| Author | Message | ||
| gare
Member Username: gare Post Number: 78 Registered: 11-2003 |
I've been doing a little reseach in prepartaion to upgrade my speaker cabinets. I keep running into the 'Neo' speakers..seems to be the rage now. Anyone have experience with them ? Advantages ? One advantage I see is a hugh weight savings over ferrite magnet speakers. But how but they sound ? Hows the frequency range etc. | ||
| nick_bassman
Member Username: nick_bassman Post Number: 59 Registered: 9-2002 |
Hi gare I am currently running an Epifani 310UL in my rig. The cabinet is incredibly light for the speaker line up (47lbs) this is due in a large part to the Neo magnets. Tone wise IMO it matches up very well with all the other conventional magnetted (sic) cabinets I have owned (Eden,SWR). I like the Epifani sound over the other two anyway which is why I bought it. Some people have tried both the UL and NY cabinets and said they sound remarkably close, with the UL having a slightly more ballsy midrange. I haven't had that chance so that's only hearsay. I do know my back is grateful for the change. One thing I have also read is that Neo magnets do not like heat, so it is important that the speaker is designed to dissipate the heat generated when driving the speaker heavily. I hope that helps. Cheers Nick | ||
| poor_nigel
Advanced Member Username: poor_nigel Post Number: 335 Registered: 7-2003 |
Neodymium is pricey stuff. I have two tiny neodymium magnets that I took out of a hard drive that I freak people at work out with. They are about 1/2" wide and an inch long, but only 1/32" thick. I hand them to people and tell to see if they can pull them apart, without sliding them off. No one has accomplished this yet. Yep, it does get a bit boring at work sometimes . . . The loss of weight is primarily what you are paying for. I have JBL 2" drivers with neodymium, Alnico 5, and ferrite magnets. The Alnico and ferrite ones weight @ 30 pounds each. The neodymium drivers weigh 10 pounds each. That is a significant difference. Your back will thank you, regardless of how your pocketbook will view you. The sound is the same from all of these (IMO). All have the same wattage ratings and frequency range, and all use the same titanium diaphragns. However, as with Alnico, but a bit worse (From what I have read), neodymium is more susceptible to loss of gauss from being jarred, heated up, and loss over time than ferrite magnets are. You can always have them remagnetized if you have a reconing shop around, but they must be removed and strapped down on a table to do this, as the remagnetizing is so strong it makes speakers jump around. As a business expense for touring, this does not matter much, as the speakers will probably be trashed or blown before they ever lose enough gauss to matter. The neodymium speaker I have checked out usually handle a bit less watts, but have a slightly extended low-end compared to their company's ferrite models. They usually cost about $100 to $200 more than comparible models from the same company (I generally only look at kind of high-end stuff, so . . .). OK, I'm done yakking. | ||
| gare
Member Username: gare Post Number: 79 Registered: 11-2003 |
Thanks for the responses..any info is good info. I've also asked a friend whose into chemistry etc (ok,he's kinda geeky) what he knew, he sent a fairly long explanation of neodymium, I'd be happy to share privately if anyone is interested (so's not to eat up bandwidth). In that explanation it mentions deterioration and oxidation,which is more rapid than say a ferrite magnet. I was also reading up on the Deltalite's,the 10" shows a frequency range of 40hz to 3.5k hz. That's a nice low end for a 10". The quest for knowledge continues. | ||
| xlrogue6
Member Username: xlrogue6 Post Number: 81 Registered: 8-2002 |
I'm really liking the sound of 12" Eminence Neodymium drivers in both my Boogie Scout combo and my Walkabout head driven Genz Benz 212. I got rid of my beloved rectangular early 70's Ampeg 810 after getting the Genz Benz, and amazingly, I haven't missed the old beast. My Rogues sound great through both of these rigs with very minimal EQ. And I LOVE them at loadout time! | ||
| gare
Member Username: gare Post Number: 85 Registered: 11-2003 |
Kent Thx for the response, sounds like you have a very nice rig there. | ||
| dean_m
Advanced Member Username: dean_m Post Number: 364 Registered: 7-2002 |
Hey Gare, I've been using the Ampeg Portabass cabs for about two years now. They feature neos with an Italian poplar cab. A 2x10 weighs in at 32lbs. I like the way the neos sound but I've recently swapped them out for "regular" speakers. Two reasons: Just as Poor Nigel mentioned, neos do lose guass from being over heated quite a bit more than Alnicos. Once this is lost, it cannot be reversed. (or so I was told) The speakers that Ampeg was using were very inefficient and took a lot of power to push. I was losing some of the punch that I like in my sound. It's almost like they had too much "boom" to them Even with the new speakers, the cab still only weighs in at less than 45lbs | ||
| gare
Member Username: gare Post Number: 86 Registered: 11-2003 |
Hey Dino..thx for the info..2 years ? Seems like a pretty short time. One thing I read said that if a Neo magnet were coated/plated with say nickel it would greatly extend their life span. The weight savings is attractive, I really dont want another hernia. My original thought was to go with JBL 'E' speakers, but they've been discontinued. The quest continues | ||
