Which bass design for top 40 dance music?

Tony Wilkes wrote: MattStolton wrote:  As Mr Wilkes notes, the sims scare you in terms of group delay and other nasties, but the real world "what does it sound like" seem to mask these nasties. Matt, Oi, whats with the Mr Wilkes, it is Tony to you Sir :)

*doths cap* Only trying to add some victorian style respect for my elders and betters 

 

rish wrote: whats very interesting to note is that tapped horns have come into their own. although this is old technology, it has evolved into being great cabs......

Fashion is part of it, they went out of fashion, 50 years ago, and were rediscovered 5ish years ago, just like the 80's.

All it takes is a modern driver to happen to fit, and suddenly an old design gets serious.

They are a nice compromise, some of the sound and throw (i.e limited) of a reflex, but with some of the gain/efficiency of a true horn. Many gigs don't need terrahorns or rhinos.

I consider THs to be as potentially deployable as reflex cabs, just with 3-6dB more gain for similar driver/power. Compromise is size, some complexity, and you have to be very sure on the driver choice, very specific requirements from sims. As Mr Wilkes notes, the sims scare you in terms of group delay and other nasties, but the real world "what does it sound like" seem to mask these nasties.

How does TH sound up close? Do you hear air compression like it can be done from some horns?
The reason I'm asking is I try to figure out which design sounds best in near field applications. In my case audience is at 1-8 m distance.

whats very interesting to note is that tapped horns have come into their own. although this is old technology, it has evolved into being great cabs. i do use the thams for small applications and in the process of building more cyclops for larger ones. i do use a stack of 3 thams15's a side for approx 150 to 200 peeps and its very very impressive.  once again a BIG THANKS to all the guys who share their design and input  ( Stapier, Martinsson and Tony Wilkes to name a few) and for your contribution and opinions on this forum.

CBE18S