Tried The Jensen Neo !2" [Archive]

Tim C.

12-02-2006, 12:23 PM

The Jensen Neo Series speakers have been out for a long time. Most have not tried them because they are different and a bit expensive. They hold the stigma that "well, the magnet is so small they can't be very good". Wrong!

I just put the Neo 12" in one of my combo amps and was amazed. It sounds round and vintage right out of the box without any break in period. These must be one of the best kept secrets out there. Because neodymium is so light weight it dropped pounds off the weight of my amp. Now I won't break my back carrying it to gigs.

I am building a 2X10 tweed Deluxe style amp and I am going to use two of the 10" Neos in it after hearing the 12".

Tim C.:)
http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/images/statusicon/user_invisible.gif http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/images/buttons/report.gif (http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/report.php?p=1431438) http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/images/misc/progress.gif

tdu

12-02-2006, 12:26 PM

Ya, my Reverned Goblin came with a 10" one and I love it. I especially love the bass on them. I am considering putting them in a couple of my other amps.

Chris Scott

12-02-2006, 05:07 PM

I inherited a red-knob "The Twin" some time ago that was part of Michael Bloomfield's stash of gear, and it came with a pair of Electro-Voice SRO's- arguably the heaviest speakers known to man. When giving it it's first major service, I noticed that one of the spkrs. was not working. So as re-coning wasn't a viable option (I live in Costa Rica), I decided to look into replacements for the pair. A great tech in Nashville (Todd Sharp- tech beyond compare, fantastic player, and a HELL of a sweet cat) recommended the Jensen Neo's. Imagine how stoked I was to find out not only how great they sound RIGHT OUTTA THE BOX, but how the amp can now actually be moved.......:dude

Old Tele man

12-02-2006, 05:39 PM

Because neodymium is so light weight it dropped pounds off the weight of my amp.
Tim C.:)
http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/images/statusicon/user_invisible.gif http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/images/buttons/report.gif (http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/report.php?p=1431438) http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/images/misc/progress.gif
...but, does that neo magnet yank the screwdriver out of your hand from across the room like an MRI machine can? (wink,wink)

vibroverbus

12-02-2006, 07:35 PM

The Jensen Neo Series speakers have been out for a long time. Most have not tried them because they are different and a bit expensive. They hold the stigma that "well, the magnet is so small they can't be very good". Wrong!

I installed some Eminence neos (Tonkerlite and Lil' Texas) earlier this year just to check them out. I love 'em. Loud, punchy and the weight is awesome. I was handling a couple of JBL E-series the other day, and I think one of those weighed almost as much as my whole cab...

mr coffee

12-03-2006, 06:43 AM

made my back say than you ..and my ears say vintage +

CarlH

12-03-2006, 12:15 PM

I especially love the bass on them.

I read where the weakness of Neo speakers was lack of bass. Of course, what I read could be wrong.

Jon Silberman

01-04-2007, 06:27 PM

Absolutely no lack of bass. To the contrary, I just replaced the Emi GB12 in my Tone King Continental with a Jensen Neo and had to roll the bass back significantly on the amp afterwards!

Chris Scott

01-04-2007, 07:30 PM

Last time I spoke with Todd, he told me that the Neo's were great in a (tweed) Bassman, which I reckon opens up a whole new world for SR owners as well!

CarlH

01-04-2007, 08:15 PM

Last time I spoke with Todd, he told me that the Neo's were great in a (tweed) Bassman, which I reckon opens up a whole new world for SR owners as well!

I wonder if it is better than a P12N, since that is usually thought of as the tweed 12" speaker.

Sarasmiles

01-05-2007, 09:19 PM

IMO, ok, In a women's opinion which is the only one that matters:rolleyes: ,

Jensen Neo speakers do capture the ring & chime of the Tweed era, But, they go a huge step further in the bass department. Even in a Stock deluxe 5E3 they reduce the flabbiness that 5E3's are well known for.

They offer a significant improvement in bass tightness yet have an overall punch that is second to none.

I have a new model amp I am about to release that uses 2 X 12" Jensen Neo's. To me, nothing compares to these speakers in this amp.
But, That's my opinion, So,
I am actually planning on holding a couple amp audition get togethers for local forum members. {TBA SOON}

This is not just to showcase my amps, I think that it is important to dispel some of the absurd rumors made by people who have never heard or even seen a Jensen Neo in action.

When I selected these speakers for baseline use in my amps, I did try other brands, and to my ears and my music types and playing style, These were superior. I have been using Neo's for about a year now, and have no plans to change anything in my higher end models.

