speakerplans' 18" scoop bins

[matt996]

So it looks like I'm going to a dubstep show this weekend in Toronto, and the organizer ("40 Hz Soundsystem") is bringing in a quartet of the speakerplans.com 18" back-loaded horns for the bottom end.

I'm not a pro-audio guy myself, but I was curious what (if anything) these would compare to in the BF catalog?

[doncolga]

So it looks like I'm going to a dubstep show this weekend in Toronto, and the organizer ("40 Hz Soundsystem") is bringing in a quartet of the speakerplans.com 18" back-loaded horns for the bottom end.

I'm not a pro-audio guy myself, but I was curious what (if anything) these would compare to in the BF catalog?

I heard some scoops like this at an outdoor event on 4th of July two years ago. I believe they had about 16 of them...8 per side of a 20 foot stage.

Maybe it was the setup, EQ, or taste of the sound guy, but I was not impressed. There was bass, but nothing I'd call sub bass at all. Perhaps it would be a different story indoors. These guys may do it better. Let us know...

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

I was curious what (if anything) these would compare to in the BF catalog?

Nothing. Scoops are quite obsolete. Even the designer of these is aware of that, he says right on the plans page "I don't like scoop bins".

[djtecthreat]

I've built a few of the plans over at Speakerplans including some on the forum. The scoops are eh. The hog scoop is better than the one listed on the plans page.

As Bill say's, they're obsolete now-a-days and not really worth the time or trouble at all. A T39 would run them, a T48 would stomp them, a T60 would leave nothing left to remember them by.

[DJ Higgumz]

This guy I bought my mackie m1400i from showed me a demo of is giant peavey (i think) sub, it was a 18" rear loaded sub that was like maybe 6' tall, 3ft wide by 3ft deep. The thing was amazing, dangerous chest thumping, went from standing 3 ft to 5 ft, and the guy said it was 1/4 power. Keep in mind this is in a metal warehouse. Now imagining this thing has 2000 watt capability not bad, but the thing did not look ergonomic. 3/4 ply, 18", well over 200lbs. Now with that amp power and 4 t60s or 4 of any bfm pro cabs for that matter you would crush that thing, without crushing your back and damaging floor tiles

[Studarl]

I know the guys that use scoop bins like to use them as a musical instrument and so rather than just being concerned with the output figure or whatever they are more interested in the sound they create.

With the driver exposed you get the upper harmonic distortion from the woofer than is not present with a traditional folded horn, couple that with the rear wave of the driver being fired through the horn (often out of phase) and technically its a recipe for disaster! However people have often said they enjoy hearing the more "natural" sound of a reflex so I can in some ways see what they might like about it. However I prefer the lower distortion clarity you get from a horn and so its not really my cup of tea.

However as others have said the best comparison for output purposes would be something like the HOG scoop where the horn is long enough to support pretty low fundamentals - I believe around 30Hz.

Stu

[matt996]

Well, I came away impressed... The bass hit hard and went deep -- shaking the chest and pant legs. I listened to some test tones afterward to try and gauge what I was hearing, and I'd say the output was very solid to about ~35 hz. Couldn't tell you the spl though. The ceiling tiles were flexing and light fixtures shaking. Unfortunately they were demanding a bit much of the bar's circuitry and popped a breaker shortly after the headlining DJ, Youngsta, came on (also taking out the lighting in the front of the bar), so I think they had to throttle things back a bit from full potential after that.

FWIW, this was my first dubstep experience aside from the assorted Youtube links that get posted here, and having never heard a BF system I don't really have anything else to compare against. I'd sure like to hear a T60 in real life, as by all reports it is something to behold.

... and I can't wait to get going on my TT(s) !!

[UROK]

Yup. That's pretty much it with scoop bins. They can be made to produce thunderous bass but it takes lots of cabs and amps to do it. Resulting in shorts and gennies packing up when those 18s start flapping!

There are still those problems with placement splitting the bins and placing tops side by side in so many cases when scoops are used in dub situations far too often.

But, I like the car analogy: scoops to me are like a 70s muscle wagon, powerful but dated and inefficient. BFD subs seem more like Mercedes Benz S600 V12s! Put together with amps with onboard DSP or outboard loudspeaker management systems, the BFDs are altogether another order of technology.

[Gauss]

Ooh a car analogy! I'd think that horn-loaded would be more like a turbo v6 myself. Less engine, more power, less weight.

[DJ Higgumz]

Ooh a car analogy! I'd think that horn-loaded would be more like a turbo v6 myself. Less engine, more power, less weight.

yea or a campagna t-rex! a v12 aint that efficient! when i get the money and time i plan on buildin my own reverse trike with a civic motor, anyways back to the superduperpooperscoopers!