SonicNorth AudioWorks

Paper former hype.

So some speaker companies are touting the vintage goodness of reissue speakers with paper formers (the cylinder that the voice coil wires are wound onto). Ted Weber says it clearly:

"Despite the fact that using a paper former is a great marketing tool for vintage style speakers, the fact is it has no effect on the sound itself."

Speaker voice coils are made of other materials for a reason now. Case in point, here is what can happen to paper former voice coils. I guess unreliable part failure is part of the vintage vibe of some of these reissues?

I was curious about the difference between the EVM 15L and 15B, since they truly look identical and have the same power handling. According to some on the internet, B stands for Bass, and L stands for Long throw, but EV's own documentation indicate that the L is designed as a full range speaker ('brighter' if used for bass) while the B is specifically for bass, and apparently supposed to have somewhat better very low frequency response. The physical specs for all of the parts are identical except for the cone and final finish. The 15L has three ribs on the cone and specifies a latex doping of the cone surround, while the B has a smooth cone and no doping. So the difference is cone stiffness and surround flexibility - the 'machine' parts of the speakers are identical.