Are you looking for the best 8-inch guitar speakers? You’re in the right place.
Outside of genuine rockers and guitar enthusiasts, most recreational players still jamming out of their garage are plug-and-play when it comes to their amps.
Meaning they’re not sure how it all works. People plug their guitar in and turn it up.
And they’re happy to play like this until they blow a speaker and have to figure out how to fix it.
Best 8-Inch Guitar Speakers – Comparison Table
| Image | Model | Price |
|---|---|---|
 | Celestion Eight 15 (Top Pick) | Check Price |
 | Eminence Patriot | Check Price |
| Jensen MOD8-20 | Check Price |
Celestion Eight 15 8-Inch Guitar Speaker (Editor’s Choice)
If you’re looking for a great ceramic speaker that gives you the most authentic British sound for under $100, this one is for you.
Straight out of the box, the Celestion has much better construction and weight than its competition. Its tones are much livelier, with a wider range of mids and lows that compliment a substantial bottom end.
This speaker makes amps sound better and more pronounced. The deeper lows and higher notes are more detailed, and when it is overdriven, it produces a nice roar that is just a little bit more like a higher-end amp. It makes small amps sound a bit more grown-up.
Straight out of the box, the Celestion has much better construction and weight than its competition. Its tones are much livelier, with a wider range of mids and lows that compliment a substantial bottom end.
This speaker makes amps sound better and more pronounced. The deeper lows and higher notes are more detailed, and when it is overdriven, it produces a nice roar that is just a little bit more like a higher-end amp. It makes small amps sound a bit more grown-up.
With a power rating of 15 watts, this speaker is the perfect upgrade for compact recording and practice amps.
Coming in on the heavier end of the spectrum at 2.2 pounds due to its ceramic magnet, the extra weight is worth it for the authentic British tone it produces. Some users think it sounds too British.
This speaker performs exceptionally well on British modeled amps such as Marshall and Vox. When you swap your generic factory amp speakers out for these, you’re sure to receive many compliments about the tones and have people asking what amp and speaker combo you’re using.
For just 8 inches, the Celestion Eight packs a lot of sound!
Pros
- Affordable price
- Perfect sound volume for home practice and recording
- 15-watts power rating means that your neighbors aren’t going to hate you (not too much anyway)
- 7-year warranty
Cons
- 15-watts power rating and 95dB sound mean that you won’t be rocking any stadiums
- Weight – ceramic magnet makes it heavier than other 8-inch speaker options at 2.2 lbs
Eminence Patriot 8-Inch Guitar Speaker
The Eminence Patriot 820H is a little pricey. But, unfortunately, it costs almost as much as the amp it’s going into.
However, for what you’ll pay, you get a great, hearty little powerhouse with deeper bass and minimal top-end shrill. It tames harshness in a bright amp because of its mellowness on the highs.
With a 1-inch voice coil and light 15-ounce ceramic magnet, the Eminence Patriot 820H offers rich, warm, full-bodied tones that make it sound much more extensive.
Its hemp cone is what gives this speaker its extra smooth and clean tones.
It sounds excellent with light to moderate overdrive and can get a little fuzzy with hard distortion – making it great for blues and grunge players.
Most speakers in this size all have an upper midrange British “snarl” sound, but these have just the voicing you’re after if what you seek is a lower midrange American growl.
They develop more color after being broken in for a bit and don’t “fart out” like other models in this category.
Pros
- Works well in cutting back treble on amps that are treble harsh
- Slightly better/tighter/fuller bass response than most 8” speakers
- Suitable for “bedroom” sized practice amps
- Compliments a wide range of amps and cabinets
Cons
- Price: Costs as much as twice the price of comparable 8″ speakers from its competition
- 20W power rating makes it an awkward fit for amps in the 15 to 25-watt range
Jensen MOD8-20 8-Inch Guitar Speaker
Costing about one-third of its Alnico counterpart’s price, the Jensen MOD8-20 8-inch speaker provides crystal clear sound with just a slight vintage British undertone peeking through.
This speaker is designed specifically for precision amps to reduce some amps’ brightness in the high end and add a little fuzz to overdrive distortions.
It’s the perfect fit for a practice amp and complements the signal without changing an amp’s signatures.
The MOD8-20’s quality separation of sound and tone increases volume quality and provides up-front tone with smooth highs and more prevalent lows. If your stock speakers sound thin and plain, these will bring in a full bottom end and mid.
From a light bit of crunch with a strat to some heavy tube distortion with an LP, it takes it all like a boss to produce a nice mellow fuzz. The highs are still coherent and ring, separating nicely, but are not severe or piercing like the highs of other 8’s in this category. The adage “big things come in small packages” rings true as this speaker packs a
The highs are still coherent and ring, separating nicely, but are not severe or piercing like the highs of other 8’s in this category. However, the adage “big things come in small packages” rings true as this speaker packs a punchy 12” sounding tone into its small build.