Sara :)

Jon Silberman

01-05-2007, 09:38 PM

Dumb question of the day: what is your amp company's name, Sara, and what's the URL? Thanks.

Old Tele man

01-05-2007, 09:56 PM

Jensen Neo speakers do capture the ring & chime of the Tweed era, But, they go a huge step further in the bass department.
Sara :)...any 4x10" "sound tests" planned?

...my '69 SFSR with factory JBL/D110F's weighs a hefty 98-pounds, and something "lighter" will certainly "light up" my eyeballs (ala' Tweed Bassman).

jzucker

01-05-2007, 09:59 PM

Just to offer a counter to this love-fest, I tried a jensen neo a couple years ago and found it very fatiguing to listen to. I think bluesdoc had the same experience with the speakers. Maybe the've changed the recipe since then and I'll happily switch when I find the right one but so far I have not heard a neo speaker for guitar that sounds great.

I have a couple high end neo bass speakers in a pair of Epifani bass cabinets and prior to these, I had the non-neo versions of the cabs (which were 20lbs heavier). I love the weight but frankly, the ceramic mag speakers sounded better.

Ben F.

01-05-2007, 10:04 PM

...but, does that neo magnet yank the screwdriver out of your hand from across the room like an MRI machine can? (wink,wink)

Nah, not unless you cool it with liquid helium and charge it with a big ol' coil. :p

In all seriousness, the magnetic field is very narrow. Your screwdriver will hardly know there's even magnet in there.

With apologies for the further derailment,

-Ben

Trout

01-05-2007, 10:42 PM

Nah, not unless you cool it with liquid helium and charge it with a big ol' coil. :p

In all seriousness, the magnetic field is very narrow. Your screwdriver will hardly know there's even magnet in there.

With apologies for the further derailment,

-Ben

I should take one over to my buddy at Fermilab. He used to heat up magnets for electric RC planes. He got rather significant performance results, Though he did have a few issues with them being hotter than a dental xray. Got him suspended for 45 days when he over exposed his film badge haha.

Trout

Trout

9fingers

01-05-2007, 11:14 PM

I have the Jensen Neo 12 in my Reverend Kingsnake. When I got the amp I expected to do some spaeker swapping to get it just right (took me 6 tries to get it right with an Emi Red, White & Blues in my Hellhound). It turns out the Neo has never come out of the KS. It is warm, chimey, nicely balanced & has great bottom. It is not one for speaker breakup - it does not have a big mid-hump either. It did take a looonnnggg time to break in & get sweet. A neo with several hours of loud playing with lots of low notes will sound a lot better than a new one. My 60 watt tube amp weighs 32 pounds, partly due to this speaker. Ditto all around for the 10" neo in my Goblin, sounds huge!

Ben F.

01-06-2007, 12:06 AM

When I still had a Reverend Goblin, I plugged it into the only "extension cabinet" I had at the time - a Tech 21 TM60 - and found that it sounded considerably thinner in the low end even with the larger cabinet and 12" Celestion Seventy 80.

I did find the 10" unit in the Goblin had an ear-fatiguing quality that I could never quite put my finger on. This lessened with time but never completely went away. I don't know how much was the amp's voicing and how much was the speaker, but I don't find the 12" unit I put into my Pritchard to be at all the same way.

-Ben

Jon Silberman

01-06-2007, 07:42 AM

Just to offer a counter to this love-fest, I tried a jensen neo a couple years ago and found it very fatiguing to listen to. I think bluesdoc had the same experience with the speakers.
Pete Cage says, "There are no 'bad' speakers, only speakers waiting for the right application.' "

I find my new Jensen Neo anything but fatiguing. I think I've played my Tone King more over the past couple of days with the new Neo than the month before!

The "other Jon S." (bluesdoc ;) ) and I differed significantly on the early Celestion Neo - he loved it, I hated it (now that's a fatiguing one to this here guitarist) - so it may be that it's simply a matter of different tastes ... or different applications.

In any event, your memory may be faulty on this one because Bluesdoc posted recently quite positively on the Jensen Neo. He said that he now slightly prefers his new Tonkerlite to it but, still, he praised it.

P.S. I am increasingly finding that's one man's "sterile" is another man's "balanced."

Jon Silberman

01-06-2007, 07:46 AM

Found it.

