Reviewer Aram Chekijian
Experience 15
Email aram_chekijian@yahoo.com
Review date June 24 2002
Manufacturer Bergantino Audio Systems
Model HT210
Price $999 list, around $700 new
Item owned for 1-6 months

Dimensions 18"H x 22-3/4"W x 18"D
Weight 64 lbs
Power 400 RMS
Speakers 2-10" cast frame woofers w/ 56oz. magnets, vented pole pieces / hig
h intelligibility tweeter with cast horn
Ohms 8 ohms
Other www.bergantino.com

I purchased the Bergantino HT210 several months ago along with an Eden WT-400 head and, later, a QSC RMX 2450 power amp. Here are my thoughts on the Bergantino:

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Construction: The HT210 is an extremely rugged cabinet with no discernable construction flaws. All of the components are the best I have seen and heard in any bass cabinet in my experience. The drivers and the tweeter/crossover combination are really exquisite, and well-engineered. Dimensionally, the cabinet is well designed for two reasons: its width and depth give ample space for a rack system to sit on top; and every Bergantino cabinet is designed to stack (and lock) on top of one another (with the exception of the HT112 and the new EX112, which are portable 112 cabs). This is sometimes taken for granted by manufacturers, but I regard it as an important feature nonetheless.

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Sound/Power Handling: I decided on the HT210 based on comparisons I made in sound and power capabilities with other similar products. I would describe the overall sound as much less 'middy' or 'honky' than any other cabinet I have ever played through. It has a very musical sounding midrange - slightly scooped and 'Marcus sounding'. And with a clean amp (I tried it through a Glockenklang head...it doesn't get much cleaner than that), it faithfully reproduced the natural sound of my bass with no unwanted coloration (except a slight mid-scoop as mentioned). I actually like low-mids in my sound, and boosting the EQ in those frequncies yielded a tight, well-projected sound. But for slapping, scooping the mids on your amp or bass makes this cabinet really punch through.

A side-by-side comparison with an Eden 210 XLT was (to me) like night and day. The lows in the Bergantino were considerably tighter and more pronounced, and the cabinet seemed to be capable of much more volume without giving out under pressure...even with the low B. The highs were equally astounding: I play a six string, and tweeter/crossover setup is unreal on this cabinet. The difference was immediately apparent when I played a riff going from middle to high strings. When I played a similar run on the Eden 210, you could hear where the tweeter kicked in (in fact you could pretty much pinpoint the exact note). Furthermore, on the Eden, there was a definite difference in tone between the notes coming from the woofers, and those coming from the tweeter. This was not at all the case with the Bergantino: it was completely consistent from the very lowest, to the very highest notes on my bass. It was literally the same tone anywhere on the spectrum. Granted in most rock band settings, this is not something that would be easily noticed, but in gigs where the bass is a prominent instrument (in a trio setting, for instance), and when soloing, this makes a huge difference.

Compared with an Epifani 310, the HT210 (in my opinion) actually produced more sound - despite the extra driver in the Epifani - and had a tighter low end. It also seemed capable of withstanding more power, although I didn't test that to the point where the speakers on either would distort. In this comparison, the Bergantino was also 'cleaner' sounding to me, and a little more hi-fi than the 310 Epifani. Bergantino also makes a 310, which is easily more impressive than many 410s?

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Customer Service: Again, top marks, because I was able to speak on several occasions directly with Jim Bergantino himself after purchasing the cabinet. He was a tremendous help to me in choosing a power amp, and is very knowledgeable about both speakers and amps (he's actually an electrical engineer). He is also a friendly guy, and very down to earth.

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Conclusion: Bergantino's cabs have obviously made a huge impression on me. I personally don't think you can go wrong with one of these, because they offer very faithful sounding reproduction of your bass, with an amazing power capability, and a musical sounding coloration (not sterile at all). The only way to truly tell for yourself is to compare side-by-side (as I have) with competitors, but even if you went on faith and ordered one, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be disappointed. I play many different kinds of music (from funk/rock to jazz/fusion, etc...), and I can?t think of a single situation where I wouldn?t want a Bergantino cabinet. I haven't tried it on upright yet, but I'm sure it would blow my mind.

With a sufficiently powerful amp, one HT210 on it's own is definitely capable of most medium- to large-sized gigs. I personally plan to pick up an HT115 when I have extra dough, but this cab has cut it on its own so far. For smaller gigs in the future, I also plan to pick up his extremely portable HT112, which sounds WAY bigger than its size would have you believe. Overall, kudos to Jim Bergantino for coming out with an amazing line of products.


Construction 100%
Clarity 100%
Volume 100%
Portability 100%
Customer Service 100%
Value 100%
Overall 100%

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