Pros
- Affordable Price
- Puts out a deceptively large sound. For an 8” speaker, it has a lot of low-end thump.
- Specific design to enhance precision amps
Cons
- It takes a little longer to break in.
- Tinny sound when used in a single open back cab configuration
How to Pick the Best 8-Inch Guitar Speakers
Often, once the cover is off the cabinet, most people can figure out the size and make of their speakers relatively easily.
But aside from those two details, they don’t have a clue about the effects different types of speakers can have on the sounds emitted from their rig.
There’s a lot of information out there on the internet about how to swap out your guitar speakers. However, there is not much information about replacing your old ones or building your tricked-out amp from scratch.
Whatever reason you’re in the market for them, there are a few factors you’ll need to think about before you buy just any speakers off Amazon’s virtual shelf.
This quick guide should provide you with just enough information to be dangerous, so let’s dig in and look at a few of the characteristics you’ll want to take into consideration when trying to decide which type of 8-inch speakers to buy.
Sound
What kind of sound are you going for? This factor is going to play a significant role in determining which speaker you pick. Are you looking for the vintage heavy, hard-edged distortion characteristic of the “American” sound? Or perhaps you prefer the more refined “British” sound distortion.
Vintage vs. Modern
That isn’t about how old or new the speakers are. It’s about the sound that comes out of them.
Vintage
During the mid-20th century (the 1940s-1960s), guitar amps seldom housed speakers graded for more than 30 watts.
This amplifier’s lower wattage produced all the iconic guitar sounds that defined much of the music now considered “Classic” rock. It’s the sound that most guitarists today grew up listening to and strive to emulate.
Due to the wattage restrictions of vintage speakers, you can crank your amp to its upper limits (assuming your amp is built correctly) without making anyone’s ears bleed – leave that to the soundman.
Modern
As music evolved and bands transitioned from playing in smaller club settings to large stadiums, they needed more power to produce the sound and volume required for such large audiences to hear them playing.
The first generation of speakers couldn’t deliver, so speakers that could handle the necessary higher wattages were developed. But, of course, the tradeoff for wattage is a different kind of sound distortion and tone break.
Impedance
You’ve probably noticed that speakers come with ohm ratings, but do you know what ohms are? Ohms represent the speaker’s impedance property or the amount of flow restriction of the electrical current passing through it.
The majority of speakers have ohm ratings of 4, 8, or 16, and it’s vital to ensure that your new guitar speakers’ impedance matches the impedance of your amp.
Wattage or Power Rating
The primary determinants of your speaker’s wattage are the voice coil diameter and magnet weight. As a loose generalization, the larger the voice coil and the heavier the magnet, the more power the speaker can handle.
The best amp-speaker set-up is one where the wattage of both the amp and speaker match.
A few instances where mismatching speaker and amp wattages can produce higher speaker distortions that some people desire. However, those combinations often lead to speaker malfunction and damage.
Magnet Structure
There are three different types of materials used in speaker magnets: Ceramic, Neodymium, and Alnico when it comes to speaker composition. Each material produces different effects on the tones that come out of the speaker.
Ceramic magnets came to be an affordable substitute for the more expensive Alnico and Neodymium magnets. Although ceramic magnets cause the speakers to weigh a bit more, they produce a much higher sound quality at higher volumes.
Neodymium is a more modern magnet material that isn’t as expensive as Alnico but is a little costlier than ceramic.
It is lightweight compared to the other two magnet types (weighing roughly half as much as the other two), but its magnetic characteristics are better. This kind of magnet produces a well-proportioned frequency response.
Alnico, an alloy of the nickel, cobalt, and aluminum trifecta is the pioneering speaker magnet material responsible for much of the classic tone and sound associated with classic rock and vintage amps.
Their cobalt content is the reason for their higher cost, but the tradeoff is worth it for many guitarists who feel that speakers with these magnets are much more responsive.
A tiny amp with a good speaker can allow you to sound good while you’re practicing at home without waking up the baby or let you utilize your overdrive without crushing the audience in a smaller venue. Ultimately, an 8-inch guitar speaker can be a relatively inexpensive but worthwhile upgrade to your gear.
Pros and Cons of Using 8-inch Guitar Speakers
Pros
- Comparatively inexpensive
- Even with the amp maxed out, it won’t blow any eardrums.
- Good sound quality for smaller venues and recording
Cons
- Lower wattages cause them to not be loud enough for use in large venues.
The Best 8-Inch Guitar Speaker for the Money?
Our choice for the best 8-inch guitar speaker is the Celestion Eight 15 based on its overall combination of big sound packed into a tidy little bundle and a long warranty at an affordable price.
Although it takes a bit longer to break in, the results are well worth the wait.