Hi Jon. I still love this speaker [Tonkerlite]. It's currently residing in a JDesign pine 1 12 open back and I just put a Beam Blocker on it yesterday, though I haven't had a chance to play it much with the BB in place. Band practice tomorrow night..... I'm driving it with a Heritage Colonial and getting lead tones with pedals including a Crunchbox, Keeley Baked TS9, and Timmy. Mostly using my parts o tele with Budzguitars Purebred pups though I just reconfigured my strat and put a Lollar Imperial in the bridge and will try that tomorrow night. We play 70s-80s rock and I'm on the br pup 95% of the time and play clean about 5% of the time.

My database is use of the other neos over a period of several years. Beginning with the Cel Century, then the Jensen Neo, more recently (~1yr) the Cel Century Vintage and now the TLite. The Jensen Neo was a great speaker for me in this cab but the Tonkerlite is even better. Both cleans and lead tones seem perfect, not so loud or ear filter loud levels. Beautiful upper mids and no harsh highs. Fat bottom and just a better balance than any of the other speakers delivered. Now, when I say better balance, this is, of course, to MY ear, for my tastes, with my gear. I haven't used the speaker yet with my Fargen as it's not back from Ben, getting a makeover (morphing from a 6L6 to an EL34 platform). And, I haven't had it very long nor actually gigged with it. But, that said, I have soooo much experience with the other neos that I have a sense of its fit for me and my tastes/guitars/amps. I haven't run my Swan through this rig yet, but I have no doubts. I also have to say that the Heritage Colonial makes ALL my gear sound better. Amazing amp. Lastly, I have to qualify all this with the fact that I am NO good at comparing speakers to one another, ie, this to a G12H or something. I just can't do it. And, I think speaker impressions are highly subjective and individual so that all you might be able to conclude from this is that I like it and I've played a lot of stuff and though I'm at best a mediocre player, I have a good ear and some people agree with my impressions on gear (think Vaughn, Scott Peterson, etc). This does not and can not mean it will work for you but I don't know anyone else who has put this sort of time in with Neos. I've done it because I want lightweight rigs and if they deliver the goods, I'm happy. My JDesign cab with this speaker must be under 20#!! I'm using it in a loud 4 piece rock band and it delivers and my bandmates like my tone a lot. Lastly, it's rated at 100W and has a sens of 101 db, which is nice.

OK?

jon

jzucker

01-06-2007, 08:07 AM

Jon sold me the original jensen neo that I found fatiguing and he found it fatiguing as well (why he sold it) so if he's endorsing them now there must have been a formula changes.

Call me skeptical but anytime I see blatant praise for an item here with a huge lovefest thread, it's usually followed up by legions of them forsale in the emporium (witness the fender EJ guitars).

I've had some awful, horrible experiences with speakers that folks have praised 'til they're blue in the face on these forums. I think there's a certain amount of group mentality going on and it's natural to want to think your own stuff is great but the bottom line is we each have our own idea of what we like so just having someone else tell you something is great often doesn't tell the whole picture.

My recent thread asking about 50 watt marshall heads with reverb is a perfect example. The thread got replied to by a huge amount of folks asking me why I'd want to ruin a 50 watt marshall with reverb. How the heck do they even know what my application is? I think folks tend to think of their own application and assume everyone is using it for that.

Anyway, I'll be the first on the block to switch to neo when I hear one that sounds better than what I'm currently using. As I mentioned, I have 2 neo cabs already (for bass) but they don't sound as good as the older cabs. In my case, the weight savings was worth it though.

Pete Cage says, "There are no 'bad' speakers, only speakers waiting for the right application.' "

I find my new Jensen Neo anything but fatiguing. I think I've played my Tone King more over the past couple of days with the new Neo than the month before!

The "other Jon S." (bluesdoc ;) ) and I differed significantly on the early Celestion Neo - he loved it, I hated it (now that's a fatiguing one to this here guitarist) - so it may be that it's simply a matter of different tastes ... or different applications.

In any event, your memory may be faulty on this one because Bluesdoc posted recently quite positively on the Jensen Neo. He said that he now slightly prefers his new Tonkerlite to it but, still, he praised it.

P.S. I am increasingly finding that's one man's "sterile" is another man's "balanced."

Droptop

01-06-2007, 08:27 AM

I have a Jensen Neo in my Talos Basic and it sounds amazing. Warm vintage tone with a little more range. My Tele loves these speakers.

vibroverbus

01-06-2007, 08:33 AM

J
I've had some awful, horrible experiences with speakers that folks have praised 'til they're blue in the face on these forums. I think there's a certain amount of group mentality going on and it's natural to want to think your own stuff is great but the bottom line is we each have our own idea of what we like so just having someone else tell you something is great often doesn't tell the whole picture.

