Single FRFR or Bass Combo?

[Jack]

On 12/03/2019 at 07:38, Al Krow said:

Gents - I think you've missed misunderstood my point. I AGREE that the RCF 745A looks very capable and should be able to do the job! See my post to BRX earlier:

My Q is in the second sentence above.

I currently have a BF SC (21 lbs) and a D class head (3 to 4 lbs) = 25 lbs all in. It handles a 5 string just fine.

I know the 745A can do the trick. But it's a 44 lb lug around. Is there anything else in the FRFR world that can compete or even come close to my current rig in terms of (i) handling a low B string (please note I'll be using it as back line and not just as a monitor) and (ii) that is also relatively compact / portable?

Just like traditional bass cabs, different FRFR solutions have different pros and cons. A 745 or similar will literally replace a large bass rig like a good 4x10" or perhaps even some cheaper 8x10" in terms of pure volume, yeah it's big and heavy but it's not as big or heavy as a good 4x10".

Unfortunately things don't really scale down as such, so the equivalent gains compared to something like your BF rig just aren't there. There are loads of smaller or lighter frfr solutions out there if you don't need outright volume, but if you're looking to beat the BF on size/weight/output I'm not really aware of anything that's meaningfully better. The Barefaced stuff is pretty top shelf. FRFR do tend to be quite heavy compared to a similar sized bass cab, partly because they have integrated amps and partly because they have some quite serious LF drivers and VERY serious HF drivers when compared to bass cabs.

On 12/03/2019 at 11:18, Al Krow said:

@EBS_freak thanks for that.

Totally agree about the top-end f-response being important, the lack of which is a key reason for me looking to replace my BF SC. 

Do you know if the BF FR800 power module has a DSP? My understanding was that the BB2 was already pretty flat response and not adding much in the way of tonal 'colour'? 

They do, the Hypex Filter Designer software is brilliant. Mine came with 4 settings that are

1 - Neutral  (completely flat, no eq at all apart from a 30Hz HPF)
2 - Neutral Raised (can't remember what the filter looks like, but it's suppose to counteract the loss of floor cancellation for pa stand mounting)
3 - Deep (quite wide 100Hz boost)
4 - Flat response (few little bumps and cuts in places to actually make the cab pretty close to flat  >30Hz)

Edited March 13, 2019 by Jack

[lemmywinks]

The amp module in the FR800 is this btw:

https://www.hypex.nl/product/psc2-400d/67