davegriffiths91 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Hi everyone. I've am thinking about replacing the speaker in my ashdown 1x15 can to a higher power handling speaker as I seem to be pushing it much harder at some gigs than others and I am worried about blowing it. I am running a gene benz shuttle which is currently overpowering the cab. (I did have two cabs when it wasn't a problem but I have had to move to a smaller house etc.) my question to you guys is, is it worth me swopping out the speaker for something with a higher power handling level? Money is tight at the moment but the gigs are thick and fast so buying a new can is out of the question! Thanks Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Well the theory is that speakers need to be matched to the actual cab itself, by dimensions and a lot of techie stuff that I don`t understand. So really it`s hit & miss, just getting a different speaker and putting it in - it may be better, it may be worse. I`ve replaced speakers a few times, before I knew of the need to match cones to cabs, and it worked every time, hoever given the science, it appears I got lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 If money is tight then I would just set up the cab where I knew how it worked and at what sort of level on the dials.. and I find I never need to go much about it as it is just too loud. If you are running acoustic drums this is pretty easy to do and then that becomes the maximum level rather than 10 on the master/gain. If you cab handles this with just a little in hand, then you'll be fine.. What doesn't help is any extra that can boost the signal chain..like pedals.. What makes you think the cab is struggling...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 (edited) I had the same problem and replaced the speaker, in the cab of my old Ashdown EB 150, with a B stock, 450 watt, Eminence Kappa 4 ohm 15 speaker. It cost me £40 (usual price about £80). It allows me to use the full 500 watts of my MiBass 550 and is very loud ,very clear and distortion free. I realise that some speakers don't work with some speaker cabs, for technical reasons that go over my head, but this combination works fine. I have owned posher and more upmarket gear but nothing goes as loud as my old Ashdown cab with it's monster Eminence speaker. This is the one [url="http://www.lean-business.co.uk/eshop/eminence-kappa-15-4ohm-15-450watt-speaker-p-779.html?gclid=CJfHtLHmysQCFUvLtAod2XAALw"]http://www.lean-busi...CFUvLtAod2XAALw[/url] Edited March 28, 2015 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 A higher powered speaker would probably go louder before distorting but you should be aware that the sound quality might suffer a little bit. In the past, I've swapped out a 200w 8ohm speaker for a 500w 4ohm speaker and sounded great. I never needed to loud enough to the point that I'd notice a problem with it's tonal qualities. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 (edited) My preference would be to replace the cab. If there really is no budget for a new cab then give Phil Starr a PM and find out which replacement speaker would sound best. We're told that in order for the cab to sound good the speakers will have to match the cab. Then were told that most of the popular makes are designed to a budget, not to a technical spec. As most of these cabs sound OK, what I take from that is there is so much leeway in cab design that getting it right, down to the last millimeter, isn't necessary to get a good sound. Edited March 28, 2015 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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