My recent thread asking about 50 watt marshall heads with reverb is a perfect example. The thread got replied to by a huge amount of folks asking me why I'd want to ruin a 50 watt marshall with reverb. How the heck do they even know what my application is? I think folks tend to think of their own application and assume everyone is using it for that.

+1 more or less.

guitar tone is HUGELY subjective! and people start dogmatically worshipping Marshall circuits or Sozo caps or whatever the obsession of the moment is...

I have 2 rules now for speakers:
1. very few things really "suck"... it's just not what I/you/he/she is looking for, but might be exactly somebody else's ideal... but ALSO...
2. a LOT of people don't give speakers enough time - mainly from a break-in standpoint for new ones but also from amp & guitar tweakage... whatever settings you run now are optimized for what you had, NOT whatever you just put in...

those rules probably apply to everything actually... personally I have little to no interest in EL34 tubed amps most of the time, and have converted a number of amps to 6L6's... just heard from a dude who has the exact opposite take and wants to convince a mutual friend to convert his vintage BF Super Reverb to EL34's... personally I throw up a little in my mouth at the idea, but different strokes...

think I'll go play through my neo's for a while ;)

Jon Silberman

01-06-2007, 08:52 AM

I've had some awful, horrible experiences with speakers that folks have praised 'til they're blue in the face on these forums. I think there's a certain amount of group mentality going on and it's natural to want to think your own stuff is great but the bottom line is we each have our own idea of what we like so just having someone else tell you something is great often doesn't tell the whole picture.

Can't argue with that, Jack, which is why you telling us now the speaker is fatiguing ain't the whole picture, either. ;)

Seriously, though, if bluesdoc sold you his because he didn't like it but later dug the same speaker, it's entirely possible Jensen did change something in it.

And I'll repeat my initial quote of Pete Cage how it's all about the application.

jzucker

01-06-2007, 08:57 AM

Can't argue with that, Jack, which is why you telling us now the speaker is fatiguing ain't the whole picture, either. ;)

Seriously, though, if bluesdoc sold you his because he didn't like it but later dug the same speaker, it's entirely possible Jensen did change something in it.

And I'll repeat my initial quote of Pete Cage how it's all about the application.

I'm not telling anyone that my opinion is the definitive one. I'm just trying to temper the love-fest by voicing a different opinion. Other than tag and his pro-bruno, anti-everything else lunatic rantings (:D) you don't read much other than praise...

Jon Silberman

01-06-2007, 08:58 AM

more past posting from bluesdoc on the Jensen Neo:

Great review, Paul. I've had a Jensen Neo in my PV C30 for years now and it totally delivers the goods. Ie, not sure you need 50W. I've used it in large ensemble rock bands with horns, loud drummer, etc.

But the Tonkerlite is more efficient at 101db and DOES have the stronger mids/upper mids. It's not so in-yer-face as the Century but has more chime than either the Century Vintage or Jensen Neo, but the bottom end can fall apart a bit at high volumes, despite the 100W rating. I like them both a lot but give a slight leaning to the TLite. Perhaps just because it's new to me and very appealing?? Dunno..... as always in this realm, ymmv

As for folks at the top liking the Jensen, I recall reading in Tonequest Rep that Todd Sharpe favored the Jensen Neo also.

jon

And we all can read TGP'er reviews of the Jensen Neos and other neos here until we're blue in the face. :D

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/search.php?searchid=1382378

Jon Silberman

01-06-2007, 09:00 AM

I'm not telling anyone that my opinion is the definitive one. I'm just trying to temper the love-fest by voicing a different opinion. Other than tag and his pro-bruno, anti-everything else lunatic rantings (:D) you don't read much other than praise...

Don't worry, I'm not calling the Jensen Neo the best speaker in the world as proven by a 1997 GP article and my own best in the world ears. :p

jzucker

01-06-2007, 09:01 AM

I think the speaker threads are inherently flawed anyway. Unless you break the speaker's tones down into ratings based on jazz clean, blues clean, edge, semi distorted, fully distorted, insanely distorted (and probably a 1/2 dozen other categories, you can't really describe the speaker.

For example the vintage 30 sounds great for the super distorted fast lead stuff but IMO, it sounds awful for any type of clean or semi clean tones.

So, someone saying it's a great speaker, they love it and yada yada just doesn't tell you much.

Can someone rate the jensen neo speaker in terms of the categories I mention? Is there a relative consensus ? I'd be interested in trying one (having had spinal surgery a few years ago) but I'd like to know how it compares to the emi RW&B...

Ben F.

