speaker change in laney amp

passfan · #1 08-09-2011, 02:41 PM

Hi Folks.This may be a bit obscure but I'll try it out anyway.I play an Eastman 905 CE through a laney LC15r only at home.The speaker in the Laney is an old HH unit which is,from what I read a bit lacking in finesse.I've just sold on a Godin Kingpin and have a bit of spare cash.I've been considering upgrading the speaker to possibly an Eminence Beta A-10 for the sole reason that that particular speaker is used on the JazzAmp 10-R.Has anyone used that speaker with a small valve/tube amp and if so is the effort and expense worthwhile?Any input or advice/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Ken.

jorgemg1984 · #2 08-09-2011, 03:48 PM

I personally hate the Betas but they are used in Henriksen and Evans. I think Polytones are Eminence custom made but shouldn't be very far from the Betas. But you might like then, they are very dark (at least on an Henriksen, an EV was a much better choice)

Since you are limited to a 10 speaker maybe a Jensen Neo or a Tornado could be a good option. Or a Eminence Lil Buddy (C Rex small brother) might even be better. Check what people put on a Princeton Reverb, which is also a 10 and is very well regarded for jazz (although lots of them put a new 12 baffle)

clem_gael · #3 08-10-2011, 09:46 AM

Don't use a Beta in a opened-back amp (or cab). The Eminence Betas and Deltas are made for closed-backs cabs (like Raezer's Edge, Redstone, Henriksen...). For a opened-back, I'd choose a WEBER 10f150 or a Eminence Delta Demon

jorgemg1984 · #4 08-11-2011, 05:51 AM

Thats not true, I know people who use Betas on open-backs with great results. I don't like the betas (at least on henriken) but a lot of jazz players do. If you want the Beta there's no problem with the open back.

bob32069 · #5 08-11-2011, 02:47 PM

I use a Beta in my '73 Princeton Reverb. I love it. Works fine in open back situation.

Franz 1997 · #6 08-12-2011, 05:53 AM

The Emi Beta 10 is a general purpose PA/bass speaker which sounds dark and has fairly good efficiency @ 97db/w. It's not too heavy. If you go to the eminence site and look at the frequency plot you'll see that it's got a slight midrange dip.
A lot of jazz players like the sound, although like jorge I prefer a speaker with a flatter response and more treble, such as EVs force 10 or Emi lites - there is an emi lite 10 that weighs only about 4lb and sounds more balanced to my ears than the beta 10. BTW Hendriksen used to offer the Emi ragin cajun 10" speaker in their convertible outfit, but have stopped doing so - that was a much brighter, more efficient speaker. That could be an alternative....

passfan · #7 08-12-2011, 01:58 PM

Thank you to everyone who gave me advice on the speaker change.It is much appreciated and as musical tastes are diverse so is the recommendation of what speaker to put into my Laney amp.For better or worse I just bought one off Ebay.I'm sure it won't be the ideal choice for many and maybe not even for me but I got it at a good price and I believe it will probably be an improvment on the stock HH speaker.I got a used Jensen P10r alnico speaker.I know absolutely nothing about this unit so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed(when I'm not playing).

Thank you all again.
Ken