which fostex driver do i choose

hoerath7

New Member
hey there folks. ... i've got money burnin a hole in my pocket (not much money .. but money all the same!)

i've been wanting to build a new pair of speakers and at first i was thinking of building a two way horn setup and did a ton of research and planning toward that goal... then I got interested in building a pair of fostex fullrange speakers just because they seem like they are dirt cheap... problem is I can't decide what to drop my cash on. I want something high efficiency.. .and like the idea of a fostex driver in a backloaded horn (just because I wanna hear what it sounds like) I just can't choose a driver and box.:no:

If i do go with the fostex i am struggling between the 103, the 126, and the 127. If all of these are no good i could bump up to the 206 or 207 but I really wanted to try something that is versatile like the 103 in open baffle or something and then move it into horns. Does anybody have any input on which driver to go with??? what horn to go with.>>??? I know there are a million possiblities but I am also banking on the fact that somebody else was once in my shoes... What did you choose?? and how did it work out??


I am half tempted to try something like the zhorn or a clone of the omega super 3's..... those claim to be crossoverless designs... do they have notch filters, BSC, or anything like that in them or is it just wire box and speaker???


and last question... is better fidelity found in a high end two way horn system or a large WMTM like i see most audiophiles buying?
 
FE127E would be my first choice. They work well in a wide variety of enclosures and there are plenty of plans out there to choose from.
 
I have a pair of the 103's with the alnico magnet. Amazing vocals and incredibly rock solid imaging, but they don't go very high - they lack that "sizzle" - and the bass is a weak point.

With acoustic guitar and vocals, these are heaven paired with a sub. However, things get very muddy when fed with rock...

You might want to try the 127 as I've heard good things about that.
 
wow surprised to see so many ppl recommending 127

I like a lotta things about the 126e .. .but the weird enclosure fostex recommends and designing for it seem like a pain in the butt. not much of anything under 100 hz...

but ya 127e might be a good choice... i'll be curious to hear what other ppl say.
 
Why would you use "subs" or tweeter with a full range driver:tears:.
Why use a full range driver in the first place?.
Full ranges are best used by themselves, without crossovers and
other drivers to mess up their biggest advantage, : single sound source and
no messing around with the signal with a crossover!.
I built a pair of spirals, using fe166e's from fostex and for what they are,
(full ranges), they are amaising!.
They sit in my bedroom and dont replace a 2 or 3 way speaker syst, but
are very desirable for a sleep/ wake-up smooth low volume music.
My spirals: my avatar. They each have 4 eleven foot horns wich does a
great job of reinforcing bass output.
My 2 Canadian cents:D:D.
 
Madisound has kits for both the FF165K and the FE206E. They've had the FF165K kits at AK fest and they sounded pretty good though I did not hear them without the tweeter. I opted for the Fostex recommended BLH, and don't feel the need for a sub - or a tweeter.

fe206e_2.jpg


fe206e_1.jpg
 
Although they've been modified a few times since this pic was taken, I'm still happy with the Madisound BK-16 kit (sans tweeter) that I built last year. Don't feel the need for a sub either. My NAD 7240PE receiver has a switchable bass eq centered around 30-40Hz that extends the bottom octave quite nicely.

attachment.php
 
Although they've been modified a few times since this pic was taken, I'm still happy with the Madisound BK-16 kit (sans tweeter) that I built last year. Don't feel the need for a sub either. My NAD 7240PE receiver has a switchable bass eq centered around 30-40Hz that extends the bottom octave quite nicely.

attachment.php

At first glance, I thought you had some HUGE louvered super-tweeters on top of those BK-16s. :D
 
wow surprised to see so many ppl recommending 127

but ya 127e might be a good choice... i'll be curious to hear what other ppl say.

The FE127E is very good, but don't expect too much bass from this. Here are my measured t/s parameters for the Fostex FE127E full range driver.

If you go with a vented enclosure, your SPL will be limited due to the tiny Xmax of this driver.

What size room will these be in, what type of amp do you have and what are your musical preferences?
 
it's for a small living room or bedroom 18x22x10 ... powered with 2a3 set amp.

i've heard some of these speakers really shine with a tube amp?? is it the midrange hump that evens out the rising frequency response or what??

and to respond to poster sugguesting going with 207 in ported box... if i went up that high in price isn't the 206 in some type of horn a better lookin speaker for the cash??? wouldn't mounting it in blh help even out frequency response??
 
it's for a small living room or bedroom 18x22x10 ... powered with 2a3 set amp.

i've heard some of these speakers really shine with a tube amp?? is it the midrange hump that evens out the rising frequency response or what??

Drivers with a small Xmax will sound best with an amplifier with a low damping factor (like most tube amps but not limited to tubes). Read the Nelson Pass article for more info on this:

http://passdiy.com/pdf/cs-amps-speakers.pdf


With that amp, I think you will be happy with most Fostex drivers. If you have the skills to build a horn, here is one to try with the 206:

http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Solo206.html
 
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