01-06-2007, 09:33 AM

Jack,

I don't know that there's any consensus, but I can rate the Jensen in a few areas.

Specifically, I know you have direct experience with the Legend V12, so I'll compare it to that.

The Jensen is a considerably more open, chimey speaker than the V12 and really wakes up the Pritchard's 'F' and 'V' voices. At the same time, the high end is tame enough that the speaker doesn't sound razory for "insanely distorted" stuff. Overall, it has less midrange complexity and less low end than the V12, but going back and forth I found that the V12 was actually too boomy and furry sounding for what I wanted, i.e. clean and chimey, smooth and jazzy, EVH crunch, and modern metal. The Jensen is simply better balanced for all of those sounds.

I think the V12 is probably better for edgy blues than the Jensen, but that's about the only category I'd give it an advantage in. Since I'm not a blues man, and the Jensen sounds better both clean and crunchy, it was easy to stay with that speaker. Please note that Eric Pritchard considered using the Jensen at one point, but Phil Zuckerman didn't like it. As you say, it can't be right for everyone.

I'll repeat that I did find the 10" version in my Goblin to be fatiguing. The 12" version is tremendously different, but I'm also using it in a different amp. Surely any speaker comparison should really be amp specific, or across a specific range of 4-5 amps... but we got what we got.

-Ben

jzucker

01-06-2007, 09:38 AM

Thanks Ben. How about rating it simply on a 1-10 scale instead of complexity, chimey, smooth, jazzy, etc? The adjectives are what makes it too hard to compare.

For example, the emi RW&B:
Clean Jazz: 7.5
Clean Blues: 8
Edgy: 8.5
Semi Distorted: 8.5
Violin Tone: 9

And I'd rate an EV:
Clean Jazz: 8.5
Clean Blues: 8.5
Edgy: 7.5
Semi Distorted: 7.5
Violin Tone: 8.5

Emi V12:
Clean Jazz: 6.5
Clean Blues: 8
Edgy: 8.5
Semi Distorted: 8.5
Violin Tone: 8.5

My tonal models are Benson for clean Jazz, SRV for clean blues, edgy and semi distorted and robben ford/eric johnson for violin tone...

Additionally, I agree with you regarding amp specific. In my case, the amps I tested with are a Two Rock, Fuchs and Allen old flame.

harryjmic

01-06-2007, 10:04 AM

Jack I think you would like the Tonkerlite. This speaker is not wear you out at all, in fact my only concern is once it breaks in will it still sound as good as it does right out of the box. The magnets from what I was told from a fellow Engineer at work is Neodynium does not lose its charge so the magnetic force will not diminish over time. In fact, you have to be careful because they can very easily erase hard drives on computers.

I posted earlier on another thread that a Neo disc magnet with a 2" diameter and 1/4" thick could hold 116 pounds. I forgot the thiickness but it's not that large. Neodynium is a rare earth material and is listed on the peridic table of elements. It's nothing new but hasn't been used because of the cost.

jzucker

01-06-2007, 10:06 AM

Thanks Harry. How would you rate it on the scale system I proposed?

Ben F.

01-06-2007, 10:11 AM

Dear Jack,

Using your numbers as a starting point, I'd have to say...

Clean Jazz: 8.5
Clean Blues: 9.5
Edgy: 8
Semi Distorted: 9
Violin Tone: 7.5

It doesn't have that Greenback sort of complexity. It really shines with some grit or heavy distortion where speaker breakup is less desirable.

-Ben

jzucker

01-06-2007, 10:16 AM

Thanks again Ben. Sounds like it'd be great in tandem with a 2nd speaker that has a good violin tone. What about the Tonker lite?

CarlH

01-06-2007, 11:33 AM

Kenster

01-07-2007, 01:23 PM

I just put 2 Jensen Neo 12" in my Rivera S120C 212. A very heavy combo at around 90 lbs. that sounds great but I got tired of lugging around. Not only did they lighten the load to more manageable levels they sound better then the G12H30/V30 combination that was in there. I was willing to sacrifice a little tone for the weight issue but I ended up getting a bonus in the tone dept. A full well balanced tone that has all the upper end detail for shimmering clean tones but without the ice pickiness the celestions would sometimes exhibit if not carefully dialed in. This also translated into a great smooth overdrive sound in the Marshall channel without being raspy. Oh and no shortage of bottom end but Riveras, at least mine, has inherently plenty of bottom. I did have to dial down the bass a tad with the NEO's so that tells you something.

If these still sound good to me after a couple months of practice and a gig or 2 (read break in/honeymoon phase) I just may ( I said may:D) replace my other celestions in other amps as well. So far this combination is working so well I'm back to using the amp more often.

