The TGP continues to be goldmine of new, useful information for me. I recently learned, from this forum, about the significance of speaker sensitivity to the tone and volume of an amp. Following suit from these lessons, I bought an extension cabinet with a Cannabis Rex speaker (102db sensitivity rating) and a speaker cable for a grand total of $120 bucks. The difference is truly amazing. I'm either woefully under-informed about the physics of amplification or perhaps it's just not common knowledge (likely both), but the impact to the sonic profile just blows me away.
So, what did I learn from this forum: A more efficient (or less sensitive) speaker will have less headroom, less volume and perhaps more character at lower volumes. Meanwhile, a less efficient (more sensitive) speaker will be louder with more headroom and more clarity even at higher volumes. I read that for every additional +3db of sensitivity, one could expect double (?, need to verify) the volume.
What did I do: The first plan was to replace the Jensen p12q (94db) in my Princeton '65 Reissue Reverb (15w) with a Cannabis Rex speaker (102db); that would cost me about $90 but I would lose any optionality should I want to go back to the Jensen sound (for harmonica, for example). Then I thought about buying another Princeton Reverb '65 Reissue (15w, 12") to match my own except with a Cannabis Rex speaker already installed; that would give me stereo optionality on top of the sound I was looking for, but that's the expensive option ($900). Ultimately, thanks to good luck, I found a local deal where a guy was selling an extension cabinet with a CRex already installed ($100). I bought that and plugged it in; now I have the sound I wanted and optionality, no stereo though (can't have everything).
I couldn't recommend this approach more. I'm sure I'm late to the party with this information but wow is this a time and money saver, and it could even work in reverse if you are looking for attenuation.
[Caveat: For Princetons, you should unplug the main speaker and connect the extension; best to avoid plugging the extension cabinet into the extension port. The reason, I learned, you shouldn't plug an 8 ohm speaker into the extension jack is that the total ohms for the transformer should be 8 on a Princeton; if you plug into the extension you will have 4 ohms running through the transformer. You need to either unplug the main speaker (which is what I did) or replace the main speaker with a 16 ohm speaker and get an extension cabinet with a 16 ohm speaker, so that you are running 8 total ohms through the transformer.]
So, what did I learn from this forum: A more efficient (or less sensitive) speaker will have less headroom, less volume and perhaps more character at lower volumes. Meanwhile, a less efficient (more sensitive) speaker will be louder with more headroom and more clarity even at higher volumes. I read that for every additional +3db of sensitivity, one could expect double (?, need to verify) the volume.
What did I do: The first plan was to replace the Jensen p12q (94db) in my Princeton '65 Reissue Reverb (15w) with a Cannabis Rex speaker (102db); that would cost me about $90 but I would lose any optionality should I want to go back to the Jensen sound (for harmonica, for example). Then I thought about buying another Princeton Reverb '65 Reissue (15w, 12") to match my own except with a Cannabis Rex speaker already installed; that would give me stereo optionality on top of the sound I was looking for, but that's the expensive option ($900). Ultimately, thanks to good luck, I found a local deal where a guy was selling an extension cabinet with a CRex already installed ($100). I bought that and plugged it in; now I have the sound I wanted and optionality, no stereo though (can't have everything).
I couldn't recommend this approach more. I'm sure I'm late to the party with this information but wow is this a time and money saver, and it could even work in reverse if you are looking for attenuation.
[Caveat: For Princetons, you should unplug the main speaker and connect the extension; best to avoid plugging the extension cabinet into the extension port. The reason, I learned, you shouldn't plug an 8 ohm speaker into the extension jack is that the total ohms for the transformer should be 8 on a Princeton; if you plug into the extension you will have 4 ohms running through the transformer. You need to either unplug the main speaker (which is what I did) or replace the main speaker with a 16 ohm speaker and get an extension cabinet with a 16 ohm speaker, so that you are running 8 total ohms through the transformer.]