Stack 2 cabinets

[waaldijkh]

If I stack 2 cabinets, whart really changes? The sound: more bass or the volume?

[BassAdder60]

If the same cab stacked then generally more volume and the added height means you hear more too 

Edited February 24, 2023 by BassAdder60

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

If they're identical sensitivity and maximum output go up by 6dB, the equivalent of quadrupling power. Intelligibility of the mids and highs for you increases by having the source closer to ear level.

[BassmanPaul]

T add to Bill's comment stack the cabinets with the drivers vertically aligned not side by side. They just work better that way!

 

[Lozz196]

Ive found that the main thing that happens when I double up on a cab whose sound I like is that it makes me smile loads.

[agedhorse]

27 minutes ago, BassmanPaul said:

T add to Bill's comment stack the cabinets with the drivers vertically aligned not side by side. They just work better that way!

 

Sometimes, sometimes not. It depends.

[uk_lefty]

I stack my cabs because I grew up watching people play through MASSIVE rigs and I feel it doesn't look right to just have one 15" speaker. It also sounds better too for me on stage.

[Downunderwonder]

You can have more volume with more bass, or just more bass, or reserve dynamic emphasis potential.

 

How much of each depends how powerful your amp is and how much power the single cab can handle.

[alexa3020]

Is there much difference in dispersion etc, if I stack a tweetered 210 vertically (tweeter top center between the 2 10 inch drivers when cab horizontal)?

I don't hear a huge difference standing next to it. 

[warwickhunt]

1 hour ago, alexa3020 said:

Is there much difference in dispersion etc, if I stack a tweetered 210 vertically (tweeter top center between the 2 10 inch drivers when cab horizontal)?

I don't hear a huge difference standing next to it. 

 

There will be a little bit of difference if you move away from the cab but the greater difference would be if you stacked 2 2x10 cabs on top of each other vertically!  The higher any cab is, the closer to your ears so you should benefit from any vertical alignment.    

[Beer of the Bass]

I've been surprised how much a second identical cab adds to perceived volume and audibility - reading about it the dB change is one thing, but there's no substitute for hearing it. Even with valve amps where the power from the amp should be the same into a correctly matched load, it's still generally bigger sounding.

[alexa3020]

2 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

 

There will be a little bit of difference if you move away from the cab but the greater difference would be if you stacked 2 2x10 cabs on top of each other vertically!  The higher any cab is, the closer to your ears so you should benefit from any vertical alignment.    

Yes, it is one of 2 cabs I'll use. I can go 2 x 115 or 1 X 210 & 1 X 115.

Ideally I'd like the 210 on top to bring the tweeter closer to my ears, but the base of the 210 is deeper than the 115 (no tweeter)

[warwickhunt]

10 minutes ago, alexa3020 said:

Yes, it is one of 2 cabs I'll use. I can go 2 x 115 or 1 X 210 & 1 X 115.

Ideally I'd like the 210 on top to bring the tweeter closer to my ears, but the base of the 210 is deeper than the 115 (no tweeter)

 

The 'science' says that you will get a more predictable outcome if both cabs are exactly matching but sometimes mixed drivers can work; tbh stacking any pair of cabs means that you will get more output, dispersion and a driver will be closer to head height.  I have to confess that I stack a pair of 2x10 cabs vertically (vertical 4x10) and the tweeter being closer to head height is achieved but wasted on me as I am wearing attenuated ear protection. 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

6 hours ago, alexa3020 said:

Is there much difference in dispersion etc, if I stack a tweetered 210 vertically (tweeter top center between the 2 10 inch drivers when cab horizontal)?

I don't hear a huge difference standing next to it. 

There are two factors in play. In the lower frequencies where the two woofers are spaced close enough to mutually couple, which means they act as one, the dispersion angle across the sound field with vertical alignment is twice that of horizontal alignment. In the higher frequencies where they're too far apart to mutually couple their outputs alternately reinforce and cancel each other as you go across the sound field when placed horizontal, what's referred to as comb filtering. When placed vertical the response is constant across the sound field. Standing next to the cab you wouldn't notice it. Further away standing in one spot you wouldn't either. But when you're even a few meters out they will sound different as you walk across the sound field. Where comb filtering occurs they'll sound different in the highs with as little as a few inches of listening position shift.   

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I've been surprised how much a second identical cab adds to perceived volume and audibility - reading about it the dB change is one thing, but there's no substitute for hearing it. Even with valve amps where the power from the amp should be the same into a correctly matched load, it's still generally bigger sounding.

Long before I knew a Hz from a dB I knew that two cabs made a world of difference. This was in 1967, when I got a second cab for my '65 Bassman. With one cab the Bassman was barely usable. With two it was tolerable. Wanting to know why was the impetus for my heading to the engineering section in my college library the following year. There I found 'Acoustical Engineering' by Harry Olson. Even though it was written in 1957 it remains to this day the Bible of loudspeaker designers. A year later I began designing and building my own.

Edited February 25, 2023 by Bill Fitzmaurice

[alexa3020]

To achieve mutual coupling, woofer center to center needs to be less than 1/2 wavelength - is that right?

So what distance do woofers on bass need to be apart ideally?

Also, does that mean that a traditional 410 (2 stacks of 2) is better than 4 speakers in a vertical array, because of the greater distance between the bottom speaker and top speaker in a vertical array?

[BassmanPaul]

A vertical array of 10" drivers is typically better than the standard 4x10 enclosure. I use a pair of 2x10s stacked for a vertical array of the drivers.

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by BassmanPaul

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

47 minutes ago, alexa3020 said:

To achieve mutual coupling, woofer center to center needs to be less than 1/2 wavelength - is that right?

So what distance do woofers on bass need to be apart ideally?

Correct. At 3kHz, for instance, 1/2 wavelength is 2.25 inches. That means it's impossible for electric bass woofers to fully couple to 3kHz. The highest tens will go is roughly 675Hz, so 'ideal' spacing is impossible. That's why vertical placement is key, so that the effects of spacing beyond 1/2 wavelength won't be heard on the horizontal plane. 

Quote

Also, does that mean that a traditional 410 (2 stacks of 2) is better than 4 speakers in a vertical array, because of the greater distance between the bottom speaker and top speaker in a vertical array?

The opposite. The CTC from the top woofer to the bottom woofer doesn't matter, it's the spacing between adjacent woofers that counts. 

[alexa3020]

Cheers Bill. Great info