Anyone Have Advice About Using Neo-Loaded Cabs w/ Ceramic-Loaded Cabs?

[Count Bassie]

I'd say pick one cab or the other.
Both are rated 700w plus...so volume shouldn't be the issue, imv.
Pick the one that sounds best.
Maybe record them 30ft from front of stage to see how well they travel.

My point in two of them is that there will be more surface area pushing air. I play in a stoner doom outfit, and use a Hipshot lever for low-D on the E string. The lows are important to our delivery, so that wall of air is meaningful.

Well, to me, anyway.

 

[pepj]

ok, less about tone then. So in that case, I'd run both of what you have and only really worry about it unless it sucks.

I prefer ceramic myself...but Neo tend to have a slightly higher rating if chosing a 12", for example.
As with all things cab-wise, imo, some things that aren't necessarily supposed to work, actually do, to the ears of the beholder.
If those two cabs underpin the band sound, then all good.

 

[Count Bassie]

ok, less about tone then. So in that case, I'd run both of what you have and only really worry about it unless it sucks.

I prefer ceramic myself...but Neo tend to have a slightly higher rating if chosing a 12", for example.
As with all things cab-wise, imo, some things that aren't necessarily supposed to work, actually do, to the ears of the beholder.
If those two cabs underpin the band sound, then all good.

I hope so.
The ceramic loaded one I've got is, interestingly, rated at 850w @4 ohms. The neo is rated 700w @4 ohms.
It's an experiment...

 

[agedhorse]

Of course.
I only meant that if the speaker designer is already asking a premium for a rare earth magnet, might as well ask a premium for lighter and stiffer cone material, although I'll grant that they won't shave that much off of weight in the first place. Baskets are almost universally aluminium with no real lighter alternatives (that anyone would advertise), so yeah.

What you aren't grasping is that lighter, stiffer cones are not necessarily an advantage and in fact can be a big disadvantage depending on the performance and voicing that is desired by the designer. Neo drivers use both stamped steel and cast aluminum baskets, almost equally too since the smaller motors don't need the additional stiffness (and cost) of an aluminum basket.

So what is your opinion on what people usually associate with neodymium speakers? That they sound more modern or brighter? Just the fact that they are more recent and thus there are no neodymium speakers that use older, inferior, materials?

It depends on the designer, it's a little easier to design for greater high frequency extension with Neo motors, but this can and is often done with ceramic motors by adding a flux shorting ring or cap to the top of the pole piece (costs more). Every parameter of a speaker interacts with every other parameter. There are in fact Neo speakers that use exactly the same cone, spider, dust cap etc. as their ceramic counterparts, again, it depends on the intent of the designer.

 

[agedhorse]

ok, less about tone then. So in that case, I'd run both of what you have and only really worry about it unless it sucks.

I prefer ceramic myself...but Neo tend to have a slightly higher rating if chosing a 12", for example.
As with all things cab-wise, imo, some things that aren't necessarily supposed to work, actually do, to the ears of the beholder.
If those two cabs underpin the band sound, then all good.

The power handling is anything the designer wants the design to be, provided the tradeoffs are acceptable. I know of ceramic designs that outperform Neo designs and vis-versa, it depends on the design as much (or more) than the magnet material.

 

[toughluck]

What you aren't grasping is that lighter, stiffer cones are not necessarily an advantage and in fact can be a big disadvantage depending on the performance and voicing that is desired by the designer. Neo drivers use both stamped steel and cast aluminum baskets, almost equally too since the smaller motors don't need the additional stiffness (and cost) of an aluminum basket.

Fair, I was just thinking of examples how a neo driver would add even more features to further make it lighter weight.
But I defer to your knowledge.

It depends on the designer, it's a little easier to design for greater high frequency extension with Neo motors, but this can and is often done with ceramic motors by adding a flux shorting ring or cap to the top of the pole piece (costs more). Every parameter of a speaker interacts with every other parameter. There are in fact Neo speakers that use exactly the same cone, spider, dust cap etc. as their ceramic counterparts, again, it depends on the intent of the designer.

If a neo speaker uses — exactly the same — cone, spider, dust cap, etc., and its electric and magnetic properties are the same, will the two sound the same in the same cab, or is ther anything else that will also play a role?

 

[agedhorse]

Fair, I was just thinking of examples how a neo driver would add even more features to further make it lighter weight.
But I defer to your knowledge.

Cone weight is measured in grams, like 20 grams so even leaving the cone out of the speaker won't make it any lighter. It won't work either , obviously.

If a neo speaker uses — exactly the same — cone, spider, dust cap, etc., and its electric and magnetic properties are the same, will the two sound the same in the same cab, or is ther anything else that will also play a role?

Generally they will sound very close, but motor geometry, pole piece geometry, number of VC turns all factor into the equation. The answer here is "it depends". Also, the sound will be closer if there's a flux shorting ring on the pole piece since that makes the inductance closer to the Neo motor geometry. (which more or less has one by default)

 

[Count Bassie]

Roll of the dice.

 

[yonkrz]

I use these together, sounds really good, the 10 is ceramic and the 12 is a Neo

 

[toughluck]

Generally they will sound very close, but motor geometry, pole piece geometry, number of VC turns all factor into the equation. The answer here is "it depends". Also, the sound will be closer if there's a flux shorting ring on the pole piece since that makes the inductance closer to the Neo motor geometry. (which more or less has one by default)

So what's the overall reason for using rare earth magnets in speakers? Is it pretty much down to weight and size?

 

[agedhorse]

So what's the overall reason for using rare earth magnets in speakers? Is it pretty much down to weight and size?

Weight, size and specific attributes a designer may need or want to use to achieve a particular performance attribute.