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Bass Cab Power to Weight Ratio ???


Nostromo

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My Barefaced Compact is the loudest cab, with the lightest weight (27lbs), I've ever owned. I can drown out a loud drummer, pairing it with my GK MB500 amp (I never do, of course, but I could if I wanted to).

I also own a Barefaced Super Compact, which is light(23.5 lbs), and sounds excellent, but can't compete, as far as loudness is concerned, with the Compact.

 

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TBH once you get into the realms of declared ratings they are written on snakeoil paper by Mickey Mouse.  Added to which you could have a 1000w 20lb cab but it might sound cack!  OK if you just want to compare numbers but in the real world of limited use... oh I'm an old cynic!  :)  

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I think there are loads of choice these days. I was firmly in the big Ampeg stack camp but after 30yrs of playing my Osteopath didn't share my optimism in having another 10yrs of heavy lifting. Everyone on these pages raves about Barefaced & I really like my Aguilar cab. I don't know who is best but certainly the choice is must wider now than it ever used to be.  

Edited by Cat Burrito
woeful grammer
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Loudest and best sounding cabs IME are Mesa Boogie Powerhouse but they weigh a ton.  Markbass come a close second for power and tone in my arsenal. The TRV 121H wieghs next to nothing but is loud enough to keep up with a double kick drummer.    

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20 minutes ago, leftybassman392 said:

I have a Vanderkley 1x12 (EXT I think) rated at 300w and which goes VERY LOUD with my Streamliner 600. Weighs around 15 Kg.

Aguilar do something similar (SL 112). Barefaced a good shout too.

Sorry, I missed that.

Just how loud does the Vanderkey go again? ;)

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On ‎10‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 11:03, jacko said:

Loudest and best sounding cabs IME are Mesa Boogie Powerhouse but they weigh a ton.  Markbass come a close second for power and tone in my arsenal. The TRV 121H wieghs next to nothing but is loud enough to keep up with a double kick drummer.    

The weight was the big factor in my offloading my PH cabs. I still have the 1x15 but that was because it was the hardest one to sell and incidentally the one I used the least.

I used the 4x10 the most but I found that with the low end I needed for reggae it couldn't stay clean and loud and i'm not into the edgy sound. For everything else I never found any problem with the sound extremely thick, clean crisp and punchy. Kind of miss them sometimes just for their sound but loving my BF cabs.

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On ‎10‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 12:11, chris_b said:

For an impressive power to weight ratio the Barefaced Big Twin 2 would be hard to beat. 42lbs/21kg and 1600 watts.

Agreed though I do wonder if anyone has gigged with one and hit it with that wattage and the cab and their hearing survived!

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On 10/01/2019 at 11:03, jacko said:

Loudest and best sounding cabs IME are Mesa Boogie Powerhouse but they weigh a ton.  Markbass come a close second for power and tone in my arsenal. The TRV 121H wieghs next to nothing but is loud enough to keep up with a double kick drummer.    

Absolutely, I love a Mesa cab (or ideally two). I not only love the tone, but also fact that on the rare occasion that they offer to carry one, it takes both the guitarists to lift one cab. Being a bassist, I carry them comfortably on my own.  

And yes, power to weight is meaningless with cabs, especially as in many cases it's not the weight but the dimensions of the cab that make it problematic to move. I almost broke an Audi with my Mesa 1516, not the world's heaviest cab - although perhaps not far off - but the hardest cab to get into a car or van I've ever come across. Testimony to Mesa quality though, there's still a small but noticeable dent in the street outside my old house where I dropped it on the bottom corner. Hardly a mark on the cab

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33 minutes ago, fleabag said:

PJB C4  400 watt / 24 Lbs  ...how does that calculate ?

Same result as the 1x10 above: 

Watts : lbs

250 : 15 = 16.7 : 1

S'easy, really. Watts divided by Weight, in lbs, so 250 divided by 15, in this case.
Completely different result in metric kilos, however. :swoon:

Edited by Dad3353
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Weight against wattage is actually a bit random as it ignores a number of other factors that can significantly affect how loud a cab will go, but if you must do it that way choose either lb or Kg and stick to it for all your calculations. Don't try to mix the results.

Edited by leftybassman392
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Follow up to my previous post:

When studying speaker specs, a key thing to check is sensitivity.

Small differences in measured sensitivity can have a dramatic effect on how much acoustic energy is produced for any given input level. For example, a speaker with a sensitivity of 95dB requires twice the amplifier power than one with 98dB to produce the same volume level for any given input.

Old lags will know that loudness is some way from being the only criterion for choosing speakers, but this thread is to do with watts per kilo (which as I've already said in my previous post is not a reliable measure of anything much, but which seems to be asking a question about loudness). If you're measuring loudness you can't really do so without taking sensitivity into account.

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18 hours ago, leftybassman392 said:

Weight against wattage is actually a bit random as it ignores a number of other factors that can significantly affect how loud a cab will go, but if you must do it that way choose either lb or Kg and stick to it for all your calculations. Don't try to mix the results.

What are these lb things that people speak of?

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