eminence kappa pro 15 vs Eminence Kappalite 3015LF

[bremen]

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1347968436' post='1807252']
so... the kappalite 3015 Is Actually A Better Speaker than the kappa pro 15, irrespective of the fact that its also lighter?

[/quote]

Correct.

The number in the spec sheet is 'Xmax' which is the amount of distance the cone can move before it farts out.

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1347968436' post='1807252']
so... the kappalite 3015 Is Actually A Better Speaker than the kappa pro 15, irrespective of the fact that its also lighter?
Im sorry but i thought they were essentially the same but the neo thingy bit just made it lighter not actually er.."better" if you get my drift... (sorry i just fly the bloody thing...)
[/quote]

The neo thing allowed a bunch of other technical advances in addition to lightness.

[skidder652003]

Im beginning to get the feeling blue aran think im a bit of a tw*t!
Cancelled and reordered 3 times now, this has got to be the last time! At least you guys saved me a major FU, so again thanks!

[bremen]

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1347969887' post='1807300']
Im beginning to get the feeling blue aran think im a bit of a tw*t!
Cancelled and reordered 3 times now, this has got to be the last time! At least you guys saved me a major FU, so again thanks!
[/quote]

It'll be the best £ you spent since you bought the Precision :-)

[Phil Starr]

Good call Steve.

Balcro or i will calculate the ports for you, or someone else might. It would be helpful to know the size and shape of the ports in the Ashdown cab

Using the smaller cab will give you a little less deep bass but a smoother response, to get an idea have a look at the responses that Eminence give here [url="http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Kappalite_3015_cab.pdf"]http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Kappalite_3015_cab.pdf[/url] the Warwick is nearer Emineces biggest box and the Ashdown is halfway between the large and medium box.

Personally I'd adapt the Ashdown rather than the Warwick simply because it is the cheaper cab

[skidder652003]

Hey thanks Phil
As you can (obviously) tell, Im completely new to this. Ive changed speakers before when they've blown years ago and simply just replaced one speaker for another (same ohms). So whats all this about porting? Am I going to have to cut bigger holes in the cab? Use bits of rolled up cardboard for the funnels? Im getting nervous here!

[Mr. Foxen]

Extending the ports lowers the tuning, with the MAG 1x15 that might help a bit, but the main limiting factor on those is they are small, so two more the same, and extending them all is the ideal.

[skidder652003]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1348067596' post='1808816']
Extending the ports lowers the tuning, with the MAG 1x15 that might help a bit, but the main limiting factor on those is they are small, so two more the same, and extending them all is the ideal.
[/quote]
ah ok, would it maybe be better to put the speaker in the warwick WCA pro 115 cab then? (it has 4 ports at the front)

[Mr. Foxen]

Kind of a taste call. If you can be bothered, try both and make the ports telescopic. Doing stuff like that is how I figured matching the graphs to sound.

[stevie]

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1348071875' post='1808899']
ah ok, would it maybe be better to put the speaker in the warwick WCA pro 115 cab then? (it has 4 ports at the front)
[/quote]
Don't use the bigger cab - it will not sound very good, will handle less power and will lack punch - and you will be carrying around an extra 50 litres for no good purpose. Don't worry about the porting too much either although, as Mr Foxen says, if the ports are too small the cab won't sound good at high volumes. You really need two 4" ports in your box because you now have a driver that will handle more power than the original one - but try it and see. You don't need to retune the cab either. We can assume that Ashdown knows how to tune a bass cab. If the driver is suitable for the cab (which it is) the tuning will be fine.

[Mr. Foxen]

I've put a Kappalite 3015 into a MAG 1x15 box, the tuning was a little on the high you give a midbass bump for the crappy driver, which doesn't benefit the Kappalie, so extending the ports did help a bit.

[stevie]

The crappy drivers that Ashdown fit have a midbass bump no matter what you tune the port to. What was the tuning frequency?

[Mr. Foxen]

Totally don't remember, it was higher than the 45hz that tends to be about right for the Kappalite, based on calculation, didn't do a frequency sweep and such.

[stevie]

So what measurements did you do?

[Mr. Foxen]

Measured up the box internal volume, the speaker, and the ports, stuck it into winISD. Tuned it by ear to sound better for the purpose it was being used for, which involved lengthening the ports.

[stevie]

There would only be a point in retuning the cab if Ashdown got it wrong, i.e. if it's tuned higher than 60Hz. Nothing's impossible, of course, and if the OP posts the cab and port measurements, we can get a rough idea of what's what. I'd be more concerned myself about whether the new driver will fit in the existing hole.

[skidder652003]

ok cab measurements!
Ashdown mag - 61 cm wide
42 cm deep
47cm high

Ports x 2 6cm diameter
9cm deep

Warwick WCA 115 cab - 60cm wide
48cm deep
66cm high

Ports x 4 10cm diameter
14.5 cm deep

So can anybody enlighten me as to the difference and which might be better for the kappalite 3015?
Thanks for this guys...

[Mr. Foxen]

If definitely fits in the same hole, and same screw holes.

[stevie]

That's good news.

[stevie]

Skidder, those look like external measurements to me. We need (accurate) internal measurements for the cab and the ports. Based on an internal volume of 100 litres for the Ashdown, the cab seems to be tuned to around 35Hz, which is much too low. What also concerns me is that the port diameter is too small. You're going to get compression and lack of bass when you turn up loud. You need to open up the port holes to fit two 100mm diameter ports. Otherwise you won't get all the benefits of your superior quality driver. It's not that difficult to do with a jigsaw, by the way, as you can buy ports with lips on them to hide your poor carpentry:-).

[bremen]

http://www.screwfix.com/p/holesaw-102mm/16798;jsessionid=mP8SQbMYsjtHCNT45n5xKkTMKvP3JC7cHL6BmCvdV8hTRnDCtCmy!-383925154#

[stevie]

That's perfect, Bremen, if you're drilling into a blank piece of wood, but if you're enlarging a hole there's nothing for your bit to drill into.

[Roland Rock]

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1348156011' post='1810154']
That's perfect, Bremen, if you're drilling into a blank piece of wood, but if you're enlarging a hole there's nothing for your bit to drill into.
[/quote]

Get a spare piece of MDF and make a 100mm hole in it as normal. Then clamp this onto the baffle so the hole in the MDF is where you want the final hole to be. Recess the bit the bit so it's inside the holesaw, then drill, using the MDF to keep the holesaw in place.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Roland Rock

[stevie]

On the basis of Phil's estimate of 150 litres, the Warwick cab looks like it's tuned to just under 50Hz, which is OK. It will work, but the cabinet really is on the big side.

[skidder652003]

something like this?
[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPEAKER-CABINET-BASS-REFLEX-TUBE-VENT-SILVER-100X200MM-/190647296824?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BUA%252BFICS%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D180963208964%26ps%3D54"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPEAKER-CABINET-BASS-REFLEX-TUBE-VENT-SILVER-100X200MM-/190647296824?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BUA%252BFICS%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D180963208964%26ps%3D54[/url]