Chris Hurley
Power User
Sorry for the length- I tried to trim it.
Executive summary: Not perfectly flat but tons of fun.
I’ve had a CPS Space Station V3 cabinet for a year or so now. For those who aren’t familiar with these cabinets, “Center Point Stereo” is a system that takes in a stereo signal and outputs it through a multi-speaker system including front and side speakers. The front speakers output the common “center channel” while the side speaker handles things that are not in the “center channel”. This has been described as the opposite of a mid-side micing technique. The result is a speaker cabinet that delivers a unique “3d” sound throughout the room without requiring you to be in the sweet spot like a traditional left/right speaker pair would.
In practice, this works very well for stereo material. You don’t perceive left/right in the same way you would for normal stereo speakers but the resulting 3d sound is very enjoyable and unique, particularly as you move around the room and continue to hear everything. Keyboard players love these cabinets but they have maybe been a bit of a sleeper for guitar players.
I picked up a SSv3 a couple of years ago to use with my Axe-FX and like many others who tried it, found that it sounded great with heavy stereo material but left a little something to be desired for guitar signals that were primarily mono- probably due to the 8” main speaker.
More recently, I discovered a trick that really makes this cabinet come alive: stereo cabinet simulation. On the Fractal devices, its very easy to set up a stereo cab block mix where you have one cabinet IR panned dead center and another complementary cabinet IR panned off to the side. Played through my CLR, this is just a mixed cabinet sound that is agreeable but unremarkable. On the SpaceStation, this trick makes the cabinet come alive as the panned IR gets blended out to the side system. Other effects devices that can handle a stereo IR can employ this technique as well.
Using this technique results in an experience that reminds me of playing an open back cabinet in a nice room- it has a liveliness that is really fun to play. Dial in just a little stereo reverb and it’s fantastic! You can adjust how much of the side system you want to hear based on the room or weather.
The stereo cab sim method of taking your mono signal and making it stereo translates down to the mono FOH feed very well because it is just a mixed IR. While stereo chorus or enhancement can be fine in mono, it is an effect that you hear and must accept. If you want those effects, that’s great. If you want something that delivers more of a “dry” guitar sound that isn’t drenched in effects, this technique can help.
I’ve been aware that Aspen & company have been working on a larger version of this cabinet called the Space Station XL for a while. This cabinet has a 12” system in the front and two side speakers along with more power and a mixed second input.
I finally reached out to Aspen to see about testing one of these larger cabinets and he offered to let me borrow one for review with no strings attached. After a couple of weeks with it, I wanted to share the results because I know some other folks out there have been interested in these cabinets.
Everything that I express about the SSv3 is true about the SSxl, just amplified. It just delivers much more of everything. In strictly mono terms, the 12” speaker system delivers a bigger guitar sound than an 8” speaker can. When I crank this up in a mono context with my favorite IR, it is more enjoyable than any FR cabinet I’ve used before, including the CLR, Xitones, Powercab- partially because of the ease with which I can adjust the volume of the horn. More on that in a moment but I’ll mention that these other speakers are great options that are loved by many people. I still use my CLR in certain situations.
The extra side speaker in the XL helps the system to get much louder than the V3 and enhances the 3d effect. I spent a considerable amount of time just enjoying music through the system over the last couple of weeks. Program material with significant stereo elements are a delight to hear through the XL and the V3 as they seem to fill the room.
While the V3 can be used with a subwoofer, the XL really doesn’t need one unless you’re playing back material with tons of low end. The second input makes it easy to route in a Bluetooth receiver and mix to taste.
Neither of these cabinets seem to match up with my CLR exactly in terms of being flat response but the adjustable high frequency controls allowed me to get close to the overall sound of the CLR for patch making while allowing me to roll off some highs when desired. For me, having the HF control a little north of 12 o’clock most closely matched the amount of high frequency content I was hearing from my CLR.
