Vintage 5e3 speakers

[PunkKitty]

After doing some research I decided to change the speaker in my 5e3. I'm going to try a vintage CTS alnico speaker from an old Allen organ. According to the dealer that I'm buying the speaker from, it should handle 25-30 watts. 5e3's put out about 15 watts so this should work.

 

Has anyone else tried this? How did it work out?

[tulk1]

The 5E3 I sold to Yoslate has an early '50s Magnavox P-232. What a wonderful speaker that one turned out to be. Don't recall the wattage rating, but the 5E3 did not it push over the edge, so to speak. I'd think you'd get similar results with your CTS.

[Blunote]

The speaker that came in my KBP810 Reverb Deluxe ('65 DR clone) was a 1960 vintage Carbonneau refurbished with a Jensen cone and voice coil kit. Carbonneau speakers were frequently found in organs and Magnavox hi-fi products.

 

Like this one from a Motorola:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-15-Carbonneau-Speaker-Motorola-Golden-Voice-/360466208681?pt=http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-15-Carbonneau-Speaker-Motorola-Golden-Voice-/360466208681?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item53ed75d7a9

 

 

After getting the amp I felt compelled to swap in a Weber Alnico and then a Bigtone 55 Ceramic (Guytron's house brand); both very good products. That said, the Carbonneau went back in the amp.

 

I'm sure your vintage CTS will sound terrific.

[yoslate]

The 5E3 I sold to Yoslate has an early '50s Magnavox P-232. What a wonderful speaker that one turned out to be. Don't recall the wattage rating, but the 5E3 did not it push over the edge, so to speak. I'd think you'd get similar results with your CTS.

 

Kenny, I don't know if you saw my post of a week or two ago, but I re-tubed the 5E3, and had it tweaked by my amp guru. I don't know that I'd ever really heard it at its best until now. Man, oh man! Big, punchy, loud, marvelous! That Magnavox just shines in that amp...killer combination. I have absolutely no desire for "the real thing."

[Guest HRB853370]

 

Kenny, I don't know if you saw my post of a week or two ago, but I re-tubed the 5E3, and had it tweaked by my amp guru. I don't know that I'd ever really heard it at its best until now. Man, oh man! Big, punchy, loud, marvelous! That Magnavox just shines in that amp...killer combination. I have absolutely no desire for "the real thing."

I think that Magnavox speaker came out of my parents old console Hi Fi that was donated to charity years and years ago!

[tulk1]

I think that Magnavox speaker came out of my parents old console Hi Fi that was donated to charity years and years ago!

Really? NOT!!!!

 

 

 

Kenny, I don't know if you saw my post of a week or two ago, but I re-tubed the 5E3, and had it tweaked by my amp guru. I don't know that I'd ever really heard it at its best until now. Man, oh man! Big, punchy, loud, marvelous! That Magnavox just shines in that amp...killer combination. I have absolutely no desire for "the real thing."

I must have missed that. Not surprised that your guru could tweak that to perfection. My builder did a great job on it. Well enough that Ted Weber featured it on his website. But, it was his first kit build. Bring it to PSP next year if you can. I'd love to revisit it and see what it's supposed to sound like.

 

BTW, PK, there are lots of Magnavox P-232 variants out there. If you don't do your CTS (which should be killer), you want the vintage speaker with the larger bell cover on the magnet.

[PunkKitty]

Now I have a dilemma.

 

I installed one of the CTS speakers. They break up early so it's difficult to get good clean tones out of them. They have a warm sound. They are not as articulate as the Eminence speaker. But they sound awesome. Creamy is a good way to describe the sound. Is this what a vintage 5e3 is supposed to sound like?

 

I compared that side by side with a KEI speaker. It's a 70 watt Eminence speaker that was designed for Kustom amps. It's similar to the Fender designed Emimence speaker that I originally planned to use with this amp.

 

The KEI is LOUD. It's much louder than the CTS speaker. I can also get a decent clean sound out of it. And it's more articulate. But it's colder and more sterile sounding. You can hear the difference between the alnico magnet in the CTS and the ceramic speaker in the KEI.

 

So now the question is do I want warm and creamy or bright, articulate, and loud. Keep in mind that the KEI is installed in a cabinet so I can easily plug the amp into that cab and have both sounds available when I want them.

 

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

[H]

I've got a Celestion G12H30 in my 5e3, it's a bit more efficient than the CTS you're using but not so much as your KEI. It gets me a bit of both your speakers.

 

In your situation, I'd leave the CTS in the 5e3 to retain the flub and creaminess that's a more natural fit for this type of amp. If you want the cleaner character of the KEI, it's always available to you via an extension cab.

[PunkKitty]

Since clean sounds are important to me, I decided to go with the Fender designed Eminence in the 5e3. I put the CTS in a cabinet and I'm using it with a kit built 5 watt tube head. I can use the cabinet with the 5e3 if I need to.

[tulk1]

Getting real cleans, from my experience with a 5E3, are not that easy. Just don't think it was built that way. Perhaps I should have gone with a higher wattage rated speaker, too. I liked the tones, just couldn't keep it clean enough. Good deal on the Eminence, if that gets you there!

 

Tubes in the 5E3 can make a huge difference. I had to dump all the JJ-pre's that were sent with mine. Replaced first with current production Mullard (eh) and Tung-Sol (yeah!!). Finally went with vintage tubes. Guess Robbo has improved on that as well. Still vintage tubes, I do believe, tho'.