Peavey 215D-BW vs buying Black Widow Speakers

CarmenWilliams

CarmenWilliams

May 18, 2018
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#1
I have a regular Peavey 215 (non black widow version) and I absolutely love the cab. Unfortunately when I push it with distortion and what not, it can't handle it.
So should I change out the speakers for Black Widows?

OR

Find a BW 215? Or the Deep version?

I'm worried the construction of my normal 215 cab won't put out the sound well since it technically wasn't made for Black Widow speakers?
 
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#2
Rather than spending money guessing what the solution might be, you have a couple of options that should be looked at first.

What amp are you using?

How important is size and weight?

Have you tried your current amp with other speakers?

How much low end eq are you using?

Are your expectations reasonable for both your amp and speaker?

Your needs might be such that upgrading your entire rig, or maybe just the speaker cabinet might be more cost effective in the long run, and you will be able to test that out by trying the solution BEFORE spending money on replacing speakers that may not solve your problem.
 
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#3
I'm using a Peavey MiniMax head (500 watts). I think the regular 215 cab that I have can only handle 250 watts though so I can't really push the amp. When I use my distortion at the end of my set, that's when the speakers just completely go out.

Size and Weight is not really important to me. Some people complain about the 215 cab but I don't have any issues with it.

Yes I've tried my amp with other speakers. Peavey 215 is still the best to me.

I'm just not sure if I should spend the almost $400 on getting new speakers. Or to just find someone selling an actual BW version cab. But who knows how good those speakers would be considering they're probably old
 
#4
IIRC, the 215 cabinets that were not interchangeable with the Black Widow equipped cabinets had a smaller internal volume that worked better with the low compliance standard speakers used in those types of cabinets.

If you want to have at least some confidence that you will really be upgrading with the BW drivers, it would be a good idea to do the math or posting the internal volume of the cabinet, the porting information (area and depth) and which model of BW driver you are interested in using. Maybe somebody here can help.
 
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#5
It’s good to have @agedhorse on the case right out of the gate. I won’t even attempt anything technical. Considering you could get a 2x15 with Black Widows delivered to your door for >350 USD tomorrow (or even less if you’re patient), it might make sense to just get a BW loaded cab unless you’re really in love with what you already have. 500w may be a bit much even for one of those, though. Good news? You can pick up a Mark IV head (~300w at 2 ohms, ~200 at 4) for less than the cab. It might need routine maintenance at this point (@agedhorse can tell you all about that, too, haha), but it’s a killer rig.
 
#6
If you post the cab data per Agedhorse someone will help. It may well take some heroic efforts on the porting to make a smallish cab put out.

Indeed it may be easier and cheaper to trade your way into something else.

One of our members does a whole lot of both. Danged if I can remember his user handle but one time he removed small ports and installed carefully tuned trimmed coffee cans. Where there's a will...
 
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