ZT Lunchbox VS Roland Cube

[vilk]

So, since my attempt to buy a ZT Club the other day failed, I continued researching, and I found many comparisons to the Roland Cube. It appears that the ZT Club is not that easy to come by. I did an offer on reverb but got one-upped. So I give up on the Club. However, my dream of having one tiny amp that I can carry anywhere and do anything on a whim lives on.

Now, ZT Lunchbox is easy to find, though it is kinda niche, but I figure Roland Cubes are popular enough that I'm sure many people can give input on them. If someone has happened to have played both, that I would like to hear about.

ZT Lunchbox is small and light, but is rated for 200W with a 6.5" speaker. There's no EQ or reverb and apparently even the gain is pretty light. I figure if I had one of these I'd just drop a pedalboard in front of it. However, I do not own any pedals. However, pedalboards are infinitely customizable, and that is cool.

Roland Cube is larger than a ZT Lunchbox and heavier. It is only rated for 80W, despite that the speaker is much larger (12"). The Cube has 3 channels! Built in reverb AND delay!! Gain, reverb, and delay are practically the only effects I ever use or need or want. I could theoretically skip the pedalboard with one of these. But then again, in the world of amps with built in FX, they usually suck. Well, I admit I'm thinking of Line 6. Do Cubes' built in FX suck?


Now, every description and review of the ZT Lunchbox says you can play it over live drums. Is it also true of the Roland Cube 80w?
I've also read that it's as simple as plugging your Roland Cube into a cab and you'll instantly supersize your sound. I could just bring one 1x12 combo to any kind of gig, if it's small I'll be set, if it's large I'll drop it on a cab that they'd hopefully have around. The ZT Lunchbox however, I believe is only built to be plugged into it's 6.5" speaker extension cab. Then again, having to lug only 2 tiny tiny 20lbs speaker cabs around certainly isn't overwhelming, it could definitely still fit within my dream.

What do you guys think about these products? Any and all input greatly appreciated!

 

[Petar Bogdanov]

For what it's worth, 7" speakers top out at 94dB/W and 12" speakers easily go to 100dB/W, so they sound 6dB louder for the same power. It's the equivalent of quadrupling the electrical power.

 

[vilk]

That's crazy. So that Lunchbox could only possibly be 200w worth of loud if you had the extension cab running, and even then it couldn't be a full 200.

It also means that the 80w Cube can play over drums, since theoretically it's louder than the Lunchbox which absolutely must?

 

[EmaDaCuz]

I used to play an old Cube 60 with my band, at 10 o'clock is more than enough to be heard over a loud drummer.
Beast of an amp, still use it as a backup only because one of the EQ knob is not moving anymore, otherwise it would still be my go-to amp.

 

[Petar Bogdanov]

That's crazy. So that Lunchbox could only possibly be 200w worth of loud if you had the extension cab running, and even then it couldn't be a full 200.

It also means that the 80w Cube can play over drums, since theoretically it's louder than the Lunchbox which absolutely must?

You don't hear watts, instead, you hear decibels. 100dB/W is still just a measly 1% of efficiency. Loudness always depends on both the wattage and the sensitivity. There's a logarithmic relationship, but here are a few examples to spare you the math:
2W of power = dB/W rating + 3dB
4W of power = dB/W rating + 6dB
10W power = dB/W rating + 10dB
100W power = dB/W rating + 20dB

80W amp with a decent speaker should get plenty loud. How good it sounds at that volume is another matter, especially with a metal drummer...