PPC 112 and the Chinese V30

[bfitz]

Just pulled the trigger on an Orange PPC 112 as I have been re-structuring my gear of late

Only thing is when I was looking around the classified's sites here in Dublin some dude had

one up for a fair whack of cash for a second hand one. I tried to bargain but he wouldn't

budge on his price because he claimed that the older celestion V30 made in England is a better

speaker than the one in the current Orange cabs being made in China. I had a quick blast around

the forums and a lot of people were saying that Celestion were claiming that quality control is

a lot more consistent in the china factory as opposed to the later UK made speakers. I mean

a speaker is a speaker is a speaker right? Not like a guitar or an amp? Still really important but

they are made by machines on a production line. Any views?

The one I bought on eBay is pretty new and I got good value with delivery, the old Euro is flying against the Pound

at the moment!

[Jondog]

Just pulled the trigger on an Orange PPC 112 as I have been re-structuring my gear of late

Only thing is when I was looking around the classified's sites here in Dublin some dude had

one up for a fair whack of cash for a second hand one. I tried to bargain but he wouldn't

budge on his price because he claimed that the older celestion V30 made in England is a better

speaker than the one in the current Orange cabs being made in China. I had a quick blast around

the forums and a lot of people were saying that Celestion were claiming that quality control is

a lot more consistent in the china factory as opposed to the later UK made speakers. I mean

a speaker is a speaker is a speaker right? Not like a guitar or an amp? Still really important but

they are made by machines on a production line. Any views?

The one I bought on eBay is pretty new and I got good value with delivery, the old Euro is flying against the Pound

at the moment!

No, not at all! Many different variables involved. Doping, cone type/quality, magnet type/size, voice coil type/size, basket type/size etc, etc, etc...
I can see where some of these variables could be different right down to the quality chinese components vs, what may of been used in england. However, I don't think theres anything wrong with new V30's. Not enough for ne to pay more.

[Ronnie Robinson]

I've used quite a few of the Chinese made ones and like them ....although never used a UK one as far as I'm aware.


Ifs it's newish it might not be broken in yet and that will make a huge difference in tone.....breaking in is very important for the V30.

[bfitz]

I suppose what I was getting at was that the Chinese V30 couldn't sound completely different to the UK made V30?

Are all celestion speakers now made in China?

[Les Paul Lover]

Celestion still make a few speakers in the UK.

It looks like production moved around 2001 - 2002.
If so, my AD15 has a UK made V30, and my PPC212 2 Chinese V30. They all sound great.

[johnnyblues]

The only difference between the Chinese-made V30s vs the UK-made V30s is this - one was made in China, the other in UK. Yes, it is that simple. Materials are the same, the suppliers (for the most part) are the same, and the processes are the same. You'd be surprised how stringent manufacturing processes are in today's world. The variance between speakers within the same model type is close to negligible - meaning the differences are close to less than 0.5% (or even lower) that if there were any at all, it wouldn't manifest themselves as differences in performance. Note that there will be defects (defined as not working as designed) for every product produced, and those are the exceptions. But you shouldn't worry about tone for the Chinese V30s.

The only other thing to note; from a capitalist perspective, is that Celestion has effectively raised their profit margins by employing cheaper Chinese labor yet retaining or increasing their product prices. Which is kinda the point of a business anyways - raise profit by increased production while maintaining or lowering headcount and retain their quality levels.

[adkguy07]

I am not a Celestion speaker expert by any stretch, but I know what I like - and the V30 in my
PPC112 cab is sounding just as clear and full as I prefer it. I believe it to be one manufactured in China as I have owned only about a year. What makes the difference in sound for me is what tone am I going to hear from it once I have it broken in. Too many folks judge a speaker immediately without benefit of playing it awhile.

I play an Orange Micro Dark into the V30. Now that the single 12ax7 in the MD is burned in over 2 years, and once the amp warms up, the tones I get via the'V30 are just what I'm after. I'm hearing a well-balanced tone with plenty of chime and a sort of unexplained vibrato going on when playing at the right volume. It's no doubt part amp sound, but the V30 is showing the amp off to great effect.

adkguy07