Speakers for the Champ

[uriah1]

I tried a couple 8 and went back to basic Jensen c8r. Just sounded right for a champ. Imho

 

[King Fan]

All good info. Has anybody mentioned Weber Sig 8 or 10? Two of the very most popular Champ speakers, and not expensive. The 8 is available in 4- and 8-ohm IIRC, the 10 maybe only 8-ohm. Both magnet types are popular, but alnico may be the most popular, vintage, tweed?

More broadly, 'which speaker' threads will always get wildly diverse answers, for the good reason people aim at different targets. Home or gigging? Vintage or more modern sound? Alnico (compression) or ceramic (tight)? Some speaker breakup or none? Your styles, guitars, age of eardrums?

 

[uriah1]

FYI. It’s a tight fit. Make sure you know what you are getting whatever it is.

 

[clydethecat]

FYI. It’s a tight fit. Make sure you know what you are getting whatever it is.

Yet somehow Fender managed to cram an EV 10" in there for the Super Champ.

 

[gridlock]

I put a Weber Alnico in one of my VIbro Champs and it was a big improvement over the original speaker.

 

[teleman1]

Depends on what you want to do with it in the end. If you are more of an at-home player and not trying to compete for sound, I'd stay on the low end of things regarding output - WGS Veteran 10, Jensen C10Q, even the Jensen C8R 8" is fun. Cranking a Champ wide open is most of the fun, and 5W can get loud in a hurry if you get a modern efficiency speaker. The Jensen RI speakers don't get a lot of love around here, but the C8R and C10Q are two that I love for these circuits, low efficiency being a big part, but they work great with single coils.

A Champ I built a while back through the C8R.


Here is my 5e3 through the C8R. The 8" has a distinct sound that I think is a big part of that vintage Champ tone.


And here's a 5f2a through a RI C10Q.



And someone should double check my math here, but I think that the 5k primary on your 8 ohm speaker would give an end result of 10k primary reflected back to the OT, and that should work fine.

Really, the best sound is coming from the first two demos. The third demo suffers because, it is NOT an 8"inch speaker. People need to use their ears and not therr testostrone to listen. 8" inch speakers sound great and most time apprapo to the 5f1 & 5f2. But did you folks hear how cool the 5e3 was through the 8"?. Mr White!, If you do not have already, an 8" designated speaker cab, that is quite an improvemnt on the situation. BTW, great demo. Give use the 5f2 through the 8". 10" speakers>>Pr's . Jamin a 10 into a 1x8 cab is crazy; to me.

 

[King Fan]

Yet somehow Fender managed to cram an EV 10" in there for the Super Champ.

You're right. I was under the impression the 'Rivera' Super Champ was like 17 x 14 x 6.5 - 8.5. Not 5F1 size; more like Vibro Champ? I take it the OP is building a 5F1, but of course there's no rule you couldn't use a VC cab or even the big 5F2a/'6G10' cab.

 

[archetype]

All good info. Has anybody mentioned Weber Sig 8 or 10? Two of the very most popular Champ speakers, and not expensive. The 8 is available in 4- and 8-ohm IIRC, the 10 maybe only 8-ohm. Both magnet types are popular, but alnico may be the most popular, vintage, tweed?

More broadly, 'which speaker' threads will always get wildly diverse answers, for the good reason people aim at different targets. Home or gigging? Vintage or more modern sound? Alnico (compression) or ceramic (tight)? Some speaker breakup or none? Your styles, guitars, age of eardrums?

The Weber Signature 8AS is a good, low-efficiency, alnico mag speaker that comes pretty close to that old Jensen tone. Get the 8AS with the ribbed cone, as the 8A with the smooth cone gets ratty sooner and that may be overboard with a 5F1.

 

[chazo64]

FYI. It’s a tight fit. Make sure you know what you are getting whatever it is.

Thanks for that .I am a retired cabinet maker originaly from north California Durring the 90s I worked for Mese Boogie build thier speaker cabinets....I still build all my own cabs ,so they are all built to fit if you will. This is my first build of a small tube amp. Very simple but no instruction or data sheets or any kind of hi this a amp thank you for spending 150$ on 50 $ worth of caps and resisters and by the way ......good luck.

 

[NoTeleBob]

I have a Jensen Mod 8–20 in my Champ 600. Popular upgrade.

I like it but it's not what I would call bright. If you want a lot of treble you'll need an EQ pedal. Or tweak the tone stack. It is tight and focused and I like that.

It's also not super efficient. That's fine with me as I am using this amp for quiet playing at home. But if you're looking to maximize sound level, I'd get something more efficient.

 

[chazo64]

I have a Jensen Mod 8–20 in my Champ 600. Popular upgrade.

