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Which speakers for my Watkins cabinet?
Posted:
26 May 2010, 19:01by Graylion
I have a NOS Watkins Dominator V-front cabinet from their 1990s re-issue - with the dark blue and grey marble-effect viny covering. It will take 2 x 10" speakers and I am going to build a Ceriatone "PrinzTone" all-valve kit amp for it. This is a new model with around 16.5 Watts output. It's an all-valve tremelo amp with ECC83 pre-amp, 2 x 6V6GT outputs and a GZ34 rectifier. Similar output to the original Dominator, but it's based on a Fender.
I am limiting my budget to about £50 per speaker and favour high efficiency Eminence - to get the best volume from the amp. Celestion Greenbacks would be nice, probably, but a bit too expensive. (No, I'm not expecting "that sound" from it - I have a Vox Heritage AC15TV!) It's mainly for fun and an excercise in soldering my own point-to-point amp!
My question is whether a pair of 75 watt capacity speakers like the Eminence (of 100dB sensitivity) will be underdriven and actually quieter than, say, a lower power rated speaker like the Greenback with a rating of 30W but sensitivity of 95dB? (Or any other speaker with a similar spec of low capacity and low sensitivity). On the Eminence site I like the sound demo of the "Rajin Cajun" (Yeah - I KNOW! 
) and the "Ramrod" - they have a nice "zing" to them! Both are 100dB sensitivity. It's a single volume control amp so I'm only really looking for clean sounds.
Re: Which speakers for my Watkins cabinet?
Posted:
26 May 2010, 19:27by JimN
I would recommend Jensens.
They do a nice range of 10" speakers, and the brand is very appropriate if you're looking for a vintage Fender sound. You can get a 10" Jensen for £49 a pop:
http://www.hotroxuk.com/jensen-speaker-ch-series-7413-0.htmlJN
Re: Which speakers for my Watkins cabinet?
Posted:
26 May 2010, 19:54by rogera
I agree with Jim that a Jensen speaker is a good idea.
The model that I would recommend is the P10Q.
Re: Which speakers for my Watkins cabinet?
Posted:
26 May 2010, 20:39by rapidsguitars
hi grey lion .i have a pair of weber california 10s the ultimate clean speakers, ideal for surf ,country, or blues, also a piar of 12 eminence tone spotters, if you are intrested IAN
Re: Which speakers for my Watkins cabinet?
Posted:
27 May 2010, 00:42by Graylion
Thanks guys but would I still like to know if a pair of 75 watt speakers are likely to be underdriven (and quieter?) by a 16.5 watt amp? Roger - The Jensen P10Q is probably a good speaker but it's around £70 - way above my budget.
After getting all your recommendations for the Jensens I had a listen to their sound clips. I have to say that I prefer the 'clean' sound clips of the Eminences to the Jensens. The 'Ems' are more mellow with a good mid but the Jensens sound harsh to me. I realise that it's all very subjective and "horses for courses"! (I'm not sure which "course" I'm aiming for yet!) The Jensen ceramic range is more in my price bracket but all these Jensens sensitivities are around 95dB compared with the Eminence at 100dB. Is there something against Eminence that I should know about?
Ian - I can't find any info on your Weber or Tone Spotter speakers in the 10" size. If yours are 10s then "Come on down!" 
(anyone in the UK remember Leslie Crowther?). Please let me know what you want for them and where you are based.
Is their any merit in picking an 8 ohm over a 16 ohm speaker? With 2 x 8s I would connect in series for a 16 ohm load and with 2 x 16s in parallel for an 8 ohm load. The amp has 4, 8 and 16 ohm selection.
Cheers guys 
Re: Which speakers for my Watkins cabinet?
Posted:
27 May 2010, 08:54by Didier
You might also consider the Celestion G10 Vintage, unless if they are too expensive for this project.
There is absolulty no risks with underpowered speakers.
Didier
Re: Which speakers for my Watkins cabinet?
Posted:
27 May 2010, 12:02by Twang46
Hi Lionel
I think "Rajin Cajun"s are great speakers & are easily driven ( & go loudl !) by both of my 15w Fender amps without any apparent loss of performance.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:ITRight on your budget I believe
I would use 2 x 8ohm in a twin cab wired in series, my thinking behind that is that you are using the "full" (16 ohm) winding of the o/put transformer. I think they sound better that way.
Be interested to see if you are going to look at voltage regulation for the new amp in view of the recent thread about 240v & its variations
Cheers
Dick.
Re: Which speakers for my Watkins cabinet?
Posted:
27 May 2010, 14:04by Graylion
Thanks Didier - I had thought about the G10 Vintage, and it's the same price as the Eminence speakers, but it has 97dB sensitivity compared to 100dB for the Ems. I will try and find a sound clip for one. I note what you say about my worries of underpowering high-rated speakers - thanks. Remember my post about getting my fingers burnt building my own amp? I then bought the Vox AC15TV so you said I didn't need to burn my fingers! Against your good advice I'm going that route anyway - so it won't be your fault! 
Dick, I was thinking along the same lines as to the 16 ohm speaker/amp loading. My son said the same feeling that, without any technical knowledge of the principles, it would somehow use the full loading potential! As to the voltage variations, I intend to ask the designer that question! He's in Malaysia.
Cheers, Lionel
Re: Which speakers for my Watkins cabinet?
Posted:
27 May 2010, 19:05by rapidsguitars
hi lionel , the tone spotters are 12s ,the webers california are 10s, plenty of info for weber california online, just type in weber california 10 inch speakers, these speakers are 8 ohms. IAN
Re: Which speakers for my Watkins cabinet?
Posted:
27 May 2010, 20:28by Graylion
Thanks Ian. I can't find any full specs for the Weber online. Do you know it's sensitivity, resonant frequency etc.? How much do you want for them and are you in the UK? If not then it's too difficult to buy them.
Dick - I've asked Ceriatone (kit amps) about the voltage probs and he sent this - "Some of our PT are still 230V, we're moving back to 240V indeed. But don't worry abt the caps, ours are at least 450V for the filters. If they are not, the caps are actually series-ed so they can take higher voltages." At least THEY are on the ball!
Cheers, Lionel