tsp17 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Hey HOC pals. I'been away from HOC for a while due to time constraints. Happy to be back. I've always been curious about Neo speakers and I also wanted to "clean up" the clean tone and reduce some weight in my Heritage Victory (heresy?). I love my Victory, but i I am a clean jazz player (90%) and find that the stock Celestion G12h 30watt gets wooly and a little muddy on the low end earlier than i want. Maybe it is speaker fatigue as this amp was a gigging musician's amp and has some years on it, or maybe the way i have the amp dialed it. I was thinking that a higher watt rated speaker one noted for super clean tones, jazz oriented, might both reduce weight and give me a clearer, cleaner, more Twin-like response. Either way, i'll lose some pounds and my back will appreciate that. Based on reviews and tone samples i bought the three most likely candidates to fit this application. the three candidates from left to right: Jensen Neo 12-100 (out of production, i think i got one of the last ones available in the US), Jensen Jet Tornado 12, and Eminence Deltalite II. At first blush (i have not given them a good once over yet) all three look like very well made speakers, solid, light and tight tolerances. The Eminence is the most businesslike of the three, but all look very good. Nice Eminence feature to have solder-less screw in connection. I'll be testing them in 2 different applications: 1) Heritage Victory and 2) an Earcandy Soveriegn 1x12 closed back front ported cab. The Earcandy cab purchased on Ebay yesterday should be here in a few days so i will start this weekend in the Victory. Break in on Neos is supposed to be long so i'll post initial impressions of each pre-break in. The Jensen Neo 12 is supposed to be the most classic Fender clean tone, the Tornado is supposed to be a little "warmer" with slightly less bass, and the Eminence Deltalite II is reputed to be in the ballpark of an EVM. I will keep one for the Victory, one for the Earcandy cab, and sell the third (HOC gets first dibs). I will post better pics and some initial thoughts over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Welcome back I'll be interested in the results as I came close to putting in a 10in Jet Tornado as one half of my Vibrolux's complement. How are you planning to break them all in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golferwave Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Welcome back! Your little experiment should be fun and enlightening, can't wait to hear your take on them. Have you been to the Weber Speaker website to read the thoughts of Ted Weber on the NeoMag speakers? I thought his take on it was easy to understand and educational. I have a 15" Neo speaker in an amp that a friend built for me. Good luck with your project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulk1 Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 That Eminence does look the biz, doesn't it? My Vox AC30CC1 came with their branded Neo speaker. I love it! Took a few pounds off the cab, and sounds quite good. Without looking you'd never know it was a Neo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersteel Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Though I have them for a different application, the Neos in my bass rig are the bomb! I don't know how much lighter they are, but at least I don't need a forklift to lift my cabinets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsp17 Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 Welcome back! Your little experiment should be fun and enlightening, can't wait to hear your take on them. Have you been to the Weber Speaker website to read the thoughts of Ted Weber on the NeoMag speakers? I thought his take on it was easy to understand and educational. I have a 15" Neo speaker in an amp that a friend built for me. Good luck with your project! I did look at the weber info. I agree it was very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsp17 Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 Welcome back How are you planning to break them all in? Thanks all for the welcome back. it has been a couple of months since i posted anything of substance. As for break in, that will take a while so these reviews will be either slow in coming or pre-break in. Anyway - no. 1, the Jensen Neo 100. I found some interesting stuff in the Victory when i opened it up lots of dust, ...some loose unused stickers under the reverb: some styrofoam, some weird fuzzy stuff that i decided not to identify... a torn reverb tank bag barely hanging on ...Like i said, this amp has been gigged by a real musician... While i was in there i replaced what seemed to be the original speaker wire with an Analysis Plus set (same as they use in Carr Amps). Tone- brighter, more chime, more note to note definition. Low mids and bass held together very nicely, no boom, no mush, anywhere. Much tighter all over than the stock Celestion, but not quite as warm overall, especially on top. I was able to use more bass on the amp than i could with the Celestion which really brought out a clear tight defined bass and low mid sound that i had not heard before out of this Victory. Was fairly boomy before, but great at lower volumes. Some tweaking dialed in some nice warmer tones all round, but still not as warm as the Celestion. It is a very good speaker for playing clean and will probably warm up a bit with break in. I'll play with it for a few days then try the Jensen Jet Tornado. More to come.