Any experience with 115/215 bass cab mods/upgrades?

[Freddie75]

Hi all,

I have 2 x 15" faital pro 400 (8ohm) drivers and I'm not sure whether to stick one in my current cab (genz benz focus 15" lt) and if it sounds good then purchase another cab (£250 new) and stick the other in, - or wait till a 2nd hand 215 comes up and whack them both in together.

Has anyone had direct experience doing a similar thing and if so what were the results and which 215 cab would you recommend?

If 215 then ideally with a tweeter, as small as possible and as light as possible.

Another option is to find a decent cab builder within the uk where I can supply the drivers.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Freddie

[Mr. Foxen]

Post up measurements of the cabs you have, and the specific drivers you have, then we can tell if they are worth messing with.

[Phil Starr]

Specs are here http://www.adamhall.com/en/Faital_Pro_Professional_Series_-_15_Speaker_400_W_8_Ohm.html.

These are good speakers, best suited to a cab of about 100 litres. The simplest thing to do would be to try them in your cab and if you like the basic sound to build a cab actually designed to go with your speakers.

if you think building a cab is beyond you then look for a cab which has a circular port as these are easier to re-tune and it would be best to go for something between 70 and 100l. The Peavey BXBW would be good and you can pick these up for a lot less than a GB cab. (£50-100) You'd probably get £40 for the Black Widow driver on eBay so you'd get a substantial box for probably less than £50. If you decide to go this route I've actually got an old one of these which I'd happily sell empty, though it is up for sale with the original driver at the moment.

Ideally I'd put these into a couple of light weight cabs custom designed though and take advantage of these neo speakers.

[Freddie75]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1359066889' post='1949524']
Post up measurements of the cabs you have, and the specific drivers you have, then we can tell if they are worth messing with.
[/quote]

Thanks Mr Foxen, here are the specs for my current genz cab:
[url="http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2858&sid=704&cid=96"]http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2858&sid=704&cid=96[/url]


[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1359221816' post='1951866']
Specs are here [url="http://www.adamhall.com/en/Faital_Pro_Professional_Series_-_15_Speaker_400_W_8_Ohm.html."]http://www.adamhall....0_W_8_Ohm.html.[/url]

These are good speakers, best suited to a cab of about 100 litres. The simplest thing to do would be to try them in your cab and if you like the basic sound to build a cab actually designed to go with your speakers.

if you think building a cab is beyond you then look for a cab which has a circular port as these are easier to re-tune and it would be best to go for something between 70 and 100l. The Peavey BXBW would be good and you can pick these up for a lot less than a GB cab. (£50-100) You'd probably get £40 for the Black Widow driver on eBay so you'd get a substantial box for probably less than £50. If you decide to go this route I've actually got an old one of these which I'd happily sell empty, though it is up for sale with the original driver at the moment.

Ideally I'd put these into a couple of light weight cabs custom designed though and take advantage of these neo speakers.
[/quote]

Thanks Phil, how do I fund out how many litres my cab is? My genz has a tweeter so if the Faital sounds good - as it has a tweeter then I will more than likely get another. The frame size of the Faital is larger than the stock driver so I need the driver hole cut slightly larger. I have somebody who can do it but would you recommend this?

Many thanks

Edited January 26, 2013 by Freddie75

[Phil Starr]

To find the volume of your cab accurately you need to measure the internal dimensions of the cab and subtract the volume of the port but very roughly it is about 90litres which is about ideal.

Unless your cab is really old and battered I wouldn't start using surgery yet. It is worth more second hand as an original cab. If you can get the back off easily you can mount the driver to the rear of the baffle (front panel), you might also be able to fix it (untidily and temporarily) in the hole for long enough to test whether you like the sound of the new driver. To do this just make the speaker frame seal against the cab with draughtproofing foam strip or possibly mastic, though this is messy.. Once you have started cutting the baffle you won't be able to put the original speaker back in if you prefer it to the Faital.

[stevie]

Good advice from Phil as usual. You could use a spacer ring to fit your new driver. Cut it out of 1/2" MDF to suit the new speaker. For a reversible job, put adhesive foam on the back, screw it to the front of the cab and then bolt your driver to it. Your new speaker will be 1/2" closer to the grille but there's usually enough space to allow it. This is a common problem when going from a pressed steel to a cast chassis.

I did this with an Ashdown cab and it worked fine.