2x10 Speaker or 1/15 Speaker Cabinet

[bogie1519]

I have a Fender 200 Rumble Cabinet and am thinking about adding one of the above speaker
cabinet's. I've always used either a stand alone cabinet or a head and speaker cab.
What can i expect in the way of sound or output. Like would the 2x10 add more mids and the 15 give it more of a lower tone. Anyone use this setup and how do you like it. Thanks for any input.

 

[Jakedog]

All depends on the cab and the speakers. The only thing you can "generally" (not always) count on is that more speaker surface area = more sound.

I like a 2x10 cab over a 1x15 for most situations, but that's all personal preference. In my opnion they have a tighter more focused sound, and a quicker and punchier attack.

As with anything else, your mileage may vary. I'd take a high end 1x15 cab over a piece of junk 2x10 for sure. But all things being equal, I've come to really prefer 10's.

I've yet to dive into the 12" end of the pool, but I'm getting extremely curious...

 

[Cirk]

Driver size has no impact on whether a cab sounds deep, tight, punchy, etc. Any size cab can sound any which way. It depends on how the cab and drivers interact.
Sorry if this comes off as snarky. It's been a long day already.

 

[cfsporn]

Since your cab has a 15" driver and you like it, I'd get another 15".

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

I'd try a10 and work my way up....since you're already covering the low end with a 15.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Driver size has no impact on whether a cab sounds deep, tight, punchy, etc. Any size cab can sound any which way. It depends on how the cab and drivers interact.
Sorry if this comes off as snarky. It's been a long day already.

If there is a store nearby that carries Fender (assumes you are wanting Rumble cabs) and has a 200 combo and both cabs, you should pop in and try them.
Or if they don't have the combo but have the cabs, tell them what you want to do and ask if you can bring your combo in to test with the other cabs.

 

[popgadget]

At the risk of being redundant, the only thing you can tell from the size of the driver is, well the size of the driver.

About the only generalization that holds water about driver size is that the larger the driver, the narrower the dispersion, or the more "beamy" the speaker is.

 

[bobyoung53]

I'd get another 15", preferably matching what you already have.

 

[KickingBass]

I'd try a10 and work my way up....since you're already covering the low end with a 15.

Many 15 inch speakers are actually very middy and dont have a lot of low end.

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

15" -- 2x15 is a classic sound.

 

[lfmn16]

Driver size has no impact on whether a cab sounds deep, tight, punchy, etc. Any size cab can sound any which way. It depends on how the cab and drivers interact.
Sorry if this comes off as snarky. It's been a long day already.

And this has been discussed ad nauseum. The search engine is our friend.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

If you already have a 15" in your combo, another 15" would be a great match. I toured with a 215 set up for 2-3 years back in the 70's - plenty loud and plenty heavy. If you have a head and you're looking for speaker cabs, I'd be inclined to go with a good 210. I've heard a number of 210's that go lower with tighter, clearer, and punchier sound than a 115.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

easy (for me, at least) - 2x10. Much better tone.

 

[Plucky The Bassist]

Great...another "15's are lower, 10's are punchier" thread

To make it simple, OP...

- Driver size tells you just that, the driver size. You can't make generalities since there are 10's that go deeper than some 15's.
- Cabinet size/dimensions affect frequency response greatly...it's more than just building a box, there is math involved.
- Since these are both the same brand/series of cabinet, we can make some safe assumptions. 2x10s = 20" of cone space, 1x15 = 15" of cone space. The more cone space you have, the more low end you will typically have and better dispersion (louder in many cases)
- Like your current sound? Get more of it (and probably more low end) by getting an identical one! Grab a Rumble 1x15 cab and enjoy yourself, this is a surefire way to get more volume and retain the character you like in your current one. Low end response should be better as well since you are adding cone space.


TL;DR - Get the 1x15

 

[Munjibunga]

210.

 

[kalanb]

...- Since these are both the same brand/series of cabinet, we can make some safe assumptions. 2x10s = 20" of cone space, 1x15 = 15" of cone space. The more cone space you have, the more low end you will typically have and better dispersion (louder in many cases)...

Do you even area = pi (r squared) ?

A 15" speaker has a greater surface area (176.71) than two 10" speakers (157.08).

 

[MCS4]

In my totally anecdotal and non-scientific experience, I prefer 2x10s.

 

[Plucky The Bassist]

Do you even area = pi (r squared) ?

A 15" speaker has a greater surface area (176.71) than two 10" speakers (157.08).

If they were completely flat, yes, but since speaker cones are conical, depth would play a factor in that as well. My math was wrong, but my heart was in the right place. End of the work week has me frazzled, my apologies to the resident number wizards

 

[BassmanPaul]

One 5” high driver is more than enough for a pair of tens.

Why not just drop a suitable 15 into the cabinet for a predicable result?

 

[ThinCrappyTone]

A thing to maybe consider is, if you get the 2x10, you now have more options. Like when you're recording. Maybe you want a 2x10 sound, or maybe you want the 15 sound. Or maybe the 15 sounds great in one room, but in another the 2x10 sounds better. It's nice to have options!