delta blues speaker upgrade?

want2play · **Joined:** Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:03 am **Posts:** 9

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum. I've just recently purchased a new delta blues 15 and I'm glad to see many delta blues amp posts on this board. I'm learning a lot.

The amp sounds great, but would a speaker swap make it better?
If so what speaker do you guys recommend? The benefit I would be looking for with a speaker swap would be to make the amp sound brighter and warmer if that makes sense.

TIA.

Classic30inCincy · **Posted:** Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:54 pm

How many hours "exercise / playing time" on speaker?

Break-In requires 20-40+ hours for speaker to reach full tonal range.

15" speaker change gets expensive and limited variations compared to 12" speakers.

If you have funds available consider adding a 112 or 212 16 Ohm extension cabinet.

12" speakers will compliment tone of the 15" on-board speaker.

Inexpensive update = TungSol 12AX7 Re-Issue (New Production) pre-amp tube in Position V1 Clean Channel.

Position V1 forms 85% of your amp's tone.........

Very important starting point.

Amp probably equipped with JJ ECC83S in V1 & V2, Sovtek 12AX7LPS in V3 Phase Inverter, and JJ EL84 power tubes.

One new pre-amp tube can take amp from "OK" to '"Great".

luckyman · **Posted:** Thu Jan 14, 2010 8:59 pm

Hey w2p,
+1 with Cincy's recommendations...a second or even third cab with differing combinations will add lots of tonal variety.

And this may sound nuts, but I came very close to purchasing a DB115 used with the idea that I was going to make a baffle to convert it to a 1-12." Like Cincy said, there really aren't very many reasonably priced 15's out there that I like either...so switching to a 12" in that large DB cabinet was intriguing.

Plus it opens up a boatload of possibilities...think about it.

In the 15" category...the Eminence "Big Ben" may work for you. I like the "Commonwealth 15" a bit better though.
Sound clips here.

http://www.eminence-speaker.com/soundclips.asp

Then there's the Jensens...here

http://jensentone.com/mod_index.php

Good Luck and God Bless,
Luckyman

want2play · **Joined:** Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:03 am **Posts:** 9

Cincy/Luckyman,

Thanks for the great replies.

I've had it for about two months so I'm sure I've logged those recommended break in hours. What will the tube swap in v1 do for the sound?

You guys are correct, it would be cost prohibitive to swap out 15 inch speaker on a whim, thus I'm trying to do as much research as possible before doing it, if at all.

The baffle idea sounds very interesting.

Classic30inCincy · **Posted:** Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:14 pm

TungSol 12AX7 Re-Issue is a very musical, dynamic, great sounding tone forming pre-amp tube for main position V1.

Chances are you currently have a JJ ECC83S in Position V1.

JJ ECC83S = "High Gain" tube for Position V2 Overdrive.

Not as musical as the TungSol for V1.

Read "Pre-Amp Tube Reviews": http://www.thetubestore.com

Personally use TungSol in two Classic 30's.

Have recommended numerous times on Forum and receive "Two Thumbs Up" replies.

ramblin390 · **Posted:** Thu Jan 14, 2010 9:31 pm

weber blue dog 15

luckyman · **Posted:** Thu Jan 14, 2010 11:41 pm

Ramblin'
Weber Blue Dog 15 may be a great spk...
but 205 smackers? PLUS shipping? Whoa !!!

Minuses,
30 day warranty???
25% restock fee if returned???
Shipping BOTH ways???

And worst of all...Ted is Gone

God Bless whoever is runnin' the show now at Weber...I ain't buying,
Luckyman

thunda · **Posted:** Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:12 am

Jensen Mod 12-120. Under $100.00. Lots of bass and plenty of highs

ty

JamesPaul · **Posted:** Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:43 am

Slightly OT however, I'm curious how many of these suggested upgrade speakers are available in 16 ohm versions? Excluding the Webers of course because, Weber will custom make whatever you want.

A few months ago when I was looking for the 15 inch Blue Marvel, the probablility of finding one was initially low. I looked at a lot of alternatives but I don't recall finding many 16 ohm versions - only 8 or 4 ohm.

ramblin390 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 15, 2010 4:28 am

luckyman wrote:

Ramblin'
Weber Blue Dog 15 may be a great spk...
but 205 smackers? PLUS shipping? Whoa !!!

Minuses,
30 day warranty???
25% restock fee if returned???
Shipping BOTH ways???

And worst of all...Ted's Gone

God Bless whoever is runnin' the show now at Weber...I ain't buying,
Luckyman

Ceramic Blue Dog 15 $115.00 / used $60-85 on feebay
alnico version is over $200 ,
Ted's son is running the shop, and he's another good man from what I can tell.

thunda · **Posted:** Fri Jan 15, 2010 6:10 pm

JamesPaul wrote:

Slightly OT however, I'm curious how many of these suggested upgrade speakers are available in 16 ohm versions? Excluding the Webers of course because, Weber will custom make whatever you want.

A few months ago when I was looking for the 15 inch Blue Marvel, the probablility of finding one was initially low. I looked at a lot of alternatives but I don't recall finding many 16 ohm versions - only 8 or 4 ohm.

Jensen Mod 15-120 (120 watts) available in 4, 8, and 16 ohm versions

Jensen C15K (100 watts) available in 8 or 16 ohm versions

Jensen C15N (50 watts) available in 4, 8, and 16 ohm versions

ty

Bertotti · **Joined:** Fri Sep 12, 2008 5:07 pm **Posts:** 1029

I like the Weber 15 inch California ceramic.

OOpps dyslexia got the best of me had to change from 51 inch to 15 inch. Can you imagine a 51 inch speaker? WOW!

thunda · **Posted:** Fri Jan 15, 2010 10:16 pm

Bertotti wrote:

I like the Weber 15 inch California ceramic.

OOpps dyslexia got the best of me had to change from 51 inch to 15 inch. Can you imagine a 51 inch speaker? WOW!

Bertotti · **Joined:** Fri Sep 12, 2008 5:07 pm **Posts:** 1029

Thunda, holy crap that there speaker array could probably stop your heart!

want2play · **Joined:** Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:03 am **Posts:** 9

Thanks for all of the great speaker suggestions!

Have you guys tried the recommended speakers in the DB?
If so, how did it improve the sound?

delta blues speaker upgrade?

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