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Tad~ Don't stay away so long! I know. Life happens. Anyway, those are very cool speakers. I've wanted to hear from a real user since seeing them advertised. Now get to work on breaking those bad boys in. Play bass through the Victory until their cones cry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111518 Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Interested as well. My little Riviera Pubster is my carry around amp, but not crazy about the speaker. Been thinking a quality neo would make it both even easier to carry and sound better ...so, sign me up for test results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsp17 Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 Tad~ Don't stay away so long! I know. Life happens. Anyway, those are very cool speakers. I've wanted to hear from a real user since seeing them advertised. Now get to work on breaking those bad boys in. Play bass through the Victory until their cones cry. Thanks brother. Played some more early this morning (instead of working out). Very clean. You can definitely hear more detail and the acoustic qualities of the guitar (H576 in this case) than the stock speaker. I haven't really cranked it yet, but from my moderate volume noodling last night there is tons of headroom. The only break up you hear is from the amp. I've heard this speaker referred to as sterile, nasal, or too hi-fi, but that was when they first came out. These are out of production so mine must be a later one, or those reviewers were looking for something less transparent, more colored. This speaker, so far, appears to be about as transparent as any i've heard and very responsive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 interested in your findings...I have 2 neo speakers I have yet to try out a jensen neo and eminence tonker lite the guy I got them from ( a stupendously amazing jazz guitarist! ) said the original jensens weren't very good, but the new ones are great he said eminence nailed it right out of the gate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsp17 Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 Latest on the Jensen Neo. I like it a lot. Been spending some good time with it running and seems to be breaking in nicely. Very Blackface Fender clean. Definitely giving me what i was hoping for in the Victory. Maybe like an old JBL or Jensen Twin style speaker. No hiding mistakes, though. If your pick attack is off, or weak, it shows. Lots of sparkle and very tight bass. I haven't put any pedals in front yet, hoping for some time to do that today. Earcandy Sovereign 1x12 cab I bought on Ebay should be here soon. when it gets here i will put the Jensen Neo in it, and put the Tornado into the Victory for comparison. Eminence Deltalite will be last as i have a feeling that one will end up in the Sovereign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsp17 Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 interested in your findings...I have 2 neo speakers I have yet to try out a jensen neo and eminence tonker lite the guy I got them from ( a stupendously amazing jazz guitarist! ) said the original jensens weren't very good, but the new ones are great he said eminence nailed it right out of the gate I hear very good things about that Tonkerlite. Almost went for that instead of the Tornado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsp17 Posted November 30, 2013 Author Share Posted November 30, 2013 I know that i am supposed to have clips by now, but [insert excuse here]. The Jensen NEO 12 is opening up nicely. Neutral and clear. Very nice speaker. I loaded the Eminence Deltalite 2 into the Earcandy Sovereign 1x12 cabinet. very big and full sounding but far from broken in. These have very long break in time, so i don't know that it is fair to talk tone just yet. Big for sure. The cab is part of that equation of course and this very well made cabinet is front ported, tight and solid. The Deltalite is wonderful on the bottom half of the tone spectrum, big, full and detailed, but not pleasing yet in the upper kids and i definitely wouldn't call the highs "sweet". The upper mids are a even little harsh sometimes, so far. I have heard many times that these are worth the wait and will warm up a lot over time. Once this one is broken in i will swap it for the Jensen NEO to A/B and report. No. 3, the Jensen Jet NEO will have to wait... although i am gassing for a 2x12 to go with my new Comins-Alessandro head. One of these 3 NEO's in the 1x12 and the other two in a 2x12? i think i know where this path leads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 you could try the "plug your stereo into the speaker & let it run lots of bass heavy music while you're at work" approach to speaker break in....I hear people say it works & skips about a year of playing time! might drive your pets/family nuts though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0aj15 Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 you could try the "plug your stereo into the speaker & let it run lots of bass heavy music while you're at work" approach to speaker break in....I hear people say it works & skips about a year of playing time! Been there-done that, it works great for me. I have used that method on all new speakers for several years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterbright Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 broken in Weber is the way to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsp17 Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 just an update: after about 25 hours of play time the Eminence Deltalite is breaking in well, and consistently improving all around. in the upper mids i still get some nasal harshness. I can see why some folks bail on it after a while. taking a long time to get to home base, but it seems well worth it. Good match for this Earcandy 1x12 Sovereign cabinet. I like the cabinet so much that i ordered a custom 2x12 from Tim (Earcandy owner). looking forward to receiving it after xmas. voiced for jazz, birdseye maple front. the other two NEO speakers will go in it. I can see why this Eminence Deltalite would be a great bass or PA speaker, it sounds big and tons of detail, crisply articulate. no hiding on this one, especially if you are playing very clean. I have not put any pedals in front of it yet, but it really seems to put out whatever you put in. A little on the dark side if anything. It is definitely darker than the Jensen NEO-12. Hopefully that little bit of high-mid harshness will go away. if so, this speaker is a great light weight option to a big magnet to generate that big EVM or JBL sound. It is certainly very well made right, here in the USA. Great attention to detail and quality. I feel the same about the Eminence Cannabis Rex that i have in my PRRI. I might try their Tonlkerlite next. I hear great things about it for clean jazz playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 Nice updated review, Tad. I realize you play mostly clean jazz, but do these Jensen Neo speakers ever break up? Also, I've thought of dropping a Cannabis Rex in my PRII, but the Weber Anico is happy in it for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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