SET and Fostex BLH Speakers

Wow, looks like you're getting excellent results with that simple RLC filter. I need to hear this.

Everyone should already know that the HD800 can't really compete with a good tweeter in terms of tonal smoothness. Even a full-range driver with some strategic mods/filtering/placement will be smoother.

I'm guessing post #42 should be corrected so that the 2nd plot says Sigma? Fixed

 

Have you tried doing multiple measurements at the listening spot? Your head is not the size of a mic capsule and captures sound from a larger area.

 

My oh my...... . Take that beautiful table away ASAP. You are getting a ton of uncontrolled reflections with it.

 

Subjective or measured? I would set a mike behind sofa approx. 12 inches back from where your head is pointing the tip to each driver on listening axis with and without table (would look at up to 90ms window).

 

The treble on these looks surprisingly smooth and extended. I'm now strongly considering building this (or something like this) as my first speaker.

 

I would advocate to actually remove both floor and walls or DSP, whichever you prefer ;-). The bare minimum I would look at is 25 to 45ms but 45 to 90 could be very interesting too (has something to do with how many milliseconds we perceive as direct arrival).

 

Not trying to steer this into a debate, would just be interested to know if you find those suggestions useful. If too difficult or no time than no problem at all, you have great ears and surely can figure this out yourself.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts about or experience with the Frugal Horn cabinet design ? It sounds like they can work with quite a wide range of drivers with the most common being the Fostex fe126 or Alpair 7. I wondered if it would be a good/cheap first project. I read that if using the fe126 they really need to be positioned in the corners but using the Alpairs they may be more tolerant. In either case I could use a sub to support them if necessary. My space is not big and I don't listen at loud volume.

Any advice gratefully received!

 

Hi Marv, what are these red & black thingy? I've Googled "speaker clamp" but hit the wrong spot.

 

A few days ago I stopped by @struggles for a visit, and listened to 3 different sets of speakers. A horn system with a massive sub enclosure (we're talking the size of 2 full size refrigerators !!!), a DIY BLH enclosure (please correct me if I'm wrong) w/ Fostex 166En drivers, and another DIY floor standing system that made use of Dayton drivers with 2 subs, 2 mids, and a ribbon tweeter.

My original intention was to bring my BK-16 enclosures with the Fostex 168EZ Sigma drivers to compare to @struggles 166En enclosure. I removed the drivers from their enclosures when I moved to OC, and had put them back in the day before I visited. I had decided to stuff the interior with the cheap pillow stuffing that @Marvey had advised against earlier in this thread, because the small square of acoustic foam I had placed behind the driver from the day of enclosures birth (the kind used for modding Fostex T50RP headphones) was looking mangy and falling apart. I felt shame the way they sounded so they stayed home...

While we were listening to the various speaker set ups I mentioned my Sigma's were sounding slow, strained in the vocals , and lacking in the top end, and that I had used the ill advised polyfil when Acousta-Stuff (or whatever it's called) was recommended. @struggles brought me over to a big bag and let me help myself to enough to re-do my BK-16 enclosure.

So, this morning I removed the polyfil from my BK-16's, and tried them out. I got the top end back a little, but things were sounding kind of thin and lean in the midrange. So I tried stuffing the area in the picture (poached from @Marvey's post earlier in this thread) pointed to in "green" with the Acousta-Stuff. Hmmm, better, fuller midrange, but a tiny bit raspy at the ends of lyrics... Next, I tried adding the stuffing to the "blue" area. Things are sounding fuller, weightier, and meatier across the board, with the raspiness gone for the most part. I'm still contemplating adding a Super Tweeter though...

I would like to get @struggles ears on these next month when I get back from work. I want to start with nothing in them and get his thoughts on the same steps of stuffing as above.



Now for a few quick impressions on the speaker set ups I had a chance to listen to at his place.

First were the horns and the super sub: WOW !!! These things literally take a hold of you and don't let go. They provide BIG, BOLD, SOUND. Fast and immediate, I mentioned to him that sound of these things were like fastball's being pitched at your ears. I have very little audio or speaker experience, but these made a lasting impression I'm sure I'll take with me for the rest of my life.

Next were the Fostex 166En: Beautifully finished, and smooth sounding. I felt like I should have had a glass of whisky or wine while listening to these rather than a bottle of beer. Really quite amazing what an $80 driver can do when the enclosure is well designed.

Finally, the DIY Dayton towers: Another excellent example of an affordable build. There were a pair of unfinished enclosures sitting in the corner, so it was interesting to see the internal structure of the vents (subs out the bottom, and mids straight out the back). I'm sure these would put many higher priced set ups to shame without breaking a sweat. They had a very nice balanced sound that extended in both directions effortlessly.

I know everyone like's pics, but I was too busy hanging out and drinking beer. We started to talk turntables too, but that could fill up another entire page, maybe next time...

Thanks again @struggles for sharing the different setups and helping me start to understand more about speakers, that was fun

 

Why the picture of the Mojo and Fostex Sigma's...?

The Mojo is driving them! Chord claims their Mojo can drive efficient speakers, and it can. I didn't believe their claim, so I ordered a Monoprice 10' 1/8" to RCA cable, cut the RCA's off and fed the speakers. WOW, it actually works, and it can get loud.

My initial impression is that the bass is slightly lacking, but I'm amazed a small battery powered DAC/amp can actually do this.

Maybe I'll have to bring this setup camping, lol

 

Ive had fostex fe127, alpair 12p, coral beta 8.

I prefer a good 2-way + sub over any of those.

Fullrange drivers ime are simply too compromise over 3khz, their rising HF response and light cone simply cannot reproduce bass/midbass with aplomb nor have good HF. I have lived for 2 years with fullrange speakers and they are great for the price, but they cannot touch very good 2 ways for me.

 

Like any speaker type, I think there are bad/good/great full-rangers out there. After playing with some fostexs, markaudios, and tang-bands, I can see why people get turned off by their short comings. But this is often in the context where people haven't heard the AER, Voxativ, or Omega stuff, etc., and have only experienced the lower end of full range drivers. Having had the Omega Super Alnicos in house for a while now, I can safely say that while they don't eliminate the often cited short comings of single driver speakers, they definitely mitigate them well, while preserving their strengths.

The only issue I see is that a lot of really good single driver speakers/drivers tend to be pretty expensive new. Some drivers are also proprietary so it is difficult or impossible to get them for DIY.