15" Speaker Recommendations

[barrymclark]

I know this is up to my ear in the end, but there are a LOT of 15" speakers out there and I am trying to narrow the field a bit. haha.

For a smoother, low volume jazz with maybe an ever SO small touch of grit and girth but with a very overall acoustic tone, what would you recommend?

JBL? EV? Eminence? Weber?

I guess my best description would be a very old school tone but modernized. ....if that makes ANY sense at all.

Think Joe Pass if he was alive and playing today. That amazing acoustic tone. I know the speaker is just one part of the equipment and none of that is nearly as important as the player... but I think you follow.

Thanks!

[jasonc]

I had an Eminence Legend 15" and it was a wonderful speaker. I sold that cabinet to a friend but have often thought of building another. It is also a very efficient speaker so it could be very loud but that's what I wanted.

[Laro]

Eminence Legend CB158 : very good response, tone and reactivity for electric guitar imho...

[jorgemg1984]

I never tried the 15 version, but EV-12L is by far my favorite guitar speakers.

[docbop]

I saw Joe Pass play a few times and he was using the 12" Polytones solo or with a band.

Have you used 15" before they have their quirks. First need to be run at more level than other sizes to get them to their optimal speaking voice, it's a lot of paper to get moving. Response time is slower again a lot of paper to change direction. Also the hard part for me is if standing close they are hard to hear, the sound generates further out. These days I wouldn't use a 15" as a lone speaker I would use it as a second speaker or 15 with a tweeter or small midrange speaker that can add clarity slow moving paper can't.

[barrymclark]

I saw Joe Pass play a few times and he was using the 12" Polytones solo or with a band.

Have you used 15" before they have their quirks. First need to be run at more level than other sizes to get them to their optimal speaking voice, it's a lot of paper to get moving. Response time is slower again a lot of paper to change direction. Also the hard part for me is if standing close they are hard to hear, the sound generates further out. These days I wouldn't use a 15" as a lone speaker I would use it as a second speaker or 15 with a tweeter or small midrange speaker that can add clarity slow moving paper can't.

I have. Granted, it wasn't in an amp like this. I liked it well enough. I am likely though to go with a 12". I say that as I have had plenty of good experiences with them and already have a library's worth of go-to speakers.

Just curious about 15 inchers is all.

[jorgemg1984]

Don't know if you're a fan but until 2008 most stuff Rosenwinkel recorded was with a 15 Polytone - although he probably used an eq pedal most of the time.

[Little Jay]

I have Jensen NEOs in two of my amps now, very impressed with those, but they are 12". I can imagine the Jensen NEO 15" being just as good AND it's light!

[bluefonia]

You might want to check this out. Warehouse, - also called WGS, - makes great speakers. - 15" G15C Ceramic Speaker - 75 Watts | Warehouse Guitar Speakers - sound samples on the site too
If you are up to it, they have got an alnico version too.

[Little Jay]

Of course now you're getting so many recommendations you still don't know what speaker to choose.......

[barrymclark]

Of course now you're getting so many recommendations you still don't know what speaker to choose.......

All's well. This is the response I was looking for. Full disclosure: I have all but made up my mind to get the 12" Eminence C-Rex. Just looking into an area I haven't really looked into.

[Joe Vanilla]

I had an Eminence Legend 15" and it was a wonderful speaker. I sold that cabinet to a friend but have often thought of building another. It is also a very efficient speaker so it could be very loud but that's what I wanted.

+1 for Eminence 15".

It came stock in my '80s Polytone IV and I have one installed in a Gibson GA-77.
Awesome speaker for warm smooth jazz up to growling blues. Huge deep lows however very ballanced.

[guitarmikey]

I have Eminence Delta 15A. A PA speaker, not quite a guitar one, but sounds awsome for guitar. Also I prefer for blues the 10" Ragin Cajun. Got a 12" Fender in my FM 65 R, but definetely, for Jazz, the 15 Delta is the best. Then comes Fender and then Ragin Cajun. The interesting part is that Delta has not that bottom end so needed in other type of music, so it fits great for jazz. You should try it, if possible.

[tonedeaf]

I put an Eminence Patriot in my PRRI and it made a significant improvement in the clarity and balance of the bass.

[Jazzman301]

I have a 1970 Standel Studio with a 15" 8ohm JBL D130F and I have a Yamaha G100 115 with a JA 3802 Yamaha speaker in it. They both sound killer. The JBL might edge the Yamaha and even then its a tight race.

'Mike

[Encinitastubes]

Evans likes the Eminence Beta for thei amps. It's typically a bass or p.a. speaker. I like it for its clear articulation. I also like the Legend, but it colors the sound more. I find that 15s are great for a throaty, compressed tone. I actually get more le end out of my 10s.

[guitarmikey]

Right. I think that a PA speaker, like Delta or Beta don't have that " in your face" sound that we adore for rock guitar. Clarity is maximised as well, making it smoothly and insinuated somehow. Great for jazz! Possible to add a tweeter or not, to see if highs are more enhanced, if you think you need that.

[customxke]

JBL D130 fan here.

[Hammertone]

IMO, there ar three kings in the world of extended range American 15" speakers":
JBL D130 or K130 (same thing).
Altec Lansing 418b
EV SRO (the "white coffee can" early version, not the finned later one). This speaker is deeper than the other two because of the magnet cover, and doesn't even fit into various standard guitar combos and speaker cabs.

All three:
- are long gone, out of production for years
- are extended range speakers, not bass speakers
- have AlNiCo magnets
- are extremely efficient
- are fairly heavy
- have cult followings, with arcane knowlege of recone kits, knowledge of when power ratings and other performance criteria changed (which was on the fly).

I got into these because they are the best speakers for upright bass as played through an old Ampeg portaflex with a 15" speaker, which is of course the best bass combo for upright bass.

I'm unfamiliar with British speakers of this style, but my guess is that Celestion, Fane, Goodmans or the like probably have something similar. Anyone know?

There are a variety of newer speakers that are copies of these.
I'm most familiar with Weber, which offers the:
- AlNiCo Cali 15 - copy of a JBL D130
- AlNiCo Michigan 15 - copy of an EV
as well as the
- Chicago 15,
- Thames 15
- Texas 15

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Evans likes the Eminence Beta for thei amps. It's typically a bass or p.a. speaker. I like it for its clear articulation. I also like the Legend, but it colors the sound more. I find that 15s are great for a throaty, compressed tone. I actually get more le end out of my 10s.

Right. I think that a PA speaker, like Delta or Beta don't have that " in your face" sound that we adore for rock guitar. Clarity is maximised as well, making it smoothly and insinuated somehow. Great for jazz! Possible to add a tweeter or not, to see if highs are more enhanced, if you think you need that.

Guys, if you've been following Evans Amps, they've recently put out a second version of the amp with 500W @ 4ohms (versus 200W) and a Delta speaker (versus Beta): Evans SE Series | Products | Evans Custom Amplifiers

It's odd that the newer amp is available in 10", 12" and 15" combos but not as a head, although I bet they'd do it, if asked.

[guitarmikey]

Yes! Beta is less power than Delta... great as well if you need lower power... For me was just a chance to get this Delta, almost for nothing, then I start digging, and liked what I heard. That's it! I still adore my Patriot 10" Ragin' Cajun, but not for jazz...
Great choice this PA speakers.