Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi Everyone!

I need a 15" bass speaker for a Music Man cab. I'll be using a recently acquired Acoustic 470 head with it. Here is some info regarding speaker ohmage for the 470 from Harmony Central...

"How about this little known fact...the 470 has to ability to run ANY ohm speakers for 2 up to 16 without, I repeat WITHOUT any changes, no flipping switches or anything."

What ohm speaker should I use?

My current band is pretty loud, so it needs to be pretty heavy duty. Also, I don't want to break the bank if I don't have to.

Any suggestions out there?

Anyone have one that they would like to sell?

Thanks much!

What is the power rating of the amp at those various impedances? Being a solidstate amplifier the output power will vary according to the Ω of the speaker connected to it. Knowing this first will help in determining a suitable speaker. Also, what kind of cabinet is the Musicman, ported, sealed, horn-loaded?

Jeffrey,

The cab is ported...no horn.

I'll have to do some research regarding the different power ratings and will get back to you.

Thanks much for your help!!!

BTW, this statement:

"How about this little known fact...the 470 has to ability to run ANY ohm speakers for 2 up to 16 without, I repeat WITHOUT any changes, no flipping switches or anything."

is pretty typical of HC hype. With a few exceptions, virtually all solidstate amps do the same. although the 2Ω part varies with the particular amp in question. Given the 470 itself, I doubt it would be safe to run it at 2Ω; I would go no lower than 4Ω with it.

Tony, no direct experience but a few here use or have owned Carvin and say it is good stuff. All made in USA.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/s ... 5-4&cid=52 4 ohm Neo magnet light weight
http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/s ... 5-8&cid=52 8 ohm Neo magnet light weight

http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/s ... 5-4&cid=52 4 ohm conventional magnet heavier
http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/s ... 5-8&cid=52 8 ohm conventional magnet heavier

I've an Eminence Kappa Pro in my Bag End S-15D cab that I push with a G-K 800 RB. I like it quite a lot and it sounds great plus it can take the wattage.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Eminence-Ka ... e=4WWRWXGB

I've bought from theses guys in the past. Great service and prices.

http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/se ... srchMfg=57

I too have used Parts Express many times and would not hesitate to do so again.
Many of the Carvin speakers are made by Eminence, but they may be spec-ed out for/by Carvin and not equivalent to anything in their own line.

From what I can find the 470 is 170 watts @ 8Ω and 300 watts @ Ω. You want a speaker that can handle far more than those ratings depending on what impedance you choose, as the power handling ratings of speaker drivers are their thermal limit, they will start to sound bad long before that. Something in the 600 and up range would be required if you are using only the one speaker driver to handle you needs; also, given that I would stick with ceramic magnet drivers, not a Neo magnet one.

This Eminence would work well for you.

If you can spurge a little more try this Beyma driver.

jps wrote:
This Eminence would work well for you.

This is the exact speaker I have -- it'll handle your amp and then some.

while your looking at parts express, check out goldwood speakers. I've used them before and would again. also try Seismic Audio. very good deals there.

Hi all!

I decided to go for a KAPPA PRO-15A as Mike & Jeffery suggested. They were out of stock & I wanted it in time for an upcoming gig...so I ended up going with the Eminence CA15-4. I spoke with a US Speaker LLC rep on the phone and he was extremely helpful. He spent a good 25 minutes with me going over every speaker that would suit my needs & didn't try to steer me in the direction of an expensive model that I didn't need. I've used it for a couple of gigs now and I'm very happy with it. It handles the Acoustic head very well. I'll tell you, the Acoustic 470 head rocks...it's really loud and has a nice variety of tones. I paid $250 for mine. One just sold on Ebay for just over $200. I went to Guitar Center to see what's available new in solid state bass amps and everything I tried that was reasonably priced had no balls. They don't make solid state bass amps like they used to!

Thanks very much to everyone for your input!

I am glad you found something that works well for you. Speaker selection is never easy.

Go with an 8Ω speaker. If you decide to add another 8Ω cabinet, you'll end up with 4Ω, which is still within the amp's load range.