Head-to-head · bench tests · 8 live
Two speakers,
one bench.
Every shootout runs the same three lenses — voice, feel, headroom — against each speaker’s own data. No listening panel, no preference scores. Just where the two actually differ.
01.
The ceramic that kept tweed character · 12″ head to head
P12R vs. C12R
Alnico vs. ceramic in the loose-Qts zone — same scoop, same bite, different magnet.
Jensen P12R№ 086
Jensen C12R№ 063
12 min read
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02.
Where the 50-watt Jensens went two different ways
P12N vs. C12N
The 50-watt slot, two ways. Alnico tight-motor discipline vs. ceramic moderate grip.
Jensen P12N№ 083
Jensen C12N№ 061
12 min read
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03.
Both ceramic · opposite design philosophies
C12D vs. C12R
The full Jensen ceramic Qts spectrum in one matchup — tight modern vs. loosest vintage.
Jensen C12D№ 058
Jensen C12R№ 063
13 min read
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04.
One family · two eras · four times the magnet
P12R vs. P12N
The Jensen alnico arc — tweed-era loose character vs. transitional tight motor.
Jensen P12R№ 086
Jensen P12N№ 083
11 min read
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05.
Two roles · same physical slot · opposite design briefs
Vintage 30 vs. C12N
The modern British reference against the Fender period-correct ceramic.
Celestion Vintage 30№ 008
Jensen C12N№ 061
11 min read
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06.
Same family · twenty years apart · opposite intent
Greenback vs. Vintage 30
The Plexi-era voice against the modern British reference. The Celestion family argument.
Celestion G12M Greenback№ 004
Celestion Vintage 30№ 008
11 min read
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07.
Two low-watt cones · two ways to give up
Greenback vs. P12R
British vocal mids against tweed-era alnico bloom. Both compress early, two mechanisms.
Celestion G12M Greenback№ 004
Jensen P12R№ 086
11 min read
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08.
British high-gain reference vs. American high-headroom reference
Vintage 30 vs. Swamp Thang
Two iron-fisted modern ceramics with different voicings and different ceilings.
Celestion Vintage 30№ 008
Eminence Swamp Thang№ 029
11 min read
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