Neo cabs

[action_panzer]

Do they sound much different to normal cabs? The weight saving is crazy...

[discreet]

This thread may interest you.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/215223-new-light-weight-vs-heavy-cabs/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/215223-new-light-weight-vs-heavy-cabs/[/url]

[Mr. Foxen]

No more sound difference than between two different normal cabs. 'Neo' isn't a sound factor.

[Phil Starr]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1378299819' post='2198313']
No more sound difference than between two different normal cabs. 'Neo' isn't a sound factor.
[/quote]

This is spot on, neodymium is just what the magnet is made of, It's expensive and much stronger so the magnets are smaller and lighter. The 'sound' is about other things like the cone the surround and the suspension. If you can afford it then just look for one that sounds the way you want. Use your ears to choose.

[action_panzer]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1378299492' post='2198301']
This thread may interest you.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/215223-new-light-weight-vs-heavy-cabs/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/215223-new-light-weight-vs-heavy-cabs/[/url]
[/quote]

[action_panzer]

Sorry, new phone doing silly things (plus a wally on the end of it). What I meant to say was that link was a great read, cheers.

[wateroftyne]

Is it not the case that Neo magnets are much more efficient, with a denser magnetic field, resulting in an inherently stronger mid-range presence in some drivers?

(I have no practical experience to back this up - nor am I saying it's a bad thing. I'm just repeating an explanation of the perceived difference that was given to me once...)

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1378305137' post='2198390']
Is it not the case that Neo magnets are much more efficient, with a denser magnetic field, resulting in an inherently stronger mid-range presence in some drivers?

(I have no practical experience to back this up - nor am I saying it's a bad thing. I'm just repeating an explanation of the perceived difference that was given to me once...)
[/quote]

Indeed it is not the case. It might work if the magnets weighed the same, but the whole point is there is less of the stronger magnet material, and if stronger magnet gave a midrange presence, which isn't the case either. With neo magnets, you do access a much broader range of adjustable parameters, from the fact the magnet is physically smaller, so you can go nuts on the heatsink and such, but that hasn't got much to do with mids.

Main audible difference in early generation neo bass cabs was a theme of bodging a neo driver into an inappropriate cab designed for a ferrite driver with different parameters.

[alexclaber]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1378305137' post='2198390']Is it not the case that Neo magnets are much more efficient, with a denser magnetic field[/quote]

Yes.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1378305137' post='2198390']resulting in an inherently stronger mid-range presence in some drivers?[/quote]

No.

[shizznit]

Hmmmm...it depends. My EBS Proline and Neo cabs do sound a little bit different, but in an acoustic way. The Proline is made with birch ply and the Neo is made with Spruce ply to lighten the cab even more. The Spruce does make the acoustics of the cab sound a bit more open. In other words, you can notice that its a bit louder once you step to the side of it. It doesn't make the speakers any louder or in fact change the overall tone compared to the ceramic loaded Proline cab. It sounds great either way, but the sonic effect will be different because of the acoustic value of whichever ply has been used for the cab construction. You have to be a complete nerd like me to notice it!

[Phil Starr]

One of the important differences is because neo magnets are expensive. This means that in the most part they aren't used in anything but relatively high end designs with fairly strong magnetic fields and well engineered magnetic gaps. The speakers are generally all fairly low Q highly damped designs and tend to be fairly revealing so you could end up with a cleaner sound. A lot of traditional bass speakers used lots of cheap drivers with undersized magnets which means they are a bit woolly sounding and have characteristic bass humps which tends to drown out the mids a little. This is the sound of one of the older 4x10's and probably the sound of rock. If you are trying to replicate the sound of the 70's bands then basic speakers still do that job. If you want versatility then you probably ought to go for a better quality driver and dial in the eq you want.

So you might think you hear a 'neo' sound but you would get the same sound with a ceramic speaker magnet if it was large enough. It isn't the material intrinsically, it's just about decently powerful magnets.

[JTUK]

Funniliy enough, I have used a fair few NEO cabs these last few years and I've not loved any of them.
I currently can run a NEO rig but it isn't a first pick.
I keep it as I haven't seen anything to trade for it... ( would like 2x112 )
and it is smallish light footprint.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1378409833' post='2199982']
One of the important differences is because neo magnets are expensive. This means that in the most part they aren't used in anything but relatively high end designs with fairly strong magnetic fields and well engineered magnetic gaps. The speakers are generally all fairly low Q highly damped designs and tend to be fairly revealing so you could end up with a cleaner sound. A lot of traditional bass speakers used lots of cheap drivers with undersized magnets which means they are a bit woolly sounding and have characteristic bass humps which tends to drown out the mids a little. This is the sound of one of the older 4x10's and probably the sound of rock. If you are trying to replicate the sound of the 70's bands then basic speakers still do that job. If you want versatility then you probably ought to go for a better quality driver and dial in the eq you want.

So you might think you hear a 'neo' sound but you would get the same sound with a ceramic speaker magnet if it was large enough. It isn't the material intrinsically, it's just about decently powerful magnets.
[/quote]

This is what I was thinking as a possibility. Maybe Neo drivers are more efficient and 'accurate' which is a godsend for a lot of players.

But not my thing.

Maybe...

[Wilco]

Both my back & my ears love my HyDrive.....

[chris_b]

[quote name='action_panzer' timestamp='1378299210' post='2198291']
....Do they sound much different to normal cabs?....
[/quote]

What does a [i]normal[/i] cab sound like?

[Phil Starr]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1378411569' post='2200027']
This is what I was thinking as a possibility. Maybe Neo drivers are more efficient and 'accurate' which is a godsend for a lot of players.

But not my thing.

Maybe...
[/quote]

I'm a great believer in using your ears to choose a cab. It's so much more effective than listening to people like me.

Don't get me wrong, i have a probably unhealthy obsession with speaker design and I'm happy to discuss it with anyone. I don't even think it is particularly difficult to understand if you are willing to do a bit of reading. It's also true that the theory works, speaker design shouldn't be accidental, but you will be buying speakers not designing them. Any knowledge will inform your decision making, help you home in on speakers which are likely to please and help you resist the advice of sales people, but time spent on this is a bit less time spent playing and listening and you do need a lot of knowledge to really work out what a cab is likely to sound like with theory alone.

[wateroftyne]

Of course - I always use my ears when evaluating cabs!

It's the reason I'm quite happy to state that (so far) Neos don't seem to ring my bell, without being too bothered by the 'You don't understand the theory - they're no different other than the weight!; responses I invariably receive. :-)

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1378459557' post='2200513']
I'm quite happy to state that (so far) Neos don't seem to ring my bell, without being too bothered by the 'You don't understand the theory - they're no different other than the weight!; responses I invariably receive. :-)
[/quote]They are different. Neo allows longer excursion, not because of higher flux, but because the motor structure is more compact. Longer excursion results in higher output with less distortion. Most of us prefer that to lower output with higher distortion, but I guess not all.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1378467345' post='2200711']
They are different. Neo allows longer excursion, not because of higher flux, but because the motor structure is more compact. Longer excursion results in higher output with less distortion. Most of us prefer that to lower output with higher distortion, but I guess not all.
[/quote]

That makes sense. Thanks, Bill.

[redstriper]

The problem with evaluating speakers is that it's hard to know whether it is the driver or the cab that is producing the sound - it's the interaction of both.
It's similar to how a bass sounds different depending on the strings it's fitted with.

I don't think I could say whether a driver was neo or ceramic by listening alone, but I don't like distortion and I don't like heavy cabs so my preference is neo.