Faster speaker break in

[arnenym]

I buy a Eminence cannabis Rex. It is a very dull and stiff in the sound. Do anyone have a tip who could bring down the break in time?

[52 Bill]

Some people connect the speaker to a low ac voltage source to help break in the cone, like a small transformer. Be sure to keep the voltage low enough that it will not damage the voice coil. It may drive you crazy listening to the constant hum from the speaker.

[tedmich]

hagtech frybaby!
http://www.hagtech.com/media/frybaby.mp3


Warning! BAAAD MOJO SOUND! its the alarm sound on my Iphone and CANNOT be ignored!

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

I buy a Eminence cannabis Rex. It is a very dull and stiff in the sound. Do anyone have a tip who could bring down the break in time?

As you know, I use the Emi Cannabis Rex in the 1x12 Chicago 32-30 harp amp.
I don't find that is really very stiff... it's just a big speaker and it needs about 15-20 watts of real power to get it going when new, especially for the first 10-15 hours.
However, you can use a 12vac 3amp filament supply tranny right across the speaker leads for about 30min to an hour and it seems to help speed up the breakin. I have run them longer then that too... the power/wattage consumed at 60Hz (here) vs the actual impedance of the speaker at 60Hz and the delivered 12v-15vac isn't very high so the speaker is not in any danger of overheating but it is loud enough to be VERY annoying.

[arnenym]

As you know, I use the Emi Cannabis Rex in the 1x12 Chicago 32-30 harp amp.
I don't find that is really very stiff... it's just a big speaker and it needs about 15-20 watts of real power to get it going when new, especially for the first 10-15 hours.
However, you can use a 12vac 3amp filament supply tranny right across the speaker leads for about 30min to an hour and it seems to help speed up the breakin. I have run them longer then that too... the power/wattage consumed at 60Hz (here) vs the actual impedance of the speaker at 60Hz and the delivered 12v-15vac isn't very high so the speaker is not in any danger of overheating but it is loud enough to be VERY annoying.

I know you do so and i read about you have a method for faster speaker break in. And i am glad you answer this.
It is the 10-15 hours playing who annoy me ..
Stiff is maybe the wrong word. The speaker is a little dull It have no treble or edge. I use it with a 5E5 style amp. It is a 5E3 with 6L6 tubes and some other harp modification.
I will look after a transformer who can do this job for me. I have a shed/guesthouse where it don't disturb anyone except the rats with the noice
I've heard about other methods with acetone combinated with transformers to losen up the paper cone .. but it feels like it could be very expensive to do this on a new speaker..

[J M Fahey]

And dangerous !!
That said, breaking in will help you with stiffness, but not with dullness, so you might consider modding your amp for a little more treble.

[arnenym]

And dangerous !!
That said, breaking in will help you with stiffness, but not with dullness, so you might consider modding your amp for a little more treble.

The amp sounds great wit my 2x10 cab. But a got a beautiful old Ampro cab with no speaker.
if it dont be good in this amp, maybe it works good in another.

[J M Fahey]

Good.
A 2x10" is usually much brighter than that speaker, and those simple old Fender type amps have a very limited range of EQ ... which is part of the magic, of course.
You get what you get.
Probably a 12" Jensen RI, very bright speakers, might work there for you.
Even within the same brand, you have different "flavors" , Q/N/K , progressively heavier which changes their sound from lighter to more bass heavy.
A single "R" would be too light to safely handle your amp, although it might be the closest to those 10" you are using now.
A lot of guessing took place here []

[arnenym]

My favourite 12 speaker, so far, is Weber 12F150B. It have a massive bottom and sparkling high's.
Jensen P12R -RI is a good one to and a C12Q is not bad at all. Jensen 12 and 8's is better than their 10's.
I've heard a lot of good reviews on this Cannabis speaker and had to try it myself.

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

I know you do so and i read about you have a method for faster speaker break in. And i am glad you answer this.
It is the 10-15 hours playing who annoy me ..
Stiff is maybe the wrong word. The speaker is a little dull It have no treble or edge. I use it with a 5E5 style amp. It is a 5E3 with 6L6 tubes and some other harp modification.

I have found that most speakers "breakin" sounding less bright... or at least less harsh, not the other way around.
The problem is that the 5E3 and 5E5 circuits have no way "real" way turn the bass down!!
Without making circuit modifications, to make it sound brighter or less bassy, all you can do is turn the volume down and raise the tone pot level more trebley, making the amp's "tone" a little brighter across the volume pot's lower level setting.
What happens is that, as you raise the volume level more and more, you start to negate the ability of the tone control to steer more upper mids and highs over the top of the remaining resistance in the volume control. Eventually there is no more series resistance in the volume pot left, to over ride.
Have you tried limiting the bass response in the preamp stages yet... to rid it of some of the woofiness?
Some harp players do not like a dead sounding amp and this is a good way to keep the power level up and reduce the dullness too.

Added:
SOLVENTS...DANGEROUS for a novice.
Yes, I have used Acetone, MEK or clear lacquer thinner, brushed wet on the speaker paper, (up near the surround and down a few inches)... in conjunction with the filament transformer. But you must not let it get wet down at the dust cover!! It can unglued and come off... as can the seam in some other speaker come unglued and open up.
With respect to using a solvent and the filament transformer, make sure you use a method to avoid drawing an arc on your speaker leads or it can burst into flames... and I am not kidding.

[Chuck H]

JM2C... Form a practical perspective I HAVE broken in a C rex by just playing through it. My personal experience was that the speaker sounded GREAT right out of the box. Perhaps a little too much in the extreme top end and a tad low in the actual treble frequencies. After break in, the extreme top end was gone and the treble was also reduced. The bass loosened up a bit which was nice. But without the upper mids and treble accentuated all the aggression and attack on bass notes was lost. I ended up replacing it with a V30. Not nearly a similar speaker, but... After break in the V30 is wonderful. Even though it does have a cone cry on high F#. It took MUCH longer to break in the V30. Over 100 hours with my little 20 watter (open back combo). And I crank the amp most of the time.

[arnenym]

I will give it some more time and see what happends. I will not fool around with the Thinner-Acetone experiment. I have no good transformer for this either. Some speakers i have had i broke in with a old radio receiver/amplifier going on for a day or two in my shed..
But i have to reconsider and gonna play and see what happends. Maybe the sound open up and be more dynamic.

I do not want to work inside this amp because it sound very good with other speakers. I have a 1x 12 with a Weber 12F150B and a 4x10 with mixed Jensen P10R and C10Q plus a 2x 10 Eminence Blue alnico. I've almost reached my goal with a head and various speaker cabs I can use depending on what context it should be used in.

You see, i have speakers enough but had to try another in my hunt for the perfect sound..
And i gonna build a combo amp based on the same circuit. I looking for a good, loud speaker for that amp.
I want to build it as small as possible.. But, it seems to be a 2x10 cab instead.