A big bonus for me is being able to easily and musically turn down the high frequency content on days when I’m finding I want less of it. I wish all cabinets had this. Even on my CLR, I find myself wishing (with stock program content) that I could turn down the horn sometimes. It is a different experience to turn the horn itself down versus performing high cut on my modeler. I’m sure there is a technique on the modeler to do it but just turning the knob is easier. This is much less invasive than turning the horn off- something that I wanted to love on other cabinets but just couldn’t dig even after buying specially crafted IRs.
As Scott mentioned in his review of the V3 a while ago- I wouldn’t call these cabinets perfectly flat but they are full range and musical in their tonality. For me as a guitar player, this is a win because I still want to enjoy the sound of my cabinet even as I tell myself “what the audience hears is most important” over and over. What the audience hears is certainly important but what I hear is important too because my playing suffers if I don’t enjoy the tone- both of these cabinets have features that make it more enjoyable to play (the adjustable horn, the 3d sound) while remaining musically flat and full range. If you want the most brutally honest and flat FRFR cabinet, this probably isn’t it, but I think it is flat enough while being extremely enjoyable to use for electric guitar.
Now for the cons: Where the SSv3 is a very small and convenient cabinet, the SSxl is a rather large and heavy cabinet. The physical space it occupies might be similar to a 2x12 though it is maybe deeper and narrower than a 2x12. I assume that the 12” speaker is not a neo and maybe that would have helped with weight but the handles are comfortable and well placed making it easy enough to carry it a short distance. I would probably cart this like I would cart my subs and PA mains once I got it out of the truck.
The cost of the XL isn’t trivial but there isn’t anything else that does what this cabinet does (other than the V3 which is still available) and they are evidently made in relatively small quantities. A pair of mid-range stereo FR cabinets are probably less expensive, but they don’t deliver the same experience that this single cabinet does- especially for playing guitar. With both models available, it is possible to have the size you need or even both sizes if your wallet will permit.
In summary, I think these speakers are a great option for guitar players who want to use cabinet IR’s and enjoy mixed full range material in their guitar cabinet but find the normal FRFR experience a little bit lacking. They are also very enjoyable for music playback and should work well in situations where you want to run a couple of instruments and vocals through them provided that you don’t need to carry a stadium.
Feel free to ask me any questions. I still have both cabinets.
Executive summary: Not perfectly flat but tons of fun.
I’ve had a CPS Space Station V3 cabinet for a year or so now. For those who aren’t familiar with these cabinets, “Center Point Stereo” is a system that takes in a stereo signal and outputs it through a multi-speaker system including front and side speakers. The front speakers output the common “center channel” while the side speaker handles things that are not in the “center channel”. This has been described as the opposite of a mid-side micing technique. The result is a speaker cabinet that delivers a unique “3d” sound throughout the room without requiring you to be in the sweet spot like a traditional left/right speaker pair would.
In practice, this works very well for stereo material. You don’t perceive left/right in the same way you would for normal stereo speakers but the resulting 3d sound is very enjoyable and unique, particularly as you move around the room and continue to hear everything. Keyboard players love these cabinets but they have maybe been a bit of a sleeper for guitar players.
I picked up a SSv3 a couple of years ago to use with my Axe-FX and like many others who tried it, found that it sounded great with heavy stereo material but left a little something to be desired for guitar signals that were primarily mono- probably due to the 8” main speaker.
More recently, I discovered a trick that really makes this cabinet come alive: stereo cabinet simulation. On the Fractal devices, its very easy to set up a stereo cab block mix where you have one cabinet IR panned dead center and another complementary cabinet IR panned off to the side. Played through my CLR, this is just a mixed cabinet sound that is agreeable but unremarkable. On the SpaceStation, this trick makes the cabinet come alive as the panned IR gets blended out to the side system. Other effects devices that can handle a stereo IR can employ this technique as well.
Using this technique results in an experience that reminds me of playing an open back cabinet in a nice room- it has a liveliness that is really fun to play. Dial in just a little stereo reverb and it’s fantastic! You can adjust how much of the side system you want to hear based on the room or weather.
The stereo cab sim method of taking your mono signal and making it stereo translates down to the mono FOH feed very well because it is just a mixed IR. While stereo chorus or enhancement can be fine in mono, it is an effect that you hear and must accept. If you want those effects, that’s great. If you want something that delivers more of a “dry” guitar sound that isn’t drenched in effects, this technique can help.