Neo's are a blessing for these old backs. Now if they can make a transformer cheap using titanium or something to replace iron we're going to be in fat city.:AOK

Cheers

K

ACfixer

01-07-2007, 02:37 PM

This is all good news.... I just bought a 15" NEO on a whim and plan on making either a combo or cab for the Epi Valve Jr. project I have going. Encouraging posts in this thread!

jzucker

01-07-2007, 02:38 PM

Has anyone compared the Jensen Neo to the Eminence Lil' Texas? It seems since both of those speakers are American sounding spekaers, those should be compared by someone, but I don't see anyone posting about the Lil' Texas.

I haven't but on paper, both of the emi neo speakers seem to have quite a bit of top end compared to their other speakers. I worry they'd be shrill though obviously the spec can only take you so far. :)

Jon Silberman

01-07-2007, 03:10 PM

The Jensen Neo in my Tone King presently is not the least bit shrill. Plenty of high end but sans the icepick (another great speaker in this regard is the Scumback).

With the Jensen replacing the Emi GB12 in my Tone King, I found myself lowering the bass levels from my usual settings but leaving the treble control where it always was.

With the Scumback H75HP replacing the MESA 90W Black Shadow in my Avatar 1X12 I use with my Traynor YBA-1, I left the bass where it was but upped the treble a notch or two. This got me back all the lower/middle range treble but with none of the high end treble and hiss I got from the 90W Black Shadow.

fyrwyr

01-07-2007, 06:10 PM

I find the Jensen 12" Neos once broken in to be very versatile and easy on my sensitive ears, I prefer it over most other speakers I have tried with the Ark circuit, it gets me closer to a Fender clean than my main speakers I use, but works well with all overdrive settings as well, just not quite as complex in overdrive as do Greenback style speakers. I even played bass through them and was amazed at the bass tone, but I also tend to like 12" speakers for bass anyway.

jzucker

01-07-2007, 06:15 PM

OK, you guys have talked me into trying one. Who has the best price on these?

vibroverbus

01-07-2007, 08:14 PM

Has anyone compared the Jensen Neo to the Eminence Lil' Texas? It seems since both of those speakers are American sounding spekaers, those should be compared by someone, but I don't see anyone posting about the Lil' Texas.

Actually I said way back someplace, I have a Lil' Texas & a Tonkerlite (both Emi neos) in a 2x12 & love 'em. Can't compare direct to Jensens... But stand alone sounds pretty good. Not sure how much real difference there is between the 2 drivers...

They are not too bright for me, less bright than some classic Celestions I've used with the same amp.

Kenster

01-07-2007, 08:40 PM

OK, you guys have talked me into trying one. Who has the best price on these?

http://www.tubesandmore.com/

There might be others for a couple bucks but I couldn't find them.

CarlH

01-07-2007, 08:59 PM

Actually I said way back someplace, I have a Lil' Texas & a Tonkerlite (both Emi neos) in a 2x12 & love 'em. Can't compare direct to Jensens... But stand alone sounds pretty good. Not sure how much real difference there is between the 2 drivers...

They are not too bright for me, less bright than some classic Celestions I've used with the same amp.

I read you post in a search, but you did not say much about them other than you like them. I guess the fact that you have both in one cabinet makes it hard to give a good sonic evaluation of the Lil' Texas by itself.

VaughnC

01-07-2007, 09:04 PM

Recently I put a Jensen neo 12" and a Jensen neo 10" in my KJL 1210 cab and am happy with the results. Tighter bottom, no overly honky mids, and nice sweet top end....and less weight to boot. Good stuff me thinks :cool:.

SarasotaSlim

01-07-2007, 09:39 PM

I went round and round with the neos. Started first with the Celestion G12 Century and found that it was OK in a 50 watt amp but not a 20 watt amp - it needed the extra push to make the bass come out and when it did it was SO LOUD even I couldn't take it. So I stuck it in an old Gibson Les Paul GA40 that was a bit dark and needed the extra go-juice and it seems to agree with it. Then I tried the Celestion "vintage" neo and it had too much razzly cone cry and drove me nuts - I took a beating and returned it. Then I found the Jenson neo 12 and put it in my BF Deluxe Reverb and kinda liked it but it also had a little cone cry and by now I was going bonkers over it so I took it out and put it in a tweed Deluxe that had a low wattage Jensen in it and WOW! I think it works great in a tweed type amp because they have a bit of tube compression and need all the help they can get to be heard. I have not yet heard the Eminence Tonker Lite.

http://www.sarasotaslim.com/images/fendergibsontweeds.jpg

I've been talking with speaker guru Rick Ramsdell and he uses them on most of his new high end PA speakers. The neo really works great for PA stuff.
http://www.ramsdellproaudio.com/images/products/largehiq/linearray/LA-2-12_HD-2.jpg

Trout

01-07-2007, 10:54 PM

chaz

01-16-2007, 05:23 AM

The only thing I missed using a Neo (15) was the classic alnico compression. Liked everything else I heard, and didn't miss the weight loss! Also cut well in a mix.

