D and K series were available in 16 ohms from the factory, they are designated as "6" (i.e. D140F-6). Pretty scarce, and very expensive with factory cones in good condition.
Regardless; I think it depends on what you are driving them with and what you expect them to do. The D series won't take a lot of abuse compared to modern drivers, and if you are just planning to make loud noise with them the Eminence drivers are far more practical.
Even the stamped frame Eminence will take a pounding and you won't be wasting a vintage sweet sounding driver.
Ed,
How right you are about the D series for bass. The K-140's are not much better for bass than their D series counterpart. but K-130's are great for guitar and some keyboards. However, the E series 140 and 145 really kick butt when it comes to bass. Nice low end and they can take the power - 400 watts peak and 200 watts RMS.
Bob
As I posted, I think it depends on what you are driving them with and what you expect them to do. I try to “use the right tool for the job”, so I usually put some thought into what gear I bring based on the situation, and fortunately I’ve accumulated a pretty good selection of rigs over the years.
I guess I’m old, but I
really don’t understand some of the “rigs” that get posted here. It’s like these guys just stack up
anything that will make noise and call it their “rig”. I read the posts asking basic questions about impedance, etc. When I look at those pictures the phrases that come to mind are “phase cancellation” and/or “impedance mismatch”. I also wonder how many of those nice old Sunns need cap jobs. When I see pictures of the “famous” stoner/doom/sludge artists, their backlines look like a flea market; again, like they just stack up anything that even
looks like a piece of musical gear. Based on what I’ve heard, I suppose it doesn’t really matter what they play through, tone articulation and musical ability are apparently way, way down on their priority lists…
But to each their own, I suppose the upside is that the genre allows a whole new crop of enthusiasts to get involved with “music” without wasting time learning how to actually
play the instruments.
Alright, I’ve had my fun!
No offence intended towards any specific individual(s). In all seriousness if you can make a living playing a single barre chord at 65% THD and 130 dB for 12 measures; my hat is off to you! “Art” is subjective at best, and I’m not insinuating that the stoner/doom/etc. genre isn’t an art form; it’s just my personal opinion that it isn’t the art form referred to as “music”. I also defend your right to produce and promote this art form.
But I digress.
I have 2000S cabs loaded with K140-6’s, D140’s, and EV SRO’s. The K series will handle about twice the power of the D’s. Actual ratings are hard to come by, but I believe that the D series was rated at 75 watts and the K series were rated by JBL at 150 watts continuous sine wave. As far as practical MI (Musical Instrument) applications go, that’s pretty burly. Due to the dynamic nature of instruments, 150 watts is rarely seen in a MI rig except in very short bursts, 150 watts of
continuous white noise is quite a load comparatively. The only differences between the D and K series (as far as I can tell) are in the VC and suspension; the baskets and motors are identical in both series.
However, the 2000S cabs rarely leave my shop; it has to be a special situation. They are just too freekin’ cumbersome to deal with, and frankly every gig I play has adequate PA support so theoretically I could use my 30 watt Ampeg B15N if I wanted to. I do like to use a lot more stage volume than most though, and way more than sound people like. I posted about the last time I took a 2000S rig gigging;
http://sunn.ampage.org/sdp/index.php/topic,4556.msg17247.html#msg17247My “go to” rig is a Reeves Custom 225 that I run through a Sunn 215S cab loaded with EVM 15L’s. That will get loud enough with no/minimal PA support for any venue short of big stage outdoor gigs. And… it’s a
manageable package. So, the 2000S rigs only venture out when I’m feeling particularly froggy, and I
really want to look cool.
I think that tonally the best sounding live rig I have is a tube rectified 200S through a D140 loaded 200S cab. With a P or J bass that rig sounds so good you can taste it. I’m a supporter of SS rectifiers for most applications, and practically
all bass applications, but that 200S rocks live and my portaflex is what I
always record with. At 60 watts I can only get the stage levels I like in very small venues, so I don’t get a lot of chances to use the 200S, but of every rig I have that old 200S rig get the most attention from the crowd; many more times “I/my brother-cousin-friend/someone I used to follow had one of those…” than all of my other gear combined.
While my personal preference leans toward vintage AlNiCo JBL’s, I recently worked with Reeves Amplification on a 115 design for their bass amp, and got to beat on just about every 15” speaker currently available for bass guitar; Eminence, EV, Celestion, Jensen. I can see why so many manufacturers use Eminence; they are nice sounding, durable drivers that are priced reasonably. They also work very well with gear manufacturers (they build the “Vintage Purple” driver to spec for Reeves as well as many, many other gear manufacturers). All of the drivers had their merits, none of them sounded “bad”, and as with most things musical, I think it’s largely personal preference. Most of them will sustain power levels only practically attainable with big sound reinforcement amplifiers, so unlike the old JBL’s power handling isn’t an issue.
By the way; Reeves ended up having their 15” bass driver built to spec by a manufacturer (none of the above mentioned) that I was asked not to reveal, I suspect because they build for several manufacturers also and there are trademark/copyright issues involved. However, the
cabinet looks suspiciously like a 215S cut in half…