I’ve been aware that Aspen & company have been working on a larger version of this cabinet called the Space Station XL for a while. This cabinet has a 12” system in the front and two side speakers along with more power and a mixed second input.
I finally reached out to Aspen to see about testing one of these larger cabinets and he offered to let me borrow one for review with no strings attached. After a couple of weeks with it, I wanted to share the results because I know some other folks out there have been interested in these cabinets.
Everything that I express about the SSv3 is true about the SSxl, just amplified. It just delivers much more of everything. In strictly mono terms, the 12” speaker system delivers a bigger guitar sound than an 8” speaker can. When I crank this up in a mono context with my favorite IR, it is more enjoyable than any FR cabinet I’ve used before, including the CLR, Xitones, Powercab- partially because of the ease with which I can adjust the volume of the horn. More on that in a moment but I’ll mention that these other speakers are great options that are loved by many people. I still use my CLR in certain situations.
The extra side speaker in the XL helps the system to get much louder than the V3 and enhances the 3d effect. I spent a considerable amount of time just enjoying music through the system over the last couple of weeks. Program material with significant stereo elements are a delight to hear through the XL and the V3 as they seem to fill the room.
While the V3 can be used with a subwoofer, the XL really doesn’t need one unless you’re playing back material with tons of low end. The second input makes it easy to route in a Bluetooth receiver and mix to taste.
Neither of these cabinets seem to match up with my CLR exactly in terms of being flat response but the adjustable high frequency controls allowed me to get close to the overall sound of the CLR for patch making while allowing me to roll off some highs when desired. For me, having the HF control a little north of 12 o’clock most closely matched the amount of high frequency content I was hearing from my CLR.
A big bonus for me is being able to easily and musically turn down the high frequency content on days when I’m finding I want less of it. I wish all cabinets had this. Even on my CLR, I find myself wishing (with stock program content) that I could turn down the horn sometimes. It is a different experience to turn the horn itself down versus performing high cut on my modeler. I’m sure there is a technique on the modeler to do it but just turning the knob is easier. This is much less invasive than turning the horn off- something that I wanted to love on other cabinets but just couldn’t dig even after buying specially crafted IRs.
As Scott mentioned in his review of the V3 a while ago- I wouldn’t call these cabinets perfectly flat but they are full range and musical in their tonality. For me as a guitar player, this is a win because I still want to enjoy the sound of my cabinet even as I tell myself “what the audience hears is most important” over and over. What the audience hears is certainly important but what I hear is important too because my playing suffers if I don’t enjoy the tone- both of these cabinets have features that make it more enjoyable to play (the adjustable horn, the 3d sound) while remaining musically flat and full range. If you want the most brutally honest and flat FRFR cabinet, this probably isn’t it, but I think it is flat enough while being extremely enjoyable to use for electric guitar.
Now for the cons: Where the SSv3 is a very small and convenient cabinet, the SSxl is a rather large and heavy cabinet. The physical space it occupies might be similar to a 2x12 though it is maybe deeper and narrower than a 2x12. I assume that the 12” speaker is not a neo and maybe that would have helped with weight but the handles are comfortable and well placed making it easy enough to carry it a short distance. I would probably cart this like I would cart my subs and PA mains once I got it out of the truck.
The cost of the XL isn’t trivial but there isn’t anything else that does what this cabinet does (other than the V3 which is still available) and they are evidently made in relatively small quantities. A pair of mid-range stereo FR cabinets are probably less expensive, but they don’t deliver the same experience that this single cabinet does- especially for playing guitar. With both models available, it is possible to have the size you need or even both sizes if your wallet will permit.
In summary, I think these speakers are a great option for guitar players who want to use cabinet IR’s and enjoy mixed full range material in their guitar cabinet but find the normal FRFR experience a little bit lacking. They are also very enjoyable for music playback and should work well in situations where you want to run a couple of instruments and vocals through them provided that you don’t need to carry a stadium.
Feel free to ask me any questions. I still have both cabinets.