Scott Peterson

02-01-2007, 03:39 PM

Great thread guys.

I bought a Jensen Neo 12" out of the emporium here to try in my Tone-Tools 112 to complement the Atomic Reactor 112-50 watt combo I am using. Looking forward to hearing what it can do matched with the Eminence that is in the Atomic.

Jon Silberman

02-01-2007, 07:07 PM

I have tomorrow off from work and will be installing my second Jensen Neo (1st is in my Tone King Continental) in my Traynor YGM-3 soon as the rest of the family is out of my hair!

P.S. I, too, am having some cone cry with the Jensen. Not enough to cause me to remove it but enough to notice. It's really just an issue on one note, unfortunately, it's the 12th fret high E. Still, everywhere else, the speaker absolutely shines.

tdu

02-02-2007, 08:33 AM

Jon, please update on how it sounds in the YGM-3. I had a YGM-3 but ended up selling because it was such a beast to carry. Any weight reduction on that amp would be a good thing :)

Jon Silberman

02-02-2007, 11:49 AM

OK, got the speaker installed and test-drove it. Very interesting. This speaker transformed my Tone King Continental from a very good amp to one of the best I've heard. I cannot say the same thing about the one now in my YGM-3. Strange, how I replaced the same speaker in both amps (Emi GB12s) with the same speaker (Jensen Neos) and with the former, what a difference, with the latter, the two aren't even sounding all that much different. It's still a real heavy amp, too. So the bottom line: I do not advise a Neo for your YGM-3.

You know, I almost went with a Tonkerlite from the outset as it's reputedly a chimier (more upper mids) speaker. Now I wish I had. I'll probably order one on Monday. And the beat goes on ...

Trout

02-02-2007, 12:01 PM

So the bottom line: I do not advise a Neo for your YGM-3.

That really does not surprise me. Certain combinations of speakers and amps often do not work well. That does not mean the quality of either is questionable, It just means there is a compatability issue. This is also very common of tube/Amp combinations.

In a couple of my amps, Jensen Neo's are clearly the best choice, But on a couple of my amps, They just did not cut it as well as the G12K-85's I replaced.

My old Seymour Duncan convertable 100W was terrible with the Neo, But My Twin is smoking great.

Trout

Jon Silberman

02-02-2007, 01:02 PM

Trout

02-02-2007, 05:18 PM

You ain't just swimming upstream with that comment, Trout! ;)

haha At least I did not offer the herded cattle advice of Go Buy A Blue!

Looks around, Whewwwww no flying beer bottles:D

Trout

clamdip7714

01-27-2008, 01:22 AM

I wonder what the New Jensen Jets Blackbird will be like. They are still using the tried and trusted Alnico and @ $250.00 each They had better really set a new standard.

Guess we have to wait until Namm for further details and hopefully some un-biased opinions.

I love my Neo's, I hope they continue to further research & develop that more Neodymium magnet models. The current ones are one of Jensens best efforts in a long time.

http://www.tubesandmore.com/cemirror/inv/JENSENJET_LOGO.GIF

Trout

I know this thread was a few weeks... old ;) but I thought to add my 2 cents worth.

I tried a broken in Jet and it didn't win me over, although a good speaker I was spoiled prior to trying it.

I bought my amp from Jack Anderson who some know here already. He did me a special treat of having 4 cabs he made setup with different speakers in them. I already own a Jensen Neo which came with the head when I first bought it but I wanted one more cab (single 12) to go with it. I also didn't want another Neo per say, but may have opted that way too. I just like the idea of mismatched speakers so I wanted to try and see if I found a soulmate for the Neo. Now one would think another Jensen like the BB would have been the key but the cab I picked was none other than a 12" Fane 100 he had for quite a few years. Sweet tone and a perfect match to the Neo.

To make a long story short, Jack breaks his speakers in prior to installation in his cabs so I was getting a taste of the speaker after break in. He sold me on the Neo for its clarity and responsiveness, but the Fane just added a musicality to my amp which one Neo itself didn't have. Not saying the Jensen isn't musical, it just isn't in the same way the Fane is. :)

A match made in heaven.

