Alright, I have just one word about this speaker that - apparently - none of us know, except Quilter: INCREDIBLE, AWESOME, IMPRESSIVE.

First of all, whoever says Neo Magnets are not working good, is... mmm.... full of shit (no offence to nobody). I am not talking about technical specs, those are non-relevant facts compared to the practical use of an instrument, unless you test it in a studio with perfect sound and a 2000$ microphone in from of it

So let's get to the item per se.
This thing is 3 times lighter that a JBL. I am not even mentioning the weight of the Commonwealth 15" which is indeed a great speaker, and maybe the BEST upgrade to the vintage JBL D130's of which (this has to be very clear to all of YOU) I am the BIGGEST fan - personally. No comparison to the JBL, it is useless any comparison, but it is useful instead to evaluate the usability of this instrument.

But speaking about usability this speaker is rated for 300W, compared to the 225W of the Commonwealth and the 50W of a JBL. What does this mean? Easy: you don't break it.

I thought the sound would have been quite bright, but at the opposite is dark and rather warm. Not as clear and splendid as a JBL (which I know well as I have 2 originals in my showman cab), but you are free to play with it as much as you want. It is so much powerful that you can really try to keep the showman at 10. And it is still undistorted. It does not suffer. All you feel is that this thing sounds big and reliable. You really have the feeling of a good and solid construction (like ANY Eminence speaker to be honest).

I tried it with:
- double showman 62 (dick dale transformer, 4 ohms, blah blah blah)
- quilter tone block

It is fantastic. I was with my Jazzmaster and my '63 tank. The cabinet I have it installed into is a small 1x15" open-back.

The sound is very close to the JBL, maybe - as I was mentioning - a bit darker, but you can make it brighter pretty easily with a little EQ from the amp, plus I usually use a Shure transmitter which makes the sound a tiny-bit brighter anyway. You raise the volume and you feel the speaker following you in any move. It is sensitive and responds well to any pickup change and reverb adjustment.

With this little one I will avoid on tour to carry my big showman cab - which is the best in the planet, but that sometimes put me in trouble due to his size and weight. I am very very happy and I think that if you don't have or don't want to get a JBL D130 you should have to think about giving this a try. It is expensive. I paid 287 euros. In USA you pay it less money. But - hey - good stuff is ALWAYS expensive.

This is all I have to say for now. Next week I have 4 shows and will carry this with me. Will let you know more.

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

Last edited: Apr 15, 2015 09:45:28

My amp tech was telling me about this speaker over the weekend so I am thankful for your review Lorenzo.

Cheers,
Jeff

http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/crazyacesrock
http://www.reverbnation.com/crazyacesmusic

Thanks for clarifying. Well, it's on the shopping list now

The Hicadoolas

thanks Man! of course I knew about the quilter version of the speaker but I did not know they sell it separately. I spent already enough money on this now (it is 287 euros in Europe!)
I am loving it anyway. Aluminium dome is definitely interesting although I am more a fan of the normal d130 rather than the F version which is a bit brighter. I like the fat sound!

but I would like to have a comparison between the regular eminence production and the quilter version.

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

yes of course. thanks again. this is very interesting to me because I am very surprised about how good it sounds.

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

yes ran it will be at the festival for sure.but you might be right on what you say, I have the feeling of a big sound for sure, but in general I am also a fan of the close back cabs.

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

I also absolutly recommend you this cab:

http://www.tt-cabs.com/engl/?Cabs/Signature_Series/TTC_112_806_Thiele

Its closed back, really small and has an amazing bass response and pressure for its size. Though this is the 12" version

http://www.reverbnation.com/bangmustang
http://www.facebook.com/bangmustang
https://soundcloud.com/bang-mustang

yes yes voice coil sorry. cabinet: i think i will keep the one I have in the end because it's the coolest by far, although of course not an original Fender. that cabinet I have is ok, the mojo cab is better, but to be perfectly honest i have way a lot of basses in the sound... no need for more push and close cab with this speaker. when the showman is at 7 it does all by itself

Sven > just buy it and try it. reverb does not sound good on books... needs action and volume!

Lorenzo "Surfer Joe" Valdambrini
(www.surfmusic.net)

Get a roadie Lorenzo ... I'm available and I'm more like an "amp-sitter".

Why do they don`t make 4 ohm & 8 ohm versions? Any thoughts on that?

I mean, if you have the Showman the correct impedance is 8 ohms, so you need 2 speakers in series. So you need to get a cab for 2 speakers.

If you have the Dual Showman the correct impedance is 4 ohms, so you can use just one speaker or a combination of four speakers in parallel/series. So you need a smaller cab or a bigger one.

I'm a bit puzzled with that .. why not just 8 ohms speakers like in the old times?

When you have to shoot ... shoot! Don't talk.
"Los Grainders" www.facebook.com/losgrainders
"Planeta Reverb" www.facebook.com/planetareverb

Last edited: Apr 21, 2015 02:20:18

btw ... now I have 2x 12" Weber Cali AlNiCo in the Bandmaster cab you played with, you blew one speaker but it was the old one (Pyle), at that time there was only one Weber in there, now seems pretty stable. My ears love them, my back ... not that much.

When you have to shoot ... shoot! Don't talk.
"Los Grainders" www.facebook.com/losgrainders
"Planeta Reverb" www.facebook.com/planetareverb