Laney's FR112 Active Cab

    This thing looks awesome:
    The LFR-112 is suitable for any type of modelling set up and is not confined to just guitar players. the LFR-112 is ideally suited to the demands of keyboard players.
    • Conventional Cabinet Design
    • Full Range Flat Response
    • 47HZ - 20KHZ
    • 1 x 12" Driver
    • 1" Compression Driver
    • 200 Watts RMS
    • 400 Watts Power
    • Switchable Front Baffle Illumination
    • Tilt Mechanism
    • XLR Combi/Jack Socket
    • Selectable Cabinet Emulation
    • Aux In
    • On Board Switchable Studio Quality Cabinet Emulation
    • Cabinet Emulated DI-Out



    I know a lot of users were praising Laney's IRT-X speakers, but it has a 8" speaker and I was thinking hmm.


    This cab, on the other hand, looks killer. Great specs, check out how low it goes, apparently low enough for a keyboard. 200 watts of power, 12" speaker with 1" compression driver. And, like the IRT-X, it has modes to emulate two different types of cabinet configurations.


    Has anyone tried one of these? I was just looking at my friendly neighbourhood music store and chanced across these. There isn't a lot of talk about them yet, probably because they're just trickling into the US.


    Can any of our European friends give us the skinny on these? Great price too!

    Quote from Ingolf

    19.5 kg for the LFR-112 vs 11.6 kg for the IRT-X certainly means a step towards heavier rigs which I find undesirable.
    Power specs are the same and other than one has an 8" bass driver and the other a 12", what gives?


    I think one thing that a lot of IRT-X users complained about was that it could not keep up with a band. Perhaps that has been rectified.


    A 1x12" speaker would require a bigger cabinet. Also, the fact that it can handle keyboards is also a significant difference.


    I also read somewhere that the IRT-X was not suitable for heavy distorted guitars.

    My experiene with the IRT-X is that it does handle all gain stages very well ..


    I only use it at home therefore can't tell how it stands up in a band situation. Its just a little less open sounding than my JBL-305 monitors. ( can go very loud though)

    Quote from nightlight

    I think one thing that a lot of IRT-X users complained about was that it could not keep up with a band. Perhaps that has been rectified.


    A 1x12" speaker would require a bigger cabinet. Also, the fact that it can handle keyboards is also a significant difference.


    I also read somewhere that the IRT-X was not suitable for heavy distorted guitars.

    Well, logic first, please: why should the IRT-X (an FRFR cab by definition) not be suitable for heavy distorted guitars?
    Why should one be able to handle keyboards and the other not?
    Why should one 200 W device keep up with a band and the other not (provided the speaker in the IRT-X isn’t total crap, but again, why should it be?)?

    I can’t find anywhere online that says what the IRT-X enclosure is made from. With the weight in mind and the form factor, I suspect some kind of plastic. The LFR-112 is made from plywood; obviously, not the same wood that the best sounding cabinets are made from (birch..?), but still a step up from plastic, especially with regards to guitar tone. I’d bet that the LFR-112 has a more linear response than the IRT-X and less distortion for that matter, given the larger woofer.

    Quote from Ingolf

    Well, logic first, please: why should the IRT-X (an FRFR cab by definition) not be suitable for heavy distorted guitars?Why should one be able to handle keyboards and the other not?
    Why should one 200 W device keep up with a band and the other not (provided the speaker in the IRT-X isn’t total crap, but again, why should it be?)?

    Not all speakers that label themselves FRFR are actually linear, far from it, and an 8” woofer won’t be exactly full range either, at that price. If all FRFR speakers were equal, we’d all be mixing on whatever cheapo speakers were in stock at our local retailers.

    Quote from sambrox

    Not all speakers that label themselves FRFR are actually linear, far from it, and an 8” woofer won’t be exactly full range either, at that price. If all FRFR speakers were equal, we’d all be mixing on whatever cheapo speakers were in stock at our local retailers.

    Right (as if I didn't know). ;)
    But the specs read: 40Hz-35kHz -3dB (40Hz 3rd Order HPF) for the IRT-X
    and
    47Hz - 20KHz (without deviation given) for the LFR-112.


    Looks good (on paper) for both, doesn’t it?


    And price wise they are also very close.


    I'm interested what the factual differences might be.
    The LFR-112 is definitely for the more conservative guitarist wanting a conventional looking cab on stage.

    Quote from Ingolf

    Well, logic first, please: why should the IRT-X (an FRFR cab by definition) not be suitable for heavy distorted guitars?Why should one be able to handle keyboards and the other not?
    Why should one 200 W device keep up with a band and the other not (provided the speaker in the IRT-X isn’t total crap, but again, why should it be?)?


    No experience with either speaker, this is what people who own them have said. I suspect the reason is tied to bass response and low end. I find that spec that the IrT-X produces frequencies up to 35khz a bit dubious too.


    @sambrox, the IRT-X is made of MDF.


    I’ve played through 8” speakers, I find them lacking in the bass response, and I suspect this is why people say the IRT-X is not suitable for heavy music. Same logic would apply to keyboards, which generate a lot of low end.


    We’ll have to wait for Sam to test and report.