I like it but it's not what I would call bright. If you want a lot of treble you'll need an EQ pedal. Or tweak the tone stack.

It's also not super efficient. That's fine with me as I am using this amp for quiet playing at home. But if you're looking to maximize sound level, I'd get something more efficient.

Thanks this little amp is fo Harmonica mostly so i wants it ...NASTY!!!!!!!

 

[mrfitz98]

I built a 5f1 17-18 years ago and put a weber 10" 4ohm alnico in it. It was a head/cab set up. This last year I put together a 5f2a and I thought I'd move the weber into it. Did not like it at all. Put a WGS Veteran 10 4 ohm in it, sounds fantastic. Then I rebuilt the 5f1 as a combo and put the weber in that and it sounds fantastic. That weber really did not sound good at all in the 5f2a. As an experiment I plugged the Vet 10 into the 5f1. It sounded better than the weber did in the 5f2a, but not as good as the weber in the 5f1.

 

[JeffBlue]

I cut the baffle larger on my '68 Vibro Champ and added a 10 inch 4 ohm Peavey Scorpion speaker. Sounds excellent.

 

[Bitsleftover]

Depends on what you want to do with it in the end. If you are more of an at-home player and not trying to compete for sound, I'd stay on the low end of things regarding output - WGS Veteran 10, Jensen C10Q, even the Jensen C8R 8" is fun. Cranking a Champ wide open is most of the fun, and 5W can get loud in a hurry if you get a modern efficiency speaker. The Jensen RI speakers don't get a lot of love around here, but the C8R and C10Q are two that I love for these circuits, low efficiency being a big part, but they work great with single coils.

A Champ I built a while back through the C8R.


Here is my 5e3 through the C8R. The 8" has a distinct sound that I think is a big part of that vintage Champ tone.


And here's a 5f2a through a RI C10Q.



And someone should double check my math here, but I think that the 5k primary on your 8 ohm speaker would give an end result of 10k primary reflected back to the OT, and that should work fine.

Based on Jason’s sound clips of his 5F2A and his Deluxe I just fitted a C8R in my 5F2A and I’m loving it at first impression!

 

[kafka]

A good old Jensen P10R or P10Q will do exceedingly nifty in any Champ.

 

[Jsnwhite619]

Based on Jason’s sound clips of his 5F2A and his Deluxe I just fitted a C8R in my 5F2A and I’m loving it at first impression!

Glad you like it! They really do get better with age - a solid 20-25 hours of abuse really helps. If you want a real surprise, plug an ipod/mp3 player, etc, into it - keep the source volume low b/c it gets loud quick - but play music through the amp and that speaker. You might be in for a shock at how good it sounds.

 

[GAS Giant]

I have been disappointed in trying to add a modern 10" speaker both to Gibson and Fender small combos (usually Webers)...a huge part of the charm of those amps is their sound when cranked. It is small, strange, not hi-fi, and has very little low end. Furthermore, the speaker itself is often a nice part of the distortion equation. My goal was to add a full bodied sound (because my ear is accustomed to playing without a bass so I want more low end)...as it turns out, louder and cleaner, with more low end, simply erased the magic. I use larger amps with 12" speakers and lots of headroom for those track. I use the small amps for what they are...trashy tones that I cannot get out of larger amps. I have heard some 8" alnicos in Champs that retain that aggression and sound sweet otherwise.

 

[Bitsleftover]

Glad you like it! They really do get better with age - a solid 20-25 hours of abuse really helps. If you want a real surprise, plug an ipod/mp3 player, etc, into it - keep the source volume low b/c it gets loud quick - but play music through the amp and that speaker. You might be in for a shock at how good it sounds.

I’ll do exactly that! The lads in the Hangar can listen to their music through my amp instead of their stereo this weekend. 48 hours of Classic Rock FM on full blast should losen it up a touch! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Jsnwhite619]

I’ll do exactly that! The lads in the Hangar can listen to their music through my amp instead of their stereo this weekend. 48 hours of Classic Rock FM on full blast should losen it up a touch! Thanks for the tip!

That's how I break in all my speakers. Definitely be sure of the source volume though. 5W of a Champ can run you out of the room with a hot input.

 

[willholt92]

In my Tweed Princeton I tried a few different 8" speakers.
Jensen CR8 was the first, it was okay but I was a bit underwhelmed by it.
Jupiter 8SC next, this was an improvement on the Jensen, a lot louder, better bass response I felt and felt smoother when over driven.

Currently I have a Weber CVA8 Alnico, and it completely transformed the amp. Suits the circuit so well, sounds more open and full, not quite as loud as the Jupiter but much better in my opinion. It gave me what I've heard from classic Champ/Princeton amps

So for me I'd say go for an Alnico if you can.