PD Neo's vs PD Ceramic's?
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URL: https://forum.speakerplans.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=34254
Printed Date: 27 March 2026 at 2:16am
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Topic: PD Neo's vs PD Ceramic's?
Posted By: rich_gale
Subject: PD Neo's vs PD Ceramic's?
Date Posted: 04 January 2010 at 11:37pm
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I have used PD ceramic units and been very happy with price and performance. what i would like to know is if anyone has ventured into using their neo offerings? in particular, their 12" PDN.12MH25. how would this driver compare to their pd123er or pd121 for example? in terms of sound, efficiency etc. im not particularly interested in their larger units so dont need feedback about their bigger cones. what with their persistant use of those mentally thick and bulky frames, does the neo magnet weight saving show much when you factor in the hefty frame? ------------- REFLEX ALL THE WAY.... (however, im playing with horns again...) That ok Mister Valiant? :) |
Replies:
Posted By: CHAMPION
Date Posted: 04 January 2010 at 11:58pm
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iv used the 18PDN units..good stuff ------------- Sticks n Stones |
Posted By: rich_gale
Date Posted: 05 January 2010 at 3:25pm
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cheers champ. has anyone actually used the pd neo's? come on guys. need some more feedback before i chuck money at something i have yet to hear (and probably wont unless i buy them myself). im awaiting your results paul:) ------------- REFLEX ALL THE WAY.... (however, im playing with horns again...) That ok Mister Valiant? :) |
Posted By: CHAMPION
Date Posted: 05 January 2010 at 3:47pm
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put it this way i aint seen any Neo'2 come back for reconing....i get the 186 or 1850's in tho all the time! ------------- Sticks n Stones |
Posted By: toastyghost
Date Posted: 05 January 2010 at 4:01pm
| Yeah but how many neos are being abused at the hands of roots soundmen week in week out? |
Posted By: pfly
Date Posted: 05 January 2010 at 5:01pm
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Posted By: Tekasis
Date Posted: 10 January 2010 at 11:27am
+1
------------- **Heavy Weight-Line** A home without books is like a body with no soul. |
rich_gale wrote:Posted By: PauliePaul
Date Posted: 12 January 2010 at 8:27pm
Picking a demo 12" neo up tomorrow from the factory to have a play with... will A/B it with a PD.123ER and report back with my findings.... |
Posted By: subbass
Date Posted: 12 January 2010 at 8:59pm
whatcha makin?
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Posted By: PauliePaul
Date Posted: 15 January 2010 at 8:56am
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Righty then..... A/B tests done....
PD.123ER v/s PDN.12MH25
In terms of performance, the neo had the edge, very close, but it's overall clean sound sealed it's victory. Another plus point is the fact that the neo unit is less than half the weight of the 123ER.
Definately worth looking at.....
The demo chassis is available for.... err.... demos if required....!!
Thanks to T.R.U. for the cabs, time and opinions......
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Posted By: colinmono
Date Posted: 15 January 2010 at 9:10am
| I'd be interested to know what cabs were used for your testing. |
Posted By: T.R.U.
Date Posted: 15 January 2010 at 7:13pm
I've wanted to try this neo driver for a while in comparison to a pd123er and finally got my hands on it thanks to Paul. The drivers were tested side by side in single custom hornloaded cabs powered by a crest ca9.
In my opinion in terms of sound quality the neo sounded a little bit more refined to me (slightly more hi fi you might say) and a touch more clear in the vocal. One was not really louder than the other they were both neck and neck in terms of volume. Don't get me wrong the pd123er is still an excellent speaker and sounded clear but i prefered the sound of the neo. I think that little bit more refinement goes along way when it comes to mid speakers. The last couple of big sound systems i had the chance to hear (without naming any names) had insane amounts of bass but weak mid sections and it just ruined it for me cus you could barely even make out what they were saying on the mics let alone the vocals on the tracks they were playing. Had they put as much effort into the rest of the system and not just the bass section then they would have got a 10/10. So i think a clear mid section on any system is a must.
But what makes me lean even more towards the neo is the fact that it weighs nearly half of what the 123er does and in this day and age i think thats something every should think about. Can't even begin to think how many times i've seen 3 or 4 guys struggling and lifting one mid cab to make up a stack. I think in the next few years the variety of neo mid and top drivers will increase and i believe it's what everyones gonna be using on mid and tops.
There is a little bit of price difference between the 2 drivers but i would say that if your budget would allow for the additional outlay for the neo's then they are an excellent choice and in my opinion would be a better all round purchase.
12mh25's in a double or single 12" hornloaded cab (mt121 etc) constructed from 15mm birch would be super sounding minus the weight.
This is all my personal opinion but i genuinly hope this post helps a few people make a decision on which driver there gonna go for.
BIG THANX TO PAUL FOR THE DRIVER
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Posted By: Marvin
Date Posted: 15 January 2010 at 8:22pm
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I had the 18" neo's in t18 cabs and scoops. they sounded good but when they started to compress that was it. If you dont back off then u get a free treat of silence and smoke
once driven in their limits then they sounded good.
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Posted By: rich_gale
Date Posted: 15 January 2010 at 9:53pm
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thanks for the detailed a/b test guys. i hoped this would be the case, and even if they sounds as nice as the 123er then ill be happy. if they sound better (which i need to hear myself before i believe it). the 123er is too heavy imo, and the weight problem literally outweights the performance imo. it makes boxes which should be light, into things that weigh as much as the bins. im glad its looking as if the neo will do as good job as the 123, with half the weight. ------------- REFLEX ALL THE WAY.... (however, im playing with horns again...) That ok Mister Valiant? :) |
Posted By: Tekasis
Date Posted: 15 January 2010 at 10:25pm
Well done chaps! brilliant report, been waiting for a long time for such a comparison between them two 12's! 
------------- **Heavy Weight-Line** A home without books is like a body with no soul. |
Posted By: tomschute
Date Posted: 15 January 2010 at 10:59pm
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Just talking about this the tother day. I do think the PD neo 18" misses a trick - regarding spec... as havn't seen or heard. Poor xmax and heavy (relatively), why such a massive chassis. I really look forward to a neo 18" that has a good xmax and a more usable power rating than the european offerings. I think Fane and PD should pull there socks up! thats my rant. actually while i'm ranting can someone explain the state of affairs. Why are we moving towards huge power handling neo drivers generally? Surely high sensitivity, lower power handling is the way to go??? Who wants to lug racks of amps around..? ------------- Out to lunch... stableaudio@hotmail.co.uk www.stableaudio.co.uk Speaker Building Services |
Posted By: The Builder
Date Posted: 15 January 2010 at 11:32pm
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