The EVMs are AWESOME! The absolute best speaker for the Mesa Thiele. These cabs are really great for the I-IV Mark Series combos. The combos are mid-voiced, and the bass curtailed to get that creamy lead voice that is the Mesa signature tone. The Thiele with the EVM adds back that low-end punch and projection. A Mark III or IV EVM combo on an EVM Thiele will have no problems keeping up with 100-watt Marshalls, 5150s, etc. When I had my vintage BF Deluxe Reverb years ago, I did a couple of tavern gigs by just running the DR wide-open into the Thiele. No distortion pedal needed, and little chance of damaging the 200-watt EVM.
This is a small footprint too, and it elevates the controls on a combo up to eye-level, which is nice for my sore back. Certainly easier to move around than a 412.
I use my Thieles with my Mark Series amps but also with my DC-3 (V-30) and my V:35 (C-90). Both are EL84 amps, so the Thieles are a big help with the low-end of those amps. Even my big Mark V:90 combo has a matching Thiele--the Mesa Closed Back Wide-Body cab. The combo has the C-90, and I special-ordered the CBWB cab with a V30. I think it sounds great.
I was only able to use my Mark V:25 full stack twice before my band broke up. (Our bass player has a form of dementia. ☹) This has both the V30 Recto Slant and Straight cabs. It is a delightful rig, and was perfect in a big school cafeteria as well as a small club. I have to admit, the Mesa V30 is another one of my favorite speakers. This rig sounds more like it's running big bottle tubes than EL84s. Every guitar sounds good through it (like all my Mesa amps), and the V:25 is so versatile it handled all the country, jazz, blues, rock and soul I could throw at it.
As someone above stated, the V-30 is a very British speaker. The EVM is more hi-fi, WYSIWYG. I can't recall ever getting distortion from an EVM.
Another amp I have is a Mesa Maverick 212 V30 combo, and I have loved using this on top of a Mesa Horizontal Recto V30 cab. Nice, compact 35-watt Class A half-stack. Not as much gain as most Mesas, but it is versatile enough to get me Fender, Vox and Plexi tones between the two channels. Not a metal amp, at all. Nice chime, but set it up right and it can really cut. The V30s work really well, and that closed back Recto cab under the combo adds a thumping low end.
One of these days I'll have to try out the V:25 with the Horizontal Recto 212, but the Mini Stack just looks so cool!
I don't know what amp you're using, but I would be reluctant to give up those Thiele cabs. The EVMs are getting hard to come by. But, I really like what I hear from the Mini Recto V30 cabs, too. I probably like the V30 over the C90s, but the C90 is a speaker that definitely "works and plays well with others." Paired with the EVM, it does add a certain amount of attitude.
I hope this helps. Good Luck!
Bill
