Paul said the Eminence speaker was new and, if so, would need another 5-10 hours to loosen the cone up; to my ear, that's what I think I was listening to; a speaker that hadn't come to life yet. He's nuts about it because he isn't looking for a stand-alone amp to either gig or practice with; the Power of the Pedal - he has a very good ear and his pedals morph the output. He also goes through amps like you and I go through clean socks; he told me he bought a sold a RI Bassman and Fender RI something else within the last six months. No; the 6AQ5 / wimpy speaker is not an appealing prospect! JWalter Broes said:... as I remember the one I had (not the 6V6 variety, btw) as not very loud, and having fairly early breakup. I think the stock speaker in it was wimpy ... and not efficient at all compared to that Eminence, so that probably limited the headroom of the amp severely. I understand the pedal bit though, as I remember it as fairly bland and not very interesting sounding.