C-15L speaker in B-15N

Soulfinger · #1 12-21-2010, 10:14 AM

I have a 1966 Ampeg B-15N and it sounds like crap. It sounds great when I plug it into other cabinets, but really poor with its own speaker. It has a Jensen C-15L in it, which is a ceramic square-magnet speaker that was used in Leslie cabinets. The cone is intact, but I'm guessing it's getting pretty "tired" and probably would benefit from reconing. I really can't find much more info on the speaker to know it it should sound good in the B-15's box. I was going to replace it with a Eminence Beta 15 as most folks do, but I was wondering if it would be worth it to have it reconed.

Anybody familiar with this speaker? Any thoughts?

JimmyM · #2 12-21-2010, 10:28 AM

i probably wouldn't bother with reconing it, but a jensen fan might argue. those old jensens don't take much power, and even a b-15 can blow the voice coil. that's part of the reason they switched to cts speakers in 65. the beta and delta 15 sound so much like the old cts speakers that they could be identical. i've got the delta in my two replica b-15 cabs, but if i had it to do over again, i'd either get a beta or a vintage jbl k140. the jbl is pricier, but a lot of b-15 users swear by it as being the tops for tone. but the eminences sound awfully good in them and you can't beat the price.

Soulfinger · #3 12-21-2010, 06:48 PM

Thanks for the input. I can't figure out what the power handling is of the C-15L--I do know it has a larger voice coil vs. the C15N. I have also determined that mine is a 16 ohm version, which isn't good for this amp. I could probably get it reconed at 8 ohms, but I think for simlicity's sake I'll probably just go with the Beta 15. I'm curious to see how much of the tone is in the driver vs. the cabinet. I know the porting likely isn't optimal in this cab, and who knows how much my box leaks.

The amp sounds great through an Avatar 115 I have that has a crummy Carvin speaker in it. It also sounds great with my Avatar 210---the B-15 is surpsingly hi-fi! It's really missing something into my SWR Goliath III though.

JimmyM · #4 12-21-2010, 08:42 PM

leaks can be fixed. www.fliptops.net has a bunch of stuff to fix up old b-15's. and the porting in that model is different than the others (and different from pretty much every other cab made) but a lot of people still really dig it. i've not heard one in person but it sounds good when i hear it on recordings.