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Neo vs. Regular Speakers

#21
billfitzmaurice said:
You took the word of a guitar'd player on a technical issue? That's like asking for advice on your next car buy from an Amish buddy. :rollno:
Neo does not sound different. Flux is flux. Any response differences between drivers is attributable to the dozen plus T/S specs and driver construction details that do affect response.
Click to expand...

This. Your guitarist is wrong.
 
#26
dmusic148 said:
Hey Bill, don't Neo's generally have smaller magnet and voice coil diameters? Any reason to think this would impact tone, on it's own?
Click to expand...

Some of the other specs are related to this, that are the useful ones (like the moving mass of the cone and such, smaller voice coil will be lighter etc.) The diameter of the voice coil in itself isn't a consideration. Neo magnets are strong, so for equivalent magnetic strength, you can make them smaller than ferrite ones. The actual effects of this are in the specs, they are engineering considerations. When speakers boast voice coil size and magnet weight, it is kind of marketting BS.
 
#27
Sorry, didn't even intend to go there in the post, my fingertips ran away from me. I was having a lengthy discussion about it last night and it was still a little too close to the surface. No hijack intended. I actually forgot to post what I meant to about the neos. And here it is:

About the neo's, the tech keeps getting better. Mechanical engineering and the laws of physics have not changed a whole lot in the past 20 years, but the applications have indeed. As a company, you can only afford so many hours of R&D before you have to produce a product to pay for further R&D.

This is why the first few waves of neo speakers left a horrible taste in the mouths of people who truly valued their tone. Some were passable, good even, but is was still a big trade off. Weight for tone. The little peaks and valleys in the neos only differ from the ferrite by as much as one ferrite to another these days. The cone and coil have so much more to do with it than the magnet alone.

Some may perceive the the quick release of energy neo allows as harsh in comparison to ferrite, just like those going from a tube to an SS rectifier if they had been using tube their entire lives. It's more about learning how to use it than noting that it is different. Just like some will always prefer a slower Ampeg design to a lightning fast GK design because it fits what they do or hear in their head, some will never like a quick neo speaker. I am sure slower ones will be designed in the future to fit those tastes. Heck they may be out there now and I just have not tried them.

Bottom line:

If you love or hate the sound of a current production cab, it probably has very little to do with the magnet. These days the other variables in speaker and cab construction outweigh (quite literally!) the magnets in the final sound you are hearing by a large margin.


Burning, if I could afford it right now I would be sitting next to a fearful hornless 12/6 on top of a 12 sub and laughing at its jokes even if they weren't funny. Your gearlist is full of excellent taste my friend.
 
#28
coreyfyfe said:
The smaller magnet diameter is the feature of using neo. Higher magnet strength means smaller magnet and thus lighter weight.
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Yes, I know this.

Mr. Foxen said:
Some of the other specs are related to this, that are the useful ones (like the moving mass of the cone and such, smaller voice coil will be lighter etc.) The diameter of the voice coil in itself isn't a consideration.
Click to expand...
That's what I was asking.
 
#31
indiemojoe said:
Some may perceive the the quick release of energy neo allows as harsh in comparison to ferrite, just like those going from a tube to an SS rectifier if they had been using tube their entire lives. It's more about learning how to use it than noting that it is different. Just like some will always prefer a slower Ampeg design to a lightning fast GK design because it fits what they do or hear in their head, some will never like a quick neo speaker. I am sure slower ones will be designed in the future to fit those tastes.
Click to expand...
Where to begin. There is no slow or fast speaker, or amp. It may sound like it, but it's not- it's all about frequency response. They all respond with the same speed.
 
#33
Mr. Foxen said:
Some of the other specs are related to this, that are the useful ones (like the moving mass of the cone and such, smaller voice coil will be lighter etc.) The diameter of the voice coil in itself isn't a consideration. Neo magnets are strong, so for equivalent magnetic strength, you can make them smaller than ferrite ones. The actual effects of this are in the specs, they are engineering considerations. When speakers boast voice coil size and magnet weight, it is kind of marketting BS.
Click to expand...

Voice coil size actually matters. That's a lot of the thermal rating right there. But go larger than you need to for the intended job and it has other tradeoffs. As it always is with T-S parameters.
 
#35
indiemojoe said:
Sorry, didn't even intend to go there in the post, my fingertips ran away from me. I was having a lengthy discussion about it last night and it was still a little too close to the surface. No hijack intended. I actually forgot to post what I meant to about the neos. And here it is:

About the neo's, the tech keeps getting better. Mechanical engineering and the laws of physics have not changed a whole lot in the past 20 years, but the applications have indeed. As a company, you can only afford so many hours of R&D before you have to produce a product to pay for further R&D.

This is why the first few waves of neo speakers left a horrible taste in the mouths of people who truly valued their tone. Some were passable, good even, but is was still a big trade off. Weight for tone. The little peaks and valleys in the neos only differ from the ferrite by as much as one ferrite to another these days. The cone and coil have so much more to do with it than the magnet alone.

Some may perceive the the quick release of energy neo allows as harsh in comparison to ferrite, just like those going from a tube to an SS rectifier if they had been using tube their entire lives. It's more about learning how to use it than noting that it is different. Just like some will always prefer a slower Ampeg design to a lightning fast GK design because it fits what they do or hear in their head, some will never like a quick neo speaker. I am sure slower ones will be designed in the future to fit those tastes. Heck they may be out there now and I just have not tried them.

Bottom line:

If you love or hate the sound of a current production cab, it probably has very little to do with the magnet. These days the other variables in speaker and cab construction outweigh (quite literally!) the magnets in the final sound you are hearing by a large margin.


Burning, if I could afford it right now I would be sitting next to a fearful hornless 12/6 on top of a 12 sub and laughing at its jokes even if they weren't funny. Your gearlist is full of excellent taste my friend.
Click to expand...

Believe me indiemojoe, a fEARful is the most fiendish instrument of torture ever devised to bedevil the days of man.

Until you have one, you'll always want one, once you do, you'll only want more. It proves that neo is Goddamned bona fide!
 
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#37
BurningSkies said:
Believe me indiemojoe, a fEARful is the most fiendish instrument of torture ever devised to bedevil the days of man.

Until you have one, you'll always want one, once you do, you'll only want more. It proves that neo is Goddamned bona fide!
Click to expand...


Damn. I'm a little scared, but excited... In an "I just woke up handcuffed to the bed naked and I smell fresh pumpkin pie downstairs" kinda way.
 

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