Now I am also talking grind. The amp sounds great clean but I am a rocker and I mainly have it pumped so that is where my ear lay. In that department the Neo + Fane is a mighty hard combo to beat.

s2amps

01-27-2008, 09:19 AM

I found the Tonkerlite to be ice picky and thin with an EL34 amp. I was building it for Jimmy Thackery, and one of his requirements was that it had to be light.

We switched over to the Jensen Neo after trying a Blackbird and some others and settled on the Neo.

We have been putting them in customer's amps for several months now and are getting great results with them.

gtrchris

01-27-2008, 10:01 AM

You ain't just swimming upstream with that comment, Trout! ;)

But there's a happy ending to my story. After my disappointment with the Neo in the YGM-3, I thought to myself, before I spend any more $$ on yet another speaker, let me revisit my embarrasingly large (and growing!) basement speaker stash just to see what might work with the Guitar Mate.

Sure enough, I had a pair of Reverend Alltones on hand, one which I removed a little over a year ago from a Rev 1X12 and replaced with an Emi Red Fang, the other I'm not sure why I have it. :o

The AllTone is kinda like a C12N but with a British cone that gives it a bit more chime in the upper mids, at least to my ear. Threw it in the YGM-3 and wa-la: it matches up very well with that amp. So, I guess I have an extra Jesen Neo now BUT the YGM-3 is set.

Duh - why didn't I just try the AllTone first?! :eek: [I know why - because if I did things that way, I wouldn't have a basement full of extra speakers lying around to try at all. :p]

Jon, I just wanted to say thanks for your recommendation of the Jensen 12' Neo.:AOK I replaced my Tone King 12 in.speaker in my Imperial and it sounds really sweet. Of course i don't have the speaker breakup which I liked with the greenback; but I like the cleans so much more now, the Neo seems to have more of a balanced response which I really like.
I also have an old Traynor YGM-1 loaded with an old Jensen C12Q it's a great match for it.
In my experimenting i've found the Neo works great with the YGM-1 adding considerably more headroom. Occasionally though I'll hook up the Imperial and the old Jensen for some vintage crunch tones.
That being said it's nice to have options available, swapping the old Jensen and Neo allows the best of both worlds.
Cheers,
C

Grandnoise

01-27-2008, 11:41 AM

I have some Celestion Centuries on their way to me as we speak, I play loud and like huge dynamics and tight bass, so hopefully from what I've read these are perfect.

otaypanky

04-25-2008, 09:38 PM

Buy an Eminence.
Although I really enjoyed the Jensen Neo 12" in my Richter 5E3, after a year and a half the speaker shorted out. A little pressure on the wires where they go through the cone would sometimes get a sporadic sound. A call to Jensen for help was an absolute waste of time. They were happy to point out that the warranty period was one year, and "no" they couldn't give me any recommendations for a repair of their $100+ speaker.
I replaced it with the Eminence Lil Texas. It sounds pretty similar to my ears, every bit as good as the Jensen. It was about $30 less as I recall. The big differences are the fact that Eminence backs their speaker with a 7 year warranty you save $30., and you get an additional 6 years of warranty, and you get a product made in the U.S.A. ~

Msawsotredr

05-16-2008, 01:42 PM

Hey all, there's a new Jensen Speaker. Its called the Jensen Jet Tornado. The word on the street is that its supposed to sound like the standard Jensen NEO 12 but sound a little warmer. Has anyone heard one of these yet?

:bow Jensen

Lucidology

10-16-2008, 10:19 PM

Here's a nice rundown of these speakers somewhat wrote at another forum:

Dont discount the clean-toned Celestion Neo magnet speakers.

These kick major major butt. I mean MAJOR butt. A bit different than either the Brit classic or American classic tone.... I'd call them another very transparent speaker, a bit uncolored and balanced. Almost like a sound reinforcement speaker. This is another good jazz speaker, or for steel guitar too. I can see country players liking it as well,

Now here's the kick butt part - they are ubber-loud. I mean beyond. They have the highest SPL of any speaker made for guitar. At 102db, they given an effective wattage doubling of volume. That is, a guitar amp using a 99db speaker (still considered an excellent SPL) would have to have twice the wattage to deliver the same volume as the amp using the 102db speaker.

Most "OEM and off the shelf" speakers are about 95-98db speakers. A three dB gain is what you get when you double the amps wattage. It is the threshold of perceptible volume change.