Speaker replacement options and dealers. 15" driver

[cameltoe]

I have a 200w combo made by a company called AC EURO..... yeah me neither!

It kicks out a fairly decent sound, and is fairly punchy. I tend to use this over my Hartke vx3500 combo as most of the gigs we play are small-ish pubs, and unless I can get the Hartke up to a respectable volume, it doesn't seem to drive the speakers hard enough so it can end up a bit muddy.

The AC Euro has a 1x15" speaker, that looks pretty 'aged' and possibly past retirement. The amp works fine and actually kicks out a nice tone, I would guess it's early 90's? And the only thing I can find out about AC Euro is that they may now be called Audio Concepts.

I've been toying with having a gear-overhaul but since I'm due to be buying a house in a couple months I thought maybe a new speaker could freshen things up? I'd like the lows to be punchy and tight with good note definition, and nothing overly bright sounding.

Can anyone recommend brands and where to buy?

Cheers!

p.s see below for measurements

Edited May 25, 2010 by cameltoe

[Mr. Foxen]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=79008"]Check this thread[/url]. It covers all the stuff about why there is a bit more to it than picking a 'good' speaker.

You need to tell us more about the box.

[cameltoe]

OK good man.



So if I measure the beast up, can you recommend a couple options to me? Like I said before, I'm after strong but tight lows, good low mids for a bit of tone definition and to cut through a bit, keeping the high mids down and the treble fairly even. Kinda how I set up my EQ really! So armed with that info, and my combo measurements will you be able to recommend something or do you need more info?

[Mr. Foxen]

Inside measurements and port info is the main things. Like length and area of the port.

[cameltoe]

Been hoping to sort a decent driver for this soon!



So here are the dimensions:

Inside cab- 17" tall
17" wide
11.5" deep

Port measurements- internal diameter 3"
4.5" deep

Hopefully someone can recommend something armed with this info.

[Phil Starr]

Just to save anyone else needing to do the calculation the cab is 52litres. this is fairly modest for a 15" speaker so you are probably looking for something with a fairly decent magnet if you want a tight non boomy bass. Try reading this as a start [url="http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/gear_maintenance/choosing_speakers_to_drive_your_cabs.html"]http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/gea..._your_cabs.html[/url]

You sound as if you quite like the tone of the speaker you have so why don't you stick with it whilst it is reliable

the only speakers I can find quickly that would be happy in a cab this size would be the Celestion BN15-400S or one of the Peavey Black Widows though I am sure that there are others. Of course it is not unusual for manufacturers to compromise the cabinet volume for convenience and for people to be happy with the sound. It would be interesting to see a pic of the current speaker to see if the magnet looks adequate for the cab it is operating in.

[Mr. Foxen]

The by all accounts very good Eminence Kappalite 3015 looks to be ok in this box, not gonna go really low, but it is the first thing I modeled, and it looks happy, I am supposing the port is a round one?

If you can get another driver much cheaper, might be better with one of those, you'd be wasting a bunch of the potential of the kappalite.

[cameltoe]

[quote name='Phil Starr' post='847454' date='May 25 2010, 01:17 PM']Just to save anyone else needing to do the calculation the cab is 52litres. this is fairly modest for a 15" speaker so you are probably looking for something with a fairly decent magnet if you want a tight non boomy bass. Try reading this as a start [url="http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/gear_maintenance/choosing_speakers_to_drive_your_cabs.html"]http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/gea..._your_cabs.html[/url]

You sound as if you quite like the tone of the speaker you have so why don't you stick with it whilst it is reliable

the only speakers I can find quickly that would be happy in a cab this size would be the Celestion BN15-400S or one of the Peavey Black Widows though I am sure that there are others. Of course it is not unusual for manufacturers to compromise the cabinet volume for convenience and for people to be happy with the sound. It would be interesting to see a pic of the current speaker to see if the magnet looks adequate for the cab it is operating in.[/quote]

Mines OK but it is a touch boomy for me, I have to EQ very carefully. Plus I think there may now be an actual problem with the driver, as it's been sounding farty at recent gigs. Nothing has changed in my set up, but it does sound like maybe the cone has torn. It's a paper cone, and it does look a bit knackered.

Cheers for the recommendations.

[cameltoe]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='847483' date='May 25 2010, 01:38 PM']The by all accounts very good Eminence Kappalite 3015 looks to be ok in this box, not gonna go really low, but it is the first thing I modeled, and it looks happy, I am supposing the port is a round one?

If you can get another driver much cheaper, might be better with one of those, you'd be wasting a bunch of the potential of the kappalite.[/quote]

Cheers,

Yes the port is round and front mounted.

Price is a bit of an issue, so sure, if I can find a driver that can do 90% of the function for 50% of the price I'd edge towards that.

[rmshaw37]

last 15" driver i swapped was an eminence kappa 15a - gorgeous peak about 2k which is ace for finger style!!

[cameltoe]

That's probably something I should have mentioned

I play almost entirely with fingers.

Ideally the note clarity has to be good

[redstriper]

I have an eminence Delta 15" driver in excellent condition you can have for £40.00 delivered.
PM me if you're interested.

