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Topic: Evans Amp & Jbl Speaker Questions |
Ed McCollum
From:
Fort Madison, Iowa
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Posted 27 Nov 2001 7:57 pm |
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Here's a little background information before I pose my questions:
I am using an Evans FET 500 Custom IV (small cabinet). The original speaker went bad so I replaced it with a JBL E130-4. I thought that it sounded pretty good, but I still wasn't getting the tone that I wanted. Recently, I purchased 2 used JBL E130-8 speakers. Today I tested them to make sure they were working ok. I just leaned them against the wall and used the additional speaker outlet on the back of my amp to power them. They both sounded better than the 4 ohm JBL in my amp cabinet (the tone was much more lively & bright). I wanted a fair comparison so I took that speaker out of the cabinet & lined them all side by side against the wall and ran my amp though a speaker selector. Out of the cabinet, the 4 ohm sound lively and bright also & I couldn't detect any difference in the 3 speakers.
Here are my questions:
1. Why would my speakers sound better when they are not in a cabinet?
2. What benefit is there to having a 4 ohm speaker compared to having an 8 ohm speaker? I ask this because I couldn't detect any difference in their sound at a reasonably high level. However, my test was done in a small room. Maybe in an auditorium, the difference would be more obvious.
3. The Evans FET 500 is built to drive a 4 ohm speaker. Is that 4 ohms for the main speaker output and 4 ohms for the additional speaker outlet or is it just a total of 4 ohms for the 2 outlets, meaning that if I want to run 2 speakers, should they both be rated at 8 ohms?
Thanks in advance,
Ed |
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Ricky Davis
From:
Bertram, Texas USA
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Posted 28 Nov 2001 1:13 am
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I can give you one of the answers. The speakers are only as good as what they are mounted and resonating in. That Evans box you have is made out of Birch....and the older Evans were made in Pine......Pine is the king of wood to mount a speaker in and have that speaker resonate the purest sound of "that" speaker.
Birch is Crap.
Ricky |
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Chris DeBarge
From:
Boston, Mass
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Posted 28 Nov 2001 6:52 am
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C'mon Ricky, don't hold back, tell us how you really feel!  |
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johnnyb
From:
Wendell, NC, USA
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Posted 28 Nov 2001 10:06 am
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| . [This message was edited by johnnyb on 04 June 2005 at 07:41 AM.] |
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Ed McCollum
From:
Fort Madison, Iowa
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Posted 28 Nov 2001 1:45 pm
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Ricky & Johnnyb,
Thanks for the help. With your input & with what I've read in other posts, I think that I will mount one of the 8 ohm speakers in my Evans amp & build another cabinet for the other 8 ohm speaker. I'll clone the Evans cabinet, but with improved genetics by making it out of PINE of course!!
Thanks again,
Ed |
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Ricky Davis
From:
Bertram, Texas USA
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Posted 28 Nov 2001 6:43 pm
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There ya go Ed...that sounds good man.
I do the same thing; but with my Fender amp.
I have a 8-ohm K-130 in the Twin; and a 8-ohm D-130 in the cabinet built just for it and looks like a fender cabinet..."Out of Pine Of course".....
Extention speaker out into the separate cabinet and with two 8-ohm speakers equals a 4 ohm load.......and I'm in heaven.
Ricky |
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Jerry Roller
From:
Van Buren, Arkansas USA
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Posted 9 Dec 2001 12:01 am
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Ricky, I am building an amp cabinet and due to your suggestions it is going to be made of white pine. Should the mounting board for the speaker also be white pine or something more dense?
Thanks,
Jerry |
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Ricky Davis
From:
Bertram, Texas USA
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Posted 9 Dec 2001 2:21 am
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Hey Jerry; great selection on the White Pine pal.
The baffle board I used is a 3/4" ply board with solid birch top and bottom facing.
Yeah I know "birch is crap" but it is crap for sound; but not for durability. The speaker doesn't resognate in the baffle board. it resognates in the box.....ha. That's why builders today.(whether building a box or guitar or what ever)..build out of very durable strong longlasting materials with great designs; but they forget they're building something for sound and/or makes a sound.....ah...ha.
Home depot has great plywood boards that thick for the baffle; with different kinds of woods for the top and bottom of that board....I got the birch cause it was the cheapest and the baffle board doesn't make a bit of difference in sound; just strength.
Good luck and I suggest a duck tale or a good dowel job for the sides and corners in joining those White Pine pieces. If you need more suggestions or help on construction, you can yell at me anytime; or you should talk to the other inventor/owner of the SS HAWAIIAN....Archie Cox.... mighty2fine@yahoo.com ......cause he is a Architect and one of the finest builders of anything made out of wood; I have seen. He built him some speaker boxes that are better than "Anything" I mean "Anything" on the planet....
------------------
Ricky Davis
My Homepage
Rebel™ and Ricky's Audio Clips
www.mightyfinemusic.com
Email Ricky: sshawaiian@aol.com
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Jerry Roller
From:
Van Buren, Arkansas USA
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Posted 9 Dec 2001 8:20 am
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Ricky, if the baffle does not resonate, do you think it matters whether the speaker is front loaded so the speaker frame is solid against the baffle or rear loaded with the gasket isolating frame vibration from the baffle?
Thanks,
Jerry[This message was edited by Jerry Roller on 09 December 2001 at 08:22 AM.] |
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Ricky Davis
From:
Bertram, Texas USA
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Posted 9 Dec 2001 12:46 pm
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Either way Jerry; it don't matter.
I like front loaded speakers; eventhough I rear loaded mine. I rear loaded because I like the grill cloth right against the front of the baffle; then I don't have to do a trim around the edges of the front of baffle; to keep grill cloth out. Some say you don't want the grill flat against the board cause of vibration and it flapping; but if you have a great board and speaker is rear mounted real good and grill cloth is affixed real good(like I did on all mine) there is NO prob with that.
If you rear mount; make sure you sand/round the edges of the hole cut out. This prevents any of the rubber edge of speaker from hitting it as the speaker basket moves.
Have fun.
Ricky |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 9 Dec 2001 2:57 pm
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Here's something to add to the front/rear mount speaker thing.
I built a pair of Peavey Nashville 112E speaker systems. The cabinets are the same dimensions as the Peaveys and I used the same speakers - 1203 Black Widows.
My speakers are front mounted and have a round metal grille mounted to the speaker front. The Peavey's are rear mounted.
I did a test by switching one of my speakers to rear mount, for testing. I didn't hear any difference between the two. |
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