Not actually new speaker day but new speaker recently...
In some corners of the ancient internet, there are comments that the Eminence Delta 12 PRO is intended to be a replacement for an EVM12L is come contexts. I don't know that anybody claims it is a clone and eminence makes at least two other speakers that are along the lines of the EV in some sense.
I had an EVM12L about 10 years ago for about 10 minutes and I couldn't sell it quickly enough. I hated it. Figuring a lot of time had passed, maybe I was crazy then or am now, I decided to try again but wasn't willing to put 300USD at the problem.
I'd seen mentioned a time or two that the Delta 12 (Pro or A, I'm not sure) was solid as a guitar speaker so I figured I'd give it a try and found an "open box" NON-PRO for $100 all in. By the graphs, the Pro and the non-Pro are not voiced the same.
I've been going through speakers lately and retracing some steps: [MIC] Vintage 30, v-type, Seventy/80, WGS ET65, WGS Veteran 30, Celestion Egnater Elite 80, Celestion G12T100, G12T75, Eminence CV75, Avatar M65 and HT25. I am usually playing something along the lines of a Friedman BE and used to play shows with that same basic rock sound and a couple of pedals. I've got a couple of 4x12s and a lot of 1x12s.
My first impression of the Delta 12A was "no way! this sounds great!" My expectation was that this would be some mixture of bland or awful. I swapped the Veteran 30 out for the Delta 12A in an oversized semi-open 1x12, It isn't exactly the same shape but was based on the Avatar 1x12 cube which is semi open back with some of the spread of an open back cab but a nice warm meaty low end for rock music. I played a lot of rock shows with a pair of these cabinets.
I also swapped a CV75 out of a TRM Guitar Cabs "3d" 1x12 ("forte style"- I also have the avatar version of this cab which is a bit different than the TRM but similar). The TRM (and the avatar forte copy) is another variation on the theme of "some of the openness of an open back with the meat and chunk of a closed back"). The CV75 sounded great in that cab but the Delta 12A surprised me.
A few days later, I have finally tried another Delta 12A in a small Egnater Rebel 112A cabinet. The Elite 80 is much more forward with an aggressive upper frequency character that requires a good bit of care on the amp. The Delta 12A is a lot more relaxed in the high end. I don't find it lacking but it is a bit less "tear your head off" in the upper frequencies while also being more generous in the low frequencies. In all of my experiments so far, the Delta 12A has been generous in the low end which is something usually welcome in a 1x12 for my purposes.
Speakers are a personal item and wars have been started over less. I'm not saying it is the best speaker you will ever hear but I was surprised enough to buy a pair to try in a 4x12... Coming up in a week or so I hope when I get time.
As a side bar, I got to re-try the Seventy/80 recently. In the early 00's, I sold a lot of Seventy/80's with tube amp kits because they were like $100 for 4 and sounded pretty good. I shot them out against a greenback of the day and found they held up pretty well for a third of the price IN this same 1x12 cabinet and WITH a particular amp at the time- AX84 Hi-Octane. I've had one of these speakers in a cab for 20 years at many shows, rehearsals and home uses and always thought it sounded great. I year or so ago bought another one and it was AWFUL. I don't know if I threw it away or sold it; I can't find it. I wondered if this was a MIC/Made in UK thing so I ordered another China one to compare to my UK one. I don't know if I got a bad one before but the China one was solid in a good cab. I do notice a little more high end in the 70/80 compared to other speakers. In a cranked amp situation like a Plexi where you have essentially no tone control when it is cranked, you're sort of stuck with the basic tone of the speaker. I can see the 70/80 maybe being less favored than other speakers with a more restrained (or blunted) top end. For master volume amps, it seems to work OK. Too bad they aren't $100 for 4 with $20 shipping anymore. You can sometimes find a deal on them or find a junk amp that has them for cheap. I would not be surprised if they vary a lot since the mighty Vintage 30 seems to vary a lot over the years.
Anyway- Delta 12A. A surprise speaker that is currently holding its own against a variety of other speakers in my collection. I think I have to conclude that the cabinet is the first order effect of guitar tone (maybe in competition with the room), followed by speaker and then amp.