[Phil Starr]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='847483' date='May 25 2010, 01:38 PM']The by all accounts very good Eminence Kappalite 3015 looks to be ok in this box, not gonna go really low, but it is the first thing I modeled, and it looks happy, I am supposing the port is a round one?

If you can get another driver much cheaper, might be better with one of those, you'd be wasting a bunch of the potential of the kappalite.[/quote]
Yep the kappalite looks good for this cab and it does have a nice little peak.

If you can put up with a bit less presence and a bit of boom at the bottom end then the Fane Soveriegn 500 would just about do the job.

Blue Aran are good suppliers.

[cameltoe]

Cheers guys for all the recommendations, great stuff!

[stevie]

[quote name='cameltoe' post='847946' date='May 25 2010, 09:25 PM']Cheers guys for all the recommendations, great stuff![/quote]
You might like to consider using a 12" driver for your cab. 52 litres is too small for a 15" unless you want it to sound like a floor monitor, but it's an ideal size for many 12s. Apart from giving you a much wider choice of potential drivers, a 12" chassis will:

a) be cheaper
provide a better balanced sound
c) have superior midrange (all things being equal)
d) have better dispersion.

You'd need to cut a spacer ring from 1/2 inch MDF or ply to fit the 12. Quite easy with a jigsaw.

AC Euro was a Yorkshire-based company from Doncaster.

[cameltoe]

[quote name='stevie' post='848880' date='May 26 2010, 08:31 PM']You might like to consider using a 12" driver for your cab. 52 litres is too small for a 15" unless you want it to sound like a floor monitor, but it's an ideal size for many 12s. Apart from giving you a much wider choice of potential drivers, a 12" chassis will:

a) be cheaper
provide a better balanced sound
c) have superior midrange (all things being equal)
d) have better dispersion.

You'd need to cut a spacer ring from 1/2 inch MDF or ply to fit the 12. Quite easy with a jigsaw.

AC Euro was a Yorkshire-based company from Doncaster.[/quote]

Hmm that's good info, cheers!

Do you know anything about the amps? I really can't tell how good an amp this thing is. Some gigs it sounds OK, some gigs it sounds horrendous. It has a few funny turns now and again, but it's fairly loud.

Was it a budget type brand or more mid-range? Reason I ask is I don't want to spend a ton of money on something to find it still doesn't do what I want it to do, then have to sell it for next to nothing because AC Euro were the Yorkshire equivelent of Behringer.

I'm fairly handy with a jigsaw, so the challenge appeals to me, although I have started looking about for a replacement combo.

Any ideas on the perfect (cheapish) 12" if I was to take this direction?

[stevie]

It was a budget brand. I knew their PA speakers but I didn't even know they made a bass amp. They were well built though, with decent parts, but they were aimed at the lower end of the market.

Your best bet might be to keep your eyes peeled for a secondhand unit. The current budget speaker best buys in the UK come from Fane and Celestion, both designed in the UK and built in China. I believe Phil has some recent experience of these.

[cameltoe]

[quote name='stevie' post='848913' date='May 26 2010, 08:58 PM']It was a budget brand. I knew their PA speakers but I didn't even know they made a bass amp. They were well built though, with decent parts, but they were aimed at the lower end of the market.

Your best bet might be to keep your eyes peeled for a secondhand unit. The current budget speaker best buys in the UK come from Fane and Celestion, both designed in the UK and built in China. I believe Phil has some recent experience of these.[/quote]


Cool man thanks a lot. I'll weigh my options up. I've seen a Trace Elliott GP7 SM 150w combo for sale locally for £180 that I might go take a look at. I posted another thread to find a bit more about them, hopefully it'll be up to the job, but who knows? £100 for a decent driver in a budget amp doesn't sound as appealing as a trace combo!

I'm hoping a Trace 150w will keep up with an AC Euro 200w. I had plenty of headroom left on the AC though.

I'm gassing a bit for Trace at the moment I think.

[stevie]

No need to spend £100. You should be able to pick up a driver from eBay for under £30 if you're not in a rush. Otherwise, you can get a decent 12" chassis like a Fane Sovereign 12-300 for under £50. I can see that the Trace would be tempting though.

[Phil Starr]

[quote name='stevie' post='848913' date='May 26 2010, 08:58 PM']It was a budget brand. I knew their PA speakers but I didn't even know they made a bass amp. They were well built though, with decent parts, but they were aimed at the lower end of the market.

Your best bet might be to keep your eyes peeled for a secondhand unit. The current budget speaker best buys in the UK come from Fane and Celestion, both designed in the UK and built in China. I believe Phil has some recent experience of these.[/quote]
It is the 10" Fanes that I have been using recently so no direct experience of the 15's. Very happy with the 10's so far and they are well made and meet their specs pretty well. If you go for Fane use the sovereign 15-500, the 15-300 is discontinued, the 15-400 would work in your cab and is cheaper but would compress the bass slightly more than the 500 at high volumes.

Blue Aran have a single Eminence Kappa on offer at the moment which would just work for you.