Has anybody tried the new lightweight neodymium speakers?

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

They are reported to weigh much less than regular ones, but how do they sound?
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Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

I have an eminence neo in a marrs ultralight cab.
The cab and speaker weigh next to nothing.

Hows it sound? i think its sounds fine.
speakers are really subjective ,so i am sure others will disagree and say they sound thin or whatever.

Jim Dickinson · From: Washington, USA

I agree with Ben, it all depends of the design of the speaker. Early ones may have had some problems, but, the industry is getting better and better at using Neodymnium. All other things being equal, there ought to be be no difference in sound quality from other magnet types. For more information and discussion, check out the following thread. Jim

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=160131

Jon Light (deceased) · From: Saugerties, NY

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Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

I put a Celestion Cuntury in my Stage 112SE, and it sounds fine! Weighs about 3 lbs, and has a very "classic" old speaker tone. I was going to retrofit all my amps with the new BW neos, but then someone said they weigh 10 lbs. Sad

There's no excuse for a speaker with a neo mag to be that heavy. Oh Well

Dan Tyack · From: Olympia, WA USA

I had a Celestion Century in a 2X12" THD (paired with an old JBL D120). It sounded great, before it was stolen. Probably still sounds great.... Smile

When recording, I always chose to mike the Century. It sounded similar to the JBL, but with a smoother top end.

Jon Jaffe · From: Austin, Texas

I have Peavey Neo in my NV 400 that I have had since '83. It is noticeably lighter but not weightless. The BW basket is heavier to begin with. I had cleaned the coil on the old one three times and it was due again, so I opted for a new one. The sound is just fine. Tight and clear.

I also have one in a TC Furlong CB12. That is a 12" and a closed back system, so it is not comparable sound wise. However, it will take much more volume and base than the speaker in the NV 112. I believe that most speakers will be Neo or some other light weight material for the foreseeable future I wonder why the baskets are not made from carbon fiber or some other rigid plastic. I am sure there are vintage people who find fault with them, but I have been pleased.

David Cook · From: Florida, USA

HI, I have a Weber neo 15" in an open back cabinet that I use with my BF Twin.It sounds good at medium to low volume, but it breaks up when pushed(Playing with a loud drummer) I was happy at first,it is so light, but it won't handle full band gigs. Although I'm thinking about pointing the cabinet up at me and turning down( Haven't tried yet)

Jay Ganz · From: Out Behind The Barn

Jensen also makes Neo's and they're available in 4 or 8 ohms.
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Tim Whitlock · From: Colorado, USA

Agree with David Cook about the Weber Neo 15. Good sounding speaker but it breaks up rather badly at band volume (in a Twin Reverb).

I also tried the Jensen Neo 15 and it was utterly un-usable. Terrible, brittle high frequency spikes and flubby low end.

Stephen Silver · From: Asheville, NC

Mike, I like my Peavey 1501 SB with Neo just fine and that is what I was using when I was at the jam last February.

SS
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Jay Ganz · From: Out Behind The Barn

Aren't those 12" 80 watt Celestion Century speakers around $300 or so? Whoa!

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

I haven't heard one I really liked yet, out of about six. However, tone design (and results) are compensatory, and I think we're still pretty much in a stage where people are putting first-generation neo speakers in cabinets designed around the frequency specs of "old-fashioned" speakers. At some point, someone will be designing molded polypropylene cabs for third-generation neodymium speakers, and we'll have 10 lb. 300-watt enclosures (that you'll have to put a sandbag in, to keep them from a-wanderin'...)

I think T.C. Furlong is designing his cabs to the speaker already? I've got my 500 watt head and two Black Widows all under 30 lbs or so, so I'm holding out for the neo-poly-switchmode 1000 watt combo that fits in a lunchbox. Mr. Green

Mike Brown · From: Meridian, Mississippi USA

As most musicians are aware, the impedence of a Peavey Black Widow speaker is not determined by the magnet, but by the basket. Therefore, the Peavey neo magnet can be used on either the four or eight ohm basket. Also, if the basket fails either to user abuse or material failure(which is rare), you can replace the defective basket in about 5 minutes. That's the beauty!

Alan Harrison · From: Murfreesboro Tennessee, USA

My Evans SE-200 sounds great with a 1501-4 and a Neo Magnet. Weighs in at 42 lbs.
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"I Steel Without Remorse"

David Doggett · Posted 17 Jun 2009 8:42 pm

Okay, I just got a slightly used Weber Neo 12 and love it. A JBL D130F is my favorite pedal steel speaker. I use one or two of them in Marrs cabs with my Dual Showman Reverb head. But for my blues group, I decided to move to a 2x12 cab, to cut through the mix a little better and to sound more slide guitar-like. I have an old Super Twin cab with 2x12 Fenders, which are probably Jensens. The chassis is gone to a head cab, so I closed up the chassis slot, and added 1/2" plywood slats to the back to close it up about 2/3s. Well, the Jensens sound too dark and thick. I've been wanting to replace them with Weber Neo 12s.

I was trying to save up for a pair of Weber Neo 12s, and saw this one for sale on the Forum, and decided to get it and pair it with one of the Jensens. Wow, what a sound. With the Jensens I was actually thinking my strings were too old or my tubes were going. But this Weber Neo brought everything back to life. It has great horn-like mids and JBL-like clarity in the highs without being piercing. I don't have a JBL D120F to compare it to directly, but it certainly sounds every bit like I expect a JBL to sound.

Some people say the Weber Neos are a little thinner than JBLs. That may be because they aren't broken in like an old JBL would be. At any rate, this one sounds just right for me, at least paired with this darker sounding Jensen. Eventually I'll have to get another Weber Neo 12 to see how two of them sound together.

The surprise was that the Neo 12 weighs more (8 lbs.) than the Jensen (5 lbs.). These are heavy duty Jensens that came stock in the 180 watt Super Twin. I figured they must weigh pretty close to what a JBL D120F would. Wrong. I know a D130F weighs 13 lbs. So I'm guessing a D120F weighs about 10-11 lbs. (anybody now what one actually weighs?). So the Weber Neo only shaves 2 or 3 lbs. off the weight, compared to a JBL. 4-6 lbs. taken off the overall weight of a 2x12 cab is welcome, but it's not the big deal I thought it would be.

Dan Tyack · From: Olympia, WA USA

David, I have a prediction: You are going to like the mix of the Weber and the Jensen better than two Webers. I'm a huge fan of mixing JBL type 12" speakers with other types.

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