In some corners of the ancient internet, there are comments that the Eminence Delta 12 PRO is intended to be a replacement for an EVM12L is come contexts. I don't know that anybody claims it is a clone and eminence makes at least two other speakers that are along the lines of the EV in some sense.
I had an EVM12L about 10 years ago for about 10 minutes and I couldn't sell it quickly enough. I hated it. Figuring a lot of time had passed, maybe I was crazy then or am now, I decided to try again but wasn't willing to put 300USD at the problem.
I'd seen mentioned a time or two that the Delta 12 (Pro or A, I'm not sure) was solid as a guitar speaker so I figured I'd give it a try and found an "open box" NON-PRO for $100 all in. By the graphs, the Pro and the non-Pro are not voiced the same.
I've been going through speakers lately and retracing some steps: [MIC] Vintage 30, v-type, Seventy/80, WGS ET65, WGS Veteran 30, Celestion Egnater Elite 80, Celestion G12T100, G12T75, Eminence CV75, Avatar M65 and HT25. I am usually playing something along the lines of a Friedman BE and used to play shows with that same basic rock sound and a couple of pedals. I've got a couple of 4x12s and a lot of 1x12s.
My first impression of the Delta 12A was "no way! this sounds great!" My expectation was that this would be some mixture of bland or awful. I swapped the Veteran 30 out for the Delta 12A in an oversized semi-open 1x12, It isn't exactly the same shape but was based on the Avatar 1x12 cube which is semi open back with some of the spread of an open back cab but a nice warm meaty low end for rock music. I played a lot of rock shows with a pair of these cabinets.
I also swapped a CV75 out of a TRM Guitar Cabs "3d" 1x12 ("forte style"- I also have the avatar version of this cab which is a bit different than the TRM but similar). The TRM (and the avatar forte copy) is another variation on the theme of "some of the openness of an open back with the meat and chunk of a closed back"). The CV75 sounded great in that cab but the Delta 12A surprised me.
A few days later, I have finally tried another Delta 12A in a small Egnater Rebel 112A cabinet. The Elite 80 is much more forward with an aggressive upper frequency character that requires a good bit of care on the amp. The Delta 12A is a lot more relaxed in the high end. I don't find it lacking but it is a bit less "tear your head off" in the upper frequencies while also being more generous in the low frequencies. In all of my experiments so far, the Delta 12A has been generous in the low end which is something usually welcome in a 1x12 for my purposes.
Speakers are a personal item and wars have been started over less. I'm not saying it is the best speaker you will ever hear but I was surprised enough to buy a pair to try in a 4x12... Coming up in a week or so I hope when I get time.
As a side bar, I got to re-try the Seventy/80 recently. In the early 00's, I sold a lot of Seventy/80's with tube amp kits because they were like $100 for 4 and sounded pretty good. I shot them out against a greenback of the day and found they held up pretty well for a third of the price IN this same 1x12 cabinet and WITH a particular amp at the time- AX84 Hi-Octane. I've had one of these speakers in a cab for 20 years at many shows, rehearsals and home uses and always thought it sounded great. I year or so ago bought another one and it was AWFUL. I don't know if I threw it away or sold it; I can't find it. I wondered if this was a MIC/Made in UK thing so I ordered another China one to compare to my UK one. I don't know if I got a bad one before but the China one was solid in a good cab. I do notice a little more high end in the 70/80 compared to other speakers. In a cranked amp situation like a Plexi where you have essentially no tone control when it is cranked, you're sort of stuck with the basic tone of the speaker. I can see the 70/80 maybe being less favored than other speakers with a more restrained (or blunted) top end. For master volume amps, it seems to work OK. Too bad they aren't $100 for 4 with $20 shipping anymore. You can sometimes find a deal on them or find a junk amp that has them for cheap. I would not be surprised if they vary a lot since the mighty Vintage 30 seems to vary a lot over the years.
Anyway- Delta 12A. A surprise speaker that is currently holding its own against a variety of other speakers in my collection. I think I have to conclude that the cabinet is the first order effect of guitar tone (maybe in competition with the room), followed by speaker and then amp.
Last edited:
