

Light/Compact, Cheap, Good... Choose any two... :-)

[brensabre79]

Thanks guys, I was looking for a 2 x10 though. I don't think £500 is a meagre budget though, so the two I choose is Light/compact and good :-)

[JTUK]

I'd go for 2x1210... that way you get close to a 410 with 2 lighter carries.
Not a cheap way to do it though... but 4 10's on a gig is very hard to beat IMO.

I certainly haven't managed so far with 2x112's... altho I can get a lovely low end, it just can't do the hard high yards, IME.

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1322229817' post='1448282']
Thanks guys, I was looking for a 2 x10 though. I don't think £500 is a meagre budget though, so the two I choose is Light/compact and good :-)
[/quote]

It is, however, rather on the meagre side to get a 2x10 that can match the output of a 4x10...and it still won't really sound like a 4x10.
Markbass' larger 2x10 is probably one of the closer lightweight cabs in terms of midrange efficiency but I'd doubt it has the low end to match (although pretty reasonable for a 2x10).

EDIT: I see you're talking about an SWR goliath ii...in which case you will not find a single 2x10 on the market to match the low end.

Edited November 25, 2011 by LawrenceH

[brensabre79]

Thanks Lawrence. Maybe 2 x 12 is the way to go then. I'm not so fussed about the very highs - I have the tweeter on my Goliath turned right down

Might have to find the extra budget for the Barefaced super12 (thanks Lozz196 for pointing me in that direction) unless anyone has any other 2 x 12 recommendations...?

Cheers
B

[brensabre79]

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1322225734' post='1448183']
Light/Compact, Cheap, Good... Choose any two... :-)
[/quote]

Just got this! Sorry Mark, didn't have my Hoffman Lenses in the other day

[charic]

Get a DI box

Light, Compact, Loud, Cheap

[neepheid]

Is size really the problem or is it mostly weight? I recently changed cabs. I was going to go all modular, but in the end I managed to source a 4 ohm 4x10 which had no problem handling the output from a 3500 but is only 60% of the weight of my previous cab and now I'm happy. Ask me again in another 10 years, see how my back/knees vote then

[brensabre79]

To be honest neepheid its both. The drivers in my Goliath will handle about 1200W in all (part of the reason the LFs are thunderous is that its never ever being pushed), its large (almost twice as deep as most 4x10s I've seen) and very heavy. It only just fits in my car, and although its got wheels its a two man lift up any stairs!

So I'm using about a quarter of its power handling, filling up half my car and probably knackering the suspension at the same time, not to mention what its doing for me lugging it around! I wondered if there was something half the size, half the weight, probably half the power handling would do it as well... Hang on, has anyone got a large saw?

A lot of people have said I won't get the depth with a 2x10 (not just on here) and I had a good chat (via email) with Alex at Barefaced over the weekend, he was really helpful and I think he's pointed me in the right direction now...

Cheers
B

[chris_b]

[size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial]My suggestion is Neo and either 2 210's or 2 112's. [/font][/color][/size][color=#222222][font=Arial][size=1][/size][/font][/color]
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial] [/font][/color][/size][color=#222222][font=Arial][size=1][/size][/font][/color]
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial]I have both and while I love the 10's I usually take the 12's. The 12's have slightly less punch but I trade off the small preference I have for the 10's for the lighter 12's.[/font][/color][/size][color=#222222][font=Arial][size=1][/size][/font][/color]
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial] [/font][/color][/size][color=#222222][font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font][/color]
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial]I got my cabs before Barefaced started so you could bypass everything I’ve just said and go straight to a Super12T. [/font][/color][/size][color=#222222][font=Arial][size=2][/size][/font][/color]

[JTUK]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1322491539' post='1451431']
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial]My suggestion is Neo and either 2 210's or 2 112's. [/font][/color][/size]

[size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial]I have both and while I love the 10's I usually take the 12's. The 12's have slightly less punch but I trade off the small preference I have for the 10's for the lighter 12's.[/font][/color][/size]
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial] [/font][/color][/size]
[/quote]

I have these configs in Ceramics.

The 210's just highlight what is missing with the 12's from my POV. The 12" are deep and low but the 10" are way more focused..by quite some margin.
If space is a premium then that is the only time the 12's will get taken out.
I was sold on the 12's until the 10's put them well and truly in their place.

I might trade/sell the 12's and replace with a 2x112 with harder attack..and therefore would trade the perceived bottom end extention.

Single cabs are easier to handle so modular works for me...and with 2x210 I get all the benfits of a great 410, IMO...with less of a carry.

[brensabre79]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1322491539' post='1451431']
[size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial]I got my cabs before Barefaced started so you could bypass everything I’ve just said and go straight to a Super12T. [/font][/color][/size]
[/quote]
Yeah I think this is where I'm going

[markstuk]

No Probs, it's a poorly rephrased version of a line I use in IT projects... "Fast. Cheap. Good. Choose any two" :-)

I've got a Super 12 T as well :-)


[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1322486594' post='1451317']
Just got this! Sorry Mark, didn't have my Hoffman Lenses in the other day
[/quote]

[brensabre79]

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1322496367' post='1451540']
No Probs, it's a poorly rephrased version of a line I use in IT projects... "Fast. Cheap. Good. Choose any two" :-)
I've got a Super 12 T as well :-)
[/quote]
It's also Hoffmans iron law:
"One can, for the most part, choose only two of the three parameters when designing a speaker system. So, for example, if extended low-frequency performance and small box size are important, one must accept low efficiency.[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker#cite_note-34"][35][/url][/sup] This [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thumb"]rule of thumb[/url] is sometimes called [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoffman%27s_Iron_Law"]Hoffman's Iron Law[/url] (after [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=J._Anton_Hoffman&action=edit&redlink=1"]J.A. Hoffman[/url], the "H" in [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLH_%28company%29"]KLH[/url])."