What are the biggest-sounding 2x12's?

I've had several of the ones mentioned...Mesa, ENGL, Bogner and I still prefer the Orange PPC212 over the others for tone and girth. I haven't tried a StoneAge but have one of his 4x12's and it's killer.
 
The Bogner oversized 2x12 obviously. Working at WGS Speakers we used about every cab under the sun and the Emperor 2x12 and Bogner 2x12 was the biggest sounding no contest for any others. The Mesa 2x12 was the boldest. The Two Rock oval open-back 2x12 (which is a V-Boutique pretty much) was my favorite open-back 2x12.
 
Norton666":t8idm5bu said:
My favorite “factory” 2x12 was HANDS DOWN the EVH. It is a baby 2x12 in stature , but it sounds killer! That being said , I took a Marshall MC cab , and put two EVH Greenbacks and it is my go to now. The cab KILLS! I sold the factory speakers for $100 or so , and now I’ve got maybe $400 into the best sounding 2x12 I’ve ever jammed
The EVH does sound great. For me, I think a major factor in being satisfied by a 2x12 is the depth. A good 14" depth gives a smaller cab the girth to hang with a 4x12. I honestly think depth might matter more than overall internal volume, but I'm sure they are related. I've had some oversized 2x12s that were the standard 12-13 inches deep, and they didn't do the trick for me. The EVH sounds full for being so small. I do think it could sound a little better with a bit more height and internal volume, but the depth is on point.
 
Spaceboy":2eh8kl4w said:
Norton666":2eh8kl4w said:
My favorite “factory” 2x12 was HANDS DOWN the EVH. It is a baby 2x12 in stature , but it sounds killer! That being said , I took a Marshall MC cab , and put two EVH Greenbacks and it is my go to now. The cab KILLS! I sold the factory speakers for $100 or so , and now I’ve got maybe $400 into the best sounding 2x12 I’ve ever jammed
The EVH does sound great. For me, I think a major factor in being satisfied by a 2x12 is the depth. A good 14" depth gives a smaller cab the girth to hang with a 4x12. I honestly think depth might matter more than overall internal volume, but I'm sure they are related. I've had some oversized 2x12s that were the standard 12-13 inches deep, and they didn't do the trick for me. The EVH sounds full for being so small. I do think it could sound a little better with a bit more height and internal volume, but the depth is on point.

Gonna have to agree with the 14" depth observation here. I've had many listed: Bogner OS, Mesa, EVH, Friedman, Splawn, Stagecraft Diagonal, Marshall 1936, Port City Wave OS.

Currently have the Friedman and I love that one. It's a little more compact, but unsure how Dave did it as it handles my large stage and outdoor gigs beautifully--I'm not missing a 4x12, even though it's not a 4x12.

Second fave is the Bogner OS. It was a little more bitey compared to the Friedman and, to me and my band, did not have quite the same the room-filling and less directional impact of the Friedman. But still great.

All the other cabs in my experience had their pluses and minuses and you couldn't go wrong with them. Kinda weird, but I bought one of the first PC Wave OS's when they started making them after the smaller Wave 2x12s and it was very directional. Maybe the design improved, but again, this was one of the first OS's of the 2x12. I originally bought the smaller one and quickly fipped it for the larger.

The EVH is a sleeper for the price. I'd rip out those speakers for my tastes and put in what I like and it can hang surprisingly well with cabs almost twice it's price.
 
Spaceboy":1nezojv0 said:
Norton666":1nezojv0 said:
My favorite “factory” 2x12 was HANDS DOWN the EVH. It is a baby 2x12 in stature , but it sounds killer! That being said , I took a Marshall MC cab , and put two EVH Greenbacks and it is my go to now. The cab KILLS! I sold the factory speakers for $100 or so , and now I’ve got maybe $400 into the best sounding 2x12 I’ve ever jammed
The EVH does sound great. For me, I think a major factor in being satisfied by a 2x12 is the depth. A good 14" depth gives a smaller cab the girth to hang with a 4x12. I honestly think depth might matter more than overall internal volume, but I'm sure they are related. I've had some oversized 2x12s that were the standard 12-13 inches deep, and they didn't do the trick for me. The EVH sounds full for being so small. I do think it could sound a little better with a bit more height and internal volume, but the depth is on point.
If any of you guys are looking for an oversized 212 with 412 depth, then Suhr has one. I can't think of any others than that though.
 
squank":14xhujam said:
I've owned a Mesa Recto 2x12, Port City 2x12, Bogner OS 2x12, & and Avatar 2x12. The Recto beats them all, imo. It sounds as good as a great 4x12 with all the punch and low end you could want.

