Bass guitar driver choice

[bremen nacht]

Hi,

I'd like to build a 200 litre box with a pair of 15" drivers in it. I've narrowed the choice down to two drivers: Precision Devices PD158 and Eminence Kappa Pro 15LF-2.

Plugging these into Winisd, the Eminence has the better LF response, but suffers a big dip in maximum power at 60Hz. The PD doesn't suffer this.

Which would sound better (for bass guitar between 40 and 300Hz - I'll be using a pair of 10s for mid/hf) ? Would the improved response of the Eminence compensate for its lack of power handling?

Thanks!

attached: 2 winisd files

[bremen nacht]

um, the attachments didn't attach...hang on, I'll try and fix them more securely...

[youyoung21147]

Is it a speaker that needs to add a "signature" to the sound, or just a speaker that has to be neutral ?

Because what matters most in your case could be the distorsion profile of the drivers.

[bremen nacht]

Originally posted by youyoung21147
Is it a speaker that needs to add a "signature" to the sound, or just a speaker that has to be neutral ?

Because what matters most in your case could be the distorsion profile of the drivers.

Purely the amount/depth of bass.

[youyoung21147]

So maybe you should pick up the PD and add a circuit to compensate for the higher rolloff point. This can be achieved by using a high Q highpass filter.

I have some Eminence Delta 12LFA, and I must say these are not good drivers. Pretty high distorsion (1.5 to 5%)

[Fenris]

I've heard only good things about the Emminence 15 LF, especially its lack of distortion. I have a friend who is building his bass amp using this driver and an Emminence 6" for highs.

[youyoung21147]

OK, hope the 15LF is better than the 12 !

Otherwise, I found a very interesting driver from PD when I was looking for a big woofer : the PD1550.

It has guaranteed distorsion specs (<1%, which is very good for a woofer) and a large Xmax.

However I don't know how it models in vented boxes.

[bremen nacht]

Originally posted by youyoung21147
OK, hope the 15LF is better than the 12 !

I'm using Kappa Pro LF-2 at the moment and it has great response, but does suffer a dip in max power (from 600 to 225W) at 60Hz. This was the point of my original question really; the PD doesn't suffer this so you can give it at least 3dB more amp power...however, its response is about 4dB down on the Eminence.

Then again, the max SPL plot shows the PD to be 3dB louder around 60Hz. I think I'm up against the old loud/deep dilemna really.

Otherwise, I found a very interesting driver from PD when I was looking for a big woofer : the PD1550.

It has guaranteed distorsion specs (<1%, which is very good for a woofer) and a large Xmax.

However I don't know how it models in vented boxes.

It's in the Winisd driver database, and looks similar to the PD158. Another possibility for my design!

I think for bass guitar applications the distortion spec is going to be irrelevant. Very important for music though, and 1% is excellent.

[youyoung21147]

If you already have the Kappa pro 15 LF2, I wouldn't update it to another 15" woofer. 3dB is not a huge improvement, especially if you want something really louder.

Maybe you could use a dual Kappa pro 15LF2, or build new boxes for 18 or 21" drivers.

[bremen nacht]

Originally posted by youyoung21147
If you already have the Kappa pro 15 LF2, I wouldn't update it to another 15" woofer. 3dB is not a huge improvement, especially if you want something really louder.

Maybe you could use a dual Kappa pro 15LF2

I'm rapidly coming to the same conclusion.

or build new boxes for 18 or 21" drivers.

I haven't found any that model well in small ported boxes. Any top tips?