| dean_m
Advanced Member Username: dean_m Post Number: 365 Registered: 7-2002 |
Hey Gare, Hang in there man. The quest will always continue.... I've been hauling my SVT around for 20 some odd years now. When Ampeg came out with the Portbasss stuff in Jan of 2003, I was ecstatic. So yeah it hasn't been quite 2 years yet. Oh the neos were still working fine when I pulled them and I didn't notice any degradation in them, I just wanted to compare them with standard speakers just because of their effeciency rating. Thanks for the tip on nickel plating too... (in my best Johhny Carson voice) I did not know that.... Peace, Dino | ||
| xlrogue6
Member Username: xlrogue6 Post Number: 82 Registered: 8-2002 |
I listened to the Portabass cabs when they were introduced and found them "adequate" at best. Had the opposite experience with the Scout and the GenzBenz. After hearing the Portabass, I was skeptical about neodymium drivers, but was instantly hooked on the sound of the Scout and the GenzBenz. Efficiency is not an issue for either of these--I've got power to spare when using my Walkabout head with the Genz Benz with my pretty damn loud blues band (http://www.sonic.net/~michaelb/) which kind of surprises me since the Walkabout is only 300 watts. Similarly, for most of my other gigs, the Scout combo is plenty, even though I ordered it with an 8 ohm speaker to allow use of extension cabs without fear of thermal unhappiness in the head. | ||
| dadabass2001
Advanced Member Username: dadabass2001 Post Number: 285 Registered: 6-2002 |
xlrogue "without fear of thermal unhappiness in the head" sounds like a potential hazard for Naval personnel based in the tropics. Mike (excuse the giddyness ... rehearsal last night ... leftover puns) | ||
| dean_m
Advanced Member Username: dean_m Post Number: 366 Registered: 7-2002 |
xlrogue, what head were you using to demo the Portabass cabs and which cab were you trying? They are drastically different from cab to cab | ||
| poor_nigel
Advanced Member Username: poor_nigel Post Number: 341 Registered: 7-2003 |
Gare - If you were interested in JBL E-Series speakers, then you will probably be interested in their replacements that Beyma is coming out with. Go here and click on the Beyma link. http://www.usspeaker.com/homepage.htm While there, check out the other Beyma speakers. They are used in many of the high-end speaker cabinets people on here rave about, like BagEnd (? Don't remember how to spell it!) and Accugroove El Whappos and their Grande cabs, too. They also have some fairly impressive neodymium speakers. Pricey? Oh yea! Worth it? I have never heard or read a bad word about them. Dino - I had no idea neodyminums could not be remagnetized. I will go exploring, check this out and respond back if I find different. What will I do with all these 2" drivers a couple of decades down the road? Door stops? Hmmm . . . Well I will probably be retired, so I could use an anchor for a fishing boat. Opps, their not heavy enough - Doh! | ||
| xlrogue6
Member Username: xlrogue6 Post Number: 83 Registered: 8-2002 |
Dino- IIRC, I tried the Portabass 250 through a 210. Gare- you also might want to check out the Chinese made JBL knockoffs (12", 15" and 18") that Magic Parts (the Ruby Tubes folks) sells. Very affordable and very nice, IMO. Kent | ||
| gare
Member Username: gare Post Number: 91 Registered: 11-2003 |
Nigel Funny you should mention the Beyma's, I was checking them out yesterday. They are a contender. I also do like the BagEnds<--spelled correctly. Decisions decisions. Well,the roof could wait,and I like mac n cheese. And dont rule out paper weights and ash trays for those drivers. Kent Thx for the tip, I'll check them out G | ||
| dean_m
Advanced Member Username: dean_m Post Number: 368 Registered: 7-2002 |
Hey Kent, Yeah I was afraid you were going to say that combination. Unfortunately the PB250 just isn't powerful enough to run the 210. I know this makes no sense to pair a cab with a head that isn't powerful enough. This is why Ampeg is coming out with the PB800. The 250 makes a cool little amp, for small apps though. I have been using a B5R to power two 210 cabs and that seems to work well. http://www.monotunesmusic.com/Equipment.html Thanks, Dino | ||
| gare
Member Username: gare Post Number: 92 Registered: 11-2003 |
Dino Nice site..do you ever get to the Chicago/Milwaukee area for your clinics ? | ||
| dean_m
Advanced Member Username: dean_m Post Number: 369 Registered: 7-2002 |
Hey Gare, It's been a while since I've been in you area and the clinic trail has slowed down a bit. It just the simple economics of it all and stores justifiably don't want to pay for a clinician unless they're a big name. I'm hoping this changes in the next year or so. I've got some plans up my sleeve. I've just got to figure out how to work it. Peace, Dino | ||
| bkbass
Member Username: bkbass Post Number: 80 Registered: 11-2003 |
Just discussing a 10"s cab with Marc Serio at DR.Bass.He likes the freq.response of the NEO 10's.Weight wise he says the Eminence Beta's are about the same sans the low freq's.I've spent some time on the US speaker site as well as Eminence and the Beta's are about a 1/3 the cost of the NEO's.The AMPEG 10's and 12's are NOT Eminence I think they maybe RCF and thats probly why the conflicting stories on performance. |
