Re: [Harp-L] Re: Jensen Neo 15-150?

[MARK BURNESS <markwjburness@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dan,

I would strongly advise against replacing the 6x8" set up with 2x12".

230" sq. vs 300" sq. IS quite a difference, plus you start losing out in terms 
of SPL, put 2 speakers of similar SPL in a speaker array then they do half the 
work each & becomes twice as efficient.

The SJ2 cannot make anything like 100W (assuming that we are talking about W RMS 
clean ratings, as all amps are typicaly rated).

Speaker Watts are just the heat a  speaker can take beflore the voice coil burns 
up, SPL (measured in dB) is the mark of efficiency. You want speakers that are 
ideally twice W rating of the amp & that's a minimum. Very high efficiency 
speakers are very good at amplifying feedback & after a point what you think 
that you will gain on the swings, you actually lose on the roundabouts.

In your case I'd either try some higher efficiency lighter 8"s, or a pair of 
light 10"s for each transformer. (Check with Sonny regarding ohmages that the 
OTs expect to see), or a mix of 8" & 10" if the baffle will take it.

I haven't heard a SICA Jensen that I liked, but I haven't tried the Jensen Neos. 
I have tried the Celestion Neos, I used to have a twin & went through dozens of 
12" speakers in a vain attempt to try and find an array that worked as well as 
multiples of 10" (I never did). Neo Celestions (Century Vintage) were awful in 
this amp, no volume before feedback, thin, tinny, brittle tone. I have found a 
use for one of them in my 1/2W amp, were I was looking for fidelity, less 
distortion & sensitivity & wasn't bothered about exploiting maximum volume (in 
fact I was trying to do the opposite & build a quiet, apartment/bedroom friendly 
amp).

I would tend to avoid neo speakers for stage amps, or look for relatively 
inefficient models with a flatter frequency response (say bass or sound 
reinforcement speakers, rather than guitar specific).



________________________________
From: Dan Hazen <bluesmandan76@xxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, 6 October, 2011 17:08:29
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Jensen Neo 15-150?

I've been wondering how the Jensen neo's sound for harmonica, too. A friend
of mine says they're great, but I haven't had a chance to hear them in
person yet; he's got them but he's a couple hours away from me. I'm
wondering if a 2x12 neo setup would work better in my Sonny Jr 2 than the
6x8 Pyles that it is equipped with. It's a great amp, but big and heavy. I'm
thinking neo's would shave off a few pounds, but don't know how much. The
Pyles are 20watt 8" speakers. I've never weighed them, so I don't know how
much they weigh versus the Jensens. I don't think I could run the single 15
in it, because it has 2 transformers with 2 separate speaker outputs, so
2x12 would be the way to go.

I think the surface area of the 2x12 versus the 6x8 wouldn't be too much of
a difference. 230 versus 300. That shouldn't matter too much. The main thing
would be the sensitivity of the jensen neo's versus the pyles... 200 watts
of speaker on 60watts of amplifier versus the current 120 watts of speaker
on 60 watts of amplifier. (The Sonny Jr 2 can potentially tube up to just
over 100 watts of power with the right rectifier). But I don't usually play
it cranked. And then the sound curve or whatever it's called of the
speakers... would it work well with harmonica?

Anybody else tried the jensen neo's for harp?