I had the Recto and Bogner at the same time and shot em out on video and under mic. Still have the Bogner, because it was just a bit more to my liking. Recto was good tho, and I'd have it again.
The Bogner is easier to move than a 4x12, and tho it sounds big for a 2x12, still not as big or open sounding as a 4x12. Which can actually be a good thing.
 
Another vote for the EVH cab. I picked one up used, swapped out the g12h30's for g12m greenbacks and it sounds fantastic. Tremendous bang for the buck. I never thought about it, but it is deeper than the Avatar 2x12 I used to own and sounds MUCH bigger- there may be something to the depth thing after all.
 
The EVH cabinet looks very reasonably priced. Does it get you guys' seal of approval, then? I wonder what the pine baffle does to the tone as opposed to birch plywood.
 
I don't know guys.
I'm close to quiting a band because we use 212 cabs in a small basement at whisper levels. Not fun.
My 412 cabs collect dust at home.
I miss playing with my last band. We played in a huge garage and cranked our 412 cabs. Man it felt so good.
Maybe if I could find a used Genz Benz G-Flex cab, it might sound bigger. :(
 
I’m a 412 guy, played my VH4 into the Diezel FL212 V30 cab the other day - it sounded great. Prefer a 412 but 212 are also good for combining with a 412 for a different spread and tightness.
 
I have a both mojotone and an avatar 2x12 blues breaker style cabs.
They have 1 v30 and 1 75 cream back.
They both sound great .
I think maybe the mojo has a slight edge on the avatar ?
 
I just tried both cabs on my vtm120
Maybe the avatar has a bit more bass ?
Or it could be its on the bottom?
They both sound great to me ?
 
I own the EVH 2x12 (now loaded with Redbacks) and the Bogner Helios OS. However, my favorite by far is the Orange vertical with the small slat opening. I took out the stock neo Creambacks and put an Alnico Cream on top and a 75w Creamback on bottom. Unbelievably full and clear sounding. It’s the only 2x12 I use anymore when I am not in a 4x12 mood.
 
Looks like an old post, but I agree with the posts a couple pages back. (2) 1x12 Thieles would by my choice. Hands down.
 
Another vote for a pair of MESA EVM-12L thiele cabs, stacked or spread out. Or the EVM-12L metal grille halfback with the top blocked off in the back.
 
Thiele cabinets suck in front of a mic, if that matters to you. All that bass that fills the room through the port fucks with the tone that comes directly from the speaker. Sounds big while standing in the room, but for recording or miked up at a gig, doesn’t translate.
 
Haven't tried a bunch that have been mentioned, but out of the ones I have tried:

I like the CAA 2x12's, followed closely by the older Boogie vertical metal grills. The boogies are huge though, and not much smaller than a 4x12 (and weigh a ton).
Next is the Recto and the Genz Benz Gflex. Those can be finicky though.
 
I don't know guys.
I'm close to quiting a band because we use 212 cabs in a small basement at whisper levels. Not fun.
My 412 cabs collect dust at home.
I miss playing with my last band. We played in a huge garage and cranked our 412 cabs. Man it felt so good.
Maybe if I could find a used Genz Benz G-Flex cab, it might sound bigger. :(
You aren't ever going to get a 2x12 to sound like a 4x12...been down that road. That said, the Genz G-Flex was the biggest sounding 2x12 I ever owned. On the other hand at the time I felt it was really no harder to take the 4x12 than too load the G-Flex, so I sold it.

I use the Bog OS 2x12 now, good solid cab, one of the best out there but I don't expect to sound as big as my 4x12.
 
You aren't ever going to get a 2x12 to sound like a 4x12...been down that road. That said, the Genz G-Flex was the biggest sounding 2x12 I ever owned. On the other hand at the time I felt it was really no harder to take the 4x12 than too load the G-Flex, so I sold it.

I use the Bog OS 2x12 now, good solid cab, one of the best out there but I don't expect to sound as big as my 4x12.
Yup, that's the truth.

The one I want to try is the Stage Craft diagonal 212 and three speaker cab.
For gigs and stuff, I like my Bogner 412.
This is more for practice. The bassist has a massive bass rig and my 212 sounds like a toy next to it.
 
I don’t know if it’s the biggest sounding, but when I borrowed an Orange 212 it didn’t sound any smaller than my Bogner 412 to me
 
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