New RCF Art-9 Speakers

[acidbass]

2 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

That's why the middle number of the most interest as that indicates what horn is in the unit. The more you can crossover and send to the horn, the more you free up the woofer... and vocals through a decent horn will tend to outperform vocals through a woofer.

Agreed.  There's a difference in x-over frequency too between the *35 and *45 speakers.  The latter sends a lot more to the horn which makes the woofer more efficient for bass and kick drum (although I would still always hi-pass both)

[Owen]

So, is the 945 a step up from the 745? I have a secret hankering for a 745 but maybe I should change allegiances. 

[bassmansam]

On 19/10/2022 at 18:44, Owen said:

So, is the 945 a step up from the 745? I have a secret hankering for a 745 but maybe I should change allegiances. 

Wondering the same

[SumOne]

 

The 9 series 15" woofer range has big price difference:  

 

• 945 (650Hz crossover) 135dB  £1,229
• 935 (800Hz crossover) 133dB  £930
• 915 (1800Hz crossover) 131dB  £655

 

As far as I understand, they basically have the same housing, same amp, same 15" woofers, the same frequency response.  So the almost £600 extra between the 915 and the 945 is down to the 1.75" horn vs the 4" horn, and that is important for higher range stuff like vocals and as it also affects the bass output because it means the crossover is a higher frequency so the woofer can concentrate more on the bass. So I'll rule out the 915 with that quite high crossover point, and I'll need to rule out the 945 on cost, which leaves the 935.

 

......But considering that the 932 with 12" Woofer & 3" horn is cheaper, has a lower crossover frequency, is smaller, 5.4kg lighter (18.8kg vs 24.2kg for the 935), the same 133dB, I'm thinking that's probably the one for me*.  

 

• 932 (700Hz crossover) 133dB, £825

 

 My question is: Is the 15" woofer significantly better for use as a bass cab than the 12"? It goes down to 45Hz vs 50Hz, that is the only advantage I can see on paper (and  I do play dub/reggae on a 5 string so perhaps those low Hz are important), other than that is it going to be worth the extra size, weight, and cost? 

 

 

*(not that I'm in the market to buy right now, I'm actually trying to sell bulky bass gear ahead of a house move...doesn't stop me internet window shopping to plan for the day I can buy stuff back again though!) 

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by SumOne

[warwickhunt]

5 minutes ago, SumOne said:

 

My question is: Is the 15" woofer is significantly better for use as a bass cab than the 12"? It goes down to 45Hz vs 50Hz, but other than that is it going to be worth the extra size/weight and cost? 

 

 

I doubt that the 5hz difference will be solely down to the driver size and I'd have to ask myself whether you could hear it (added to which I'd generally have a filter taking out everything at that sort of point and below anyway).

[SumOne]

2 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

 

I doubt that the 5hz difference will be solely down to the driver size and I'd have to ask myself whether you could hear it (added to which I'd generally have a filter taking out everything at that sort of point and below anyway).

 

Yes, hopefully it wouldn't matter. I had the Q-strip pedal which had a 45Hz HPF and it was usually difficult to hear if it was on or not unless doing very low sub/synth type stuff and listening on headphones or studio monitors.

[jimmyb625]

5 hours ago, SumOne said:

 

The 9 series 15" woofer range has big price difference:  

 

• 945 (650Hz crossover) 135dB  £1,229
• 935 (800Hz crossover) 133dB  £930
• 915 (1800Hz crossover) 131dB  £655

 

As far as I understand, they basically have the same housing, same amp, same 15" woofers, the same frequency response.  So the almost £600 extra between the 915 and the 945 is down to the 1.75" horn vs the 4" horn, and that is important for higher range stuff like vocals and as it also affects the bass output because it means the crossover is a higher frequency so the woofer can concentrate more on the bass. So I'll rule out the 915 with that quite high crossover point, and I'll need to rule out the 945 on cost, which leaves the 935.

 

......But considering that the 932 with 12" Woofer & 3" horn is cheaper, has a lower crossover frequency, is smaller, 5.4kg lighter (18.8kg vs 24.2kg for the 935), the same 133dB, I'm thinking that's probably the one for me*.  

 

• 932 (700Hz crossover) 133dB, £825

 

 My question is: Is the 15" woofer significantly better for use as a bass cab than the 12"? It goes down to 45Hz vs 50Hz, that is the only advantage I can see on paper (and  I do play dub/reggae on a 5 string so perhaps those low Hz are important), other than that is it going to be worth the extra size, weight, and cost? 

 

 

*(not that I'm in the market to buy right now, I'm actually trying to sell bulky bass gear ahead of a house move...doesn't stop me internet window shopping to plan for the day I can buy stuff back again though!) 

 

From what I've seen, there's been a change in the cabinet design internally, which includes a different (wooden) bracing arrangement. 

They still seem to relatively rare beasts out in the wild, so there's not a huge amount of user reviews available.