EminenceLegend EM12 12" Lead/Rhythm Guitar Speaker, 200 Watts at 8 Ohms

This speaker is really special. I got it as a replacement for my Boss Katana MKII, and it brought new life to that affordable amp.Sound:The sound resists speaker breakup like a pro. This is a really good thing for playing multiple styles at loud volume levels. With this speaker, you will ALWAYS get a transparent and honest sound production, and the speaker always stays balanced. The entire frequency range is smooth and musical. The lows are clear and balanced, the mids are present and focused, and the highs are smooth with nice dimension and detail. None of the frequencies are going to rear their ugly head *at all*. It's really remarkable, because you can focus on your playing, and you can have confidence that your amp will speak in a reliable way. There is a maturity to this speaker. If you want that classic british rock tone, and you have an all valve amp, you might prefer other speakers; however, no other speaker will rival this one for balance and sonic transparency. You CAN get a great british rock tone from this speaker, so I'm not saying this as a con. I'm only saying that there are other speakers on the market, even from Eminence, that specifically capture that all-valve British sound. If you aren't trying to go for that, then the Legend speaker is basically the best of the best, and you should buy it.Value for the money:This produces INCREDIBLE sound for the price of a nice guitar pedal (not that much cost for what you're getting). It will be a *work horse* speaker for years and years, serving a variety of styles and sounds. If you have a modeling amp that can produce many sounds, this speaker will treat you very well, especially if you need your amp to sit in a mix against a loud drummer/bassist. Many other speakers become exposed for their weaknesses when you put them up against a full band mix. Not the Legend. If you have a 2x12 cabinet, and you get two of these Legend speakers, you will have an amp that SLAYS and never fails you. I personally am using a single Legend speaker right now, and even that has so much impact sonically.Light Weight:Okay, this IS on the heavier side, but I could NOT rate this amp any less than 5 stars, in any category. It's too good. If you have a 2x12 amp, then two Legend speakers WILL add weight to your amp; however, if you have a 1x12, then the weight is not bad depending on your amp. My Boss Katana MKII, with a single 12" Legend speaker, is not heavy. This speaker is only heavier compared to your average stock speaker, but the sound and response is so much better than any stock speaker. The weight category gets 5 stars, because the weight is still manageable and the incredible sound JUSTIFIES the extra weight. The materials and design of the speaker are really durable and reliable. How could I consider the somewhat higher weight to be a con? 5 stars all the way.

I got the standard BROWN standard Excelsior amps on close-out special for $199 DELIVERED, no sales tax. I didn't really didn't NEED the Excelsior, but GAS being what it is, I figured it was a cheap experiment for $199.I knew that the 1518 is the speaker supplied with the deluxe Excelsiors (identifiable by a non-brown color), but who really believes that the OEM ever really makes the right decision about speakers in their combos? If they did, we wouldn't all be scrounging around for the PERFECT speakers for our rigs and tastes. So I figured that a speaker swap was inevitable, but I assumed it would be something OTHER than the 1518.I immediately did the tone pot mod (500K pot in place of the tone switch; except I used a Bourne "no-load pot" with the open circuit detent at the end, sort-of the nail polish trick, but factory-supplied) plus JJ 6V6s and NOS 12AX7 and 12AT7. The stock speaker was pretty darned good, truth be told, but as reported everywhere, it did sound like a speaker swap would improve the amp a lot.At first I tried a Weber ALNICO 15 inch speaker (I love me some Weber Alnicos), and that was pretty good, but a little "barky". The Weber sounded EXCELLENT in the Excelsior cab fed from my home-built Vibro Champ, so I'm pretty sure the the Excelsior is just too hot for a big ole floppy ALNICO Weber (even with the 12AT7 in there).Parts Express put this puppy on sale for under $80, so I tried it. Magic. Much better with this spanky little amp than the Weber, as much as it pains me to say that. Clean and clear with a nice smooth, controllable break-up starting near 12 oclock.Thanks to good shielding and a separate power chassis on the Excelsior (a trick I use with tube phono preamps) I can literally sit right next to the amp with a Casino (P-90s) and get almost zero hum.If you have a standard Excelsior, don't dance around like I did. The folks are right, this is the one really big Mod you have to do.Best $280 I've spent in years.

Last autumn, I designed, 3D printed, and assembled a "4x6" (four six inch speakers) guitar speaker cabinet. I integrated a crude bass reflex structure into it which I feel helps with the tone, and I loaded the cabinet with four Eminence Patriot 620H speakers. Elated by my success, I decided to make a 2x10 cab.I used a simple 'woofer box design and loaded it with two Celestion Ten speakers. Bad choices. The cab sounded dull, flat, and lifeless. I decided to get two of these Legend speakers and simply swap out the Celestions. As I waited for these speakers to arrive, I wondered if the simple design I'd used was contributing to the lack of tone. So I designed and 3D printed the cabinet you see in the photos. The speakers are tilted back for better projection and I integrated a crude bass reflex structure into this cab as well.MUCH MUCH BETTER!! These speakers are a perfect fit, physically and tonally! They are very well rounded in tone, yet deliver strong, smooth punch across much of the tone spectrum to my ears. Lows, mids, and even highs are well balanced. I'm sure my cab design is contributing to the great tone at least somewhat, but I think these wonderful speakers deserve most of the credit. It's easy to hear why they got the name "Legend"!Regarding my music styles, I tend to play blues, rock, and jazzy improvised stuff. I occasionally hook up a metal-themed distortion pedal for high gain fun, but a shredder or headbanger I am not. These speakers sound great regardless of what amp and guitar combo I play through them. I recently bought a Hagstrom Viking Baritone guitar, and these speakers of course handle it's lowered range better than my 4x6 cab does.While I don't plan to build any more 3D printed speaker cabinets any time soon, should I ever change my mind, Eminence has my business for such projects from here on out!