Stereo Wayne Jones Powered Cab or CPT and Subwoofer?

[VittorioAngelo]

Hello Folks;

I'm a 7-String bass player with an AxeFX III mk1.

It's time for me to up my amplification game. The only hard requirement I have is that the rig must be stereo.

That being said, I'm torn between two solutions:

1. A pair of Wayne Jones powered WJ 2x10s
2. A CPT Spacestation XL with a subwoofer

Both solutions will end up costing the same. The major difference between the two solutions being that the CPT Spacestation provides mid-side processing and amplification.

Might anyone here have experience with either the above? Or have a better suggestion for a stereo bass rig?

Thank you,
Vittorio

 

[Lapo]

No direct experience, but from what I’ve heard the WJ stuff will be the best sounding rig and in a different league SQ wise from the space station and a subwoofer. To be honest I don’t know that much about the space station, I’ve read some reviews in the past, and just read some for the newer xl. It seems that in both cases some folks were wanting better clarity. To me that indicated it won’t compete in the mids/highs with the WJ or other top flight full range bass cabs. And likewise I can’t imagine any subwoofer really competing in the lows, unless it was another high end bass cab. MA Soundworks being the best and on par with WJ for bass fidelity and punch. Than again what it’s doing is unique and it might give better dimensionality if not fidelity.

There are a handfull of powered fullrange bass cabs that sound great and hi-fi, like Accugroove and Barefaced (though only the discontinued FR800 is powered) I don’t think either will sound quite as good as the WJ (the Barefaced being closer) but they are a bit cheaper and still amazing.

MA Soundworks also have fantastic powered full range bass cabs, arguably the best out there, but they have a few quirks that might not work out for a stereo pair, such as needing a minimum distance apart (depending on the model) and possibly less than stellar low volume performance (I have a MAS 110, though I hear the newer 2 way cabs with the 8s are better in that regard) The cab most similar in output to the WJ210 is the MAS28.Despite the big difference in weight,(MAS 28 is 35-40lbs) ,my guess is the 2 cabs have similar output. The MAS cabs are crazy loud, louder per size than anything I’m aware of as they harvest the back wave of the drivers as well as the front. It goes super low too, 3db @ 35hz. Even the 25lb MAS 18 achieves this same extension. They really shine at high volume with intense physicality and a huge dynamic expression. Best dispersion by far as well.

Subs- While not as high definition in the bass range as the top bass cabs, the best sounding compact subs I’m aware of are the Bassboss BB15 and the JTR Captivator 212 Pro. Both are around 70lbs.

Good Luck on whatever amazing system you put together!

 

[Joe Bfstplk]

I have the Spacestation XL. It claims it goes down to 55 Hz, IIRC. Plenty for my 6-string. The thing excels at projecting things like chorusing, flanging, rotary, shorter reverbs, and other stereo modulation effects in a 3D "stereo" way. Ping pong delays tend to sound as much forward-and-back as left-to-right. If you can find one in a store near you, try it. I drove all the way from Phoenix to Flagstaff to find mine....

 

[VittorioAngelo]

I have the Spacestation XL. It claims it goes down to 55 Hz, IIRC. Plenty for my 6-string. The thing excels at projecting things like chorusing, flanging, rotary, shorter reverbs, and other stereo modulation effects in a 3D "stereo" way. Ping pong delays tend to sound as much forward-and-back as left-to-right. If you can find one in a store near you, try it. I drove all the way from Phoenix to Flagstaff to find mine....

Thank you very much @Joe Bfstplk;

I'm encouraged that your low B string is sounding properly through the Space Station.

Vittorio