Has anyone had any joy with Neodymium speakers?

[Wolfchild]

The light weight really appeals to me but how do they sound?

Any recommendations - Celestion Century, Jensen Neo?


W.

 

[>Photi G<]

Weber NeoMag 12. It's supposed to sound like the old JBL D120's. And Weber has a good reputation.

 

[MrMarkIII]

I had a Century G12 80 watter in a Lone Star Classic 100 watt amp. It blew the first set of the first gig. Never again. They are more sensitive to heat build-up, that's why the cooling fins on neo speakers.
Also considerable less bottom end, or a bit too bright (pretty much the same thing).
I just don't think the technology is quite there yet. YMMV.

 

[thunda1216]

With regards to Neo speakers, I've had good luck with the Eminence Tonkerlite. As far as technology goes, the signal does not pass through the magnet, so what's the problem? I also have a 4x12 cab loaded with Jensen Mod 12-35 speakers that have really small ceramic magnets, no problems.

Maybe it's like all Celestion speakers: When they say 25 or 60 or 80 watts, that's *exactly* what they mean! Celestions sound great, but are not (IMHO) forgiving when overpowered...

Or, the Chinese Celestions aren't up to snuff...

OR, some new mass produced items, regardless of brand can fail...

*OR,* I haven't a clue

go figure

ty

 

[markwayne]

I put a Eminence 'Lil Texas in my Mark IV about a month ago. I think it sounds pretty good and the weight reduction is dramatic. It took some tweaking of course. Interestingly, I found this speaker makes my lead channel tone work without the GEQ. This speaker is a little beamy, (though no more so than a lot of Celestions). Slap a little duct tape on the grill and it's just fine. I usually mic the back of open-back combos anyway and I think it has as much low end as the EVM from the back (and that's saying something.)

As for power ratings, the 'Lil Texas is rated at 125 watts RMS so I feel comfortable using it with a Mark IV. Of course, I would take any claims for power ratings by any speaker manufacturer with a grain of salt. For what it's worth I have driven this Neo at levels meeting or exceeding those I've been at with the EVM, and had no problems.

I guess you can put me in the converted crowd. I will still throw my old EVM in an external cab for outdoor gigs as I just love those speakers esp. when paired with a more aggressive sounding speaker.

 

[scottcrud]

I've got a 4x12 with 2 Century 80's in an X pattern with 2 Emi Red Ryders and it sounds great, no problems, not heat build up, no loss of low end, no high end spike, they sound good. And I play LOUD. When we rehearse we usually go for 5-6 hours and I haven't had a problem in 5 years with mine.