Celestion A-Type 50 Watt Speaker

When a company is a touchstone of the industry, like Celestion is, recent products get the inevitable comparisons.  Seems to me that the A-Type is a speaker that defies such correlations.  Being well-balanced enough, it keeps a foothold in the realm of British and American characteristics.

Installation

For starters, I installed a pair of A-Type speakers into a 4×12 slant with a pair of V-Type in a X pattern wired to a stereo/mono jack plate.  I’ll address both the V-Type speakers and how the combination pairs up in an upcoming evaluation.  In this config, I used a shorting plug on the V-Type side.  Later, I have the A-Type in a 2×12 open back cab.

Evaluation

Once up and running, I’m digging the character.  And then I fall into the trap of the aforementioned comparisons.  Wait a second… Is it similar to a Greenback?  Well, hold on…  Is that like a V30?  Down the rabbit hole we go.  It’s the guitar player’s way of relating to a new sound.

The thing about the A-Type speaker is how balanced it is, relative to what we all know.  With a profile that’s not so much a midrange hump or a smiley-face power curve, it’s an interesting amalgam.  A full yet punchy low end that steps forward with authority and focus.  The high end is fun, as it provides snap and precision while remaining a little sweet and avoiding harshness.  The mids are rich and with excellent balanced. You can easily be dial it in for a range spanning from snarl to growl.

Tone Graph

Looking at the tone graph, you can see that the A-Type pretty evenly covers the range you need as a guitarist.  What you don’t need isn’t really there.  What is there is pretty consistent down the line.  To me, that translates to less coloring of the signal and a representation more aligned with what the amp is sending.

The icing on the cake is that the A-Type sports a street price in the low $100 range.  You’ll have a hard time finding an option in the 50-60W range of the Celestion catalog that affordable.

Specs

Ready for some specs?

Demo

Check out this excellent demo video from Pete Thorn:

For reference, this evaluation was conducted with a Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II XL+ through a Carvin DCM200L power amp.  Cabs are a Peavey 6505 4×12 closed-back and a Mojotone Slammins 2×12 open-back.

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