Difference between the EVM12L and the EVM12L Black Label

Just about everyone using an Axe/power amp/guitar cab rig loves the EVM's. They have much
of the clarity you get with FRFR (giving you the option to use cabs sims ON in your live sound),
and the punch and feel of 12" guitar speakers we all love. Wait until they break in if you think
they sound good now! The highs will sweeten and the lows with extend down and get bigger.
 
qingcong said:
Basically, with an EVM12L and no hf driver, you're not going to be able to accurately use your cab sims. Some people still use cab sims with their EVM12L and get satisfactory results, but theoretically it's not supposed to work this way.

Port or no port, it depends on how well you can design the port. Just adding a port for the sake of saying you have a ported cab is careless practice, but if the designer has the means to properly tune the port, you can get good results. Designing an optimal port is not a trivial task though. It's much easier to get a sealed cab right.
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I've actually read just the opposite in my research of building cabs. But I guess it partly depends if you're talking about actual "port tubes" in the front of the cab or just a ported back. Port tubes require a little more measurement technic. I've been a back ported cab lover ever since the Kustom 4x12 cab I had years ago particularly after loading the EVM's in it. It just has such an open full sound. Sealed cabs are where you really need to do the crazy math on frequencies for dimensions based on specs of the speaker(s) you intend to put in it. The only thing about back ported cabs is how big to make the port. The smaller the port the more cab resonance you'll get. I just built a couple 2x12's (see my previous post) and based the dimensions loosely on the Kustom that was an unusually deep 14". Nice low end! Any way there's plenty of info on the net about it.
 
I haven't tried the Classics but I don't think there is likely much of a tonal difference between them. I would agree with the earlier post that said get whichever is cheaper unless you need the additional power handling. I have two Mesa Recto 2x12's loaded with the Black Labels (they were on sale and cheaper than the Classics) and another pair waiting to go into something else. I don't think I can go back to Celestions either. I love the cleans, high gain, and everything in-between. I'm pumping a lot of power into my cabs so the additional power handling doesn't hurt. Here's a video of one of the 2x12's in action. It is getting fed about 450 watts.

YouTube - ‪Axe-Fx Ultra + Recto cab loaded with EV12L Black Labels.MOV‬‏
 
JGR said:
I haven't tried the Classics but I don't think there is likely much of a tonal difference between them. I would agree with the earlier post that said get whichever is cheaper unless you need the additional power handling. I have two Mesa Recto 2x12's loaded with the Black Labels (they were on sale and cheaper than the Classics) and another pair waiting to go into something else. I don't think I can go back to Celestions either. I love the cleans, high gain, and everything in-between. I'm pumping a lot of power into my cabs so the additional power handling doesn't hurt. Here's a video of one of the 2x12's in action. It is getting fed about 450 watts.

YouTube - ‪Axe-Fx Ultra + Recto cab loaded with EV12L Black Labels.MOV‬‏
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Nice. This is without cab sims?
 
hyderipper said:
I've actually read just the opposite in my research of building cabs. But I guess it partly depends if you're talking about actual "port tubes" in the front of the cab or just a ported back. Port tubes require a little more measurement technic. I've been a back ported cab lover ever since the Kustom 4x12 cab I had years ago particularly after loading the EVM's in it. It just has such an open full sound. Sealed cabs are where you really need to do the crazy math on frequencies for dimensions based on specs of the speaker(s) you intend to put in it. The only thing about back ported cabs is how big to make the port. The smaller the port the more cab resonance you'll get. I just built a couple 2x12's (see my previous post) and based the dimensions loosely on the Kustom that was an unusually deep 14". Nice low end! Any way there's plenty of info on the net about it.
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I don't know what the purpose of a rear port is. I only did research on sealed and front vented boxes, it would make sense to me that a rear port needs to be calculated out just as carefully as a front port.

With ported cabs, you have to optimize the port length and port diameter to the specific thiele-small parameters of the speaker. If you switch to another speaker, you have to change your port if you want to keep the design optimized. You also have to keep the vent mach low to prevent audible high freq noise from coming through the port. If your port resonant freq is set too low, and you happen to play some notes down in the port resonant freq, you risk over-excursion on your speaker and killing it.

There is math involved for both ported and sealed cabs, none of it is terribly crazy, but for those of us without a professional acoustics measuring setup, it's basically impossible for us to optimize a ported cab. We can do all the calculations in the world, but the final testing response is what matters. With a sealed cab, it less important to design it for one particular operating point. You won't risk speaker over-excursion in a sealed cab and you can change speakers without having to redo the box. Basically, with a sealed cab, we decide what kind of Q we like, figure out the internal volume to achieve that Q and then go with it. It doesn't have to be exact, just a general estimation will work. If you switch speakers, you change Qs, but hey, it will still work just fine.
 
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I'm definitely no speaker enclosure design expert, I'm only speaking from what I read researching and my experience of playing through different cabs over the years. Ported back cabinets while not too common have been around for years. They just have a more "room filling" sound rather than the more directional sound of a closed cab. Actually most combo type amps would be considered back ported. And the cabs I just built, although I said were based on the old Kustom I had, are really more based on a current THD 2x12 cab. I just went for the deeper dimension of 14".

THD 2x12 Ported Extension Cabinet and more Guitar Amplifiers at GuitarCenter.com.
 
I've been playing with the Ultra and the new EVM12L classics more and I've found that about 60 to 70% of the presets (factory,my own and some of everyone else's) sound better with the cabs on. Seems to add some air and depth to the sound. I've found that at least 30% sound better without cabs on mainly because of weird bass response. I only tweeked my global eq and turned the cabs on and off to hear the difference. The EV's do seem to help bring things a little closer to that amp in the room sound :)
 
Just get the Eminence Delta Pro A's......same thing as mentioned EV's but a lot cheaper. Love mine.
 
or Eminence Deltalite II 2512s, lightweight neo EVM type of speaker. I have both and like em for different reasons.
 
How about this. 1 4x12 or 2 2x12 cabs. I have noticed that my 4x12 is kinda boomy. I was going to try putting a divider down the middle. I really think some of the high end fizzyness is the speakers though. I am runnin v30s right now.
 
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