I apologize
I’m sorry to do this. Maybe you’d rather not hear. Maybe it would be better if I didn’t write anything and kept this to myself. It might be better for all concerned if I walked away and kept my peace. If you didn’t know, you’d be none the wiser. I certainly don’t want to create unrest or discontent. Earthquakes and upheavals are not healthy. Better to let sleeping cats and dogs lie. Maybe I’ll just sign off here, and let you wonder. At least if I didn’t bring it forward you wouldn’t be up nights thinking, if only, and then you might not hate me as much. I really don’t want that.
But, against my better judgment I will spill the beans, if only to unburden myself of this guilty secret. Maybe you will write and say, “It’s o.k. I understand” or “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not easy, what you’re dealing with.”
I was warned. Centuries ago, Pandora was warned. I should have listened to her.
I’ve heard the D5e Type II.
Should I go on?
With all that I’ve heard, until now, the lights were off. What is texture? This is texture. I don’t know if I’ve ever really heard a chest, throat, tongue, or the exact nature of decay and reverb, or all the parts laid out in such splendor. Have the engineers heard what they made? Maybe only the singer knows what it is to sound like this. This is something completely of its own. They have to invent a new category for this. All in a funky box brought over from Japan in the baggage section, beat up, scratched, put together in an afternoon, looking like woodshop 101.
So you see why I needed to confess: I’ve got a new religion: D5eism = Joy
I’m sorry to do this. Maybe you’d rather not hear. Maybe it would be better if I didn’t write anything and kept this to myself. It might be better for all concerned if I walked away and kept my peace. If you didn’t know, you’d be none the wiser. I certainly don’t want to create unrest or discontent. Earthquakes and upheavals are not healthy. Better to let sleeping cats and dogs lie. Maybe I’ll just sign off here, and let you wonder. At least if I didn’t bring it forward you wouldn’t be up nights thinking, if only, and then you might not hate me as much. I really don’t want that.
But, against my better judgment I will spill the beans, if only to unburden myself of this guilty secret. Maybe you will write and say, “It’s o.k. I understand” or “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not easy, what you’re dealing with.”
I was warned. Centuries ago, Pandora was warned. I should have listened to her.
I’ve heard the D5e Type II.
Should I go on?
With all that I’ve heard, until now, the lights were off. What is texture? This is texture. I don’t know if I’ve ever really heard a chest, throat, tongue, or the exact nature of decay and reverb, or all the parts laid out in such splendor. Have the engineers heard what they made? Maybe only the singer knows what it is to sound like this. This is something completely of its own. They have to invent a new category for this. All in a funky box brought over from Japan in the baggage section, beat up, scratched, put together in an afternoon, looking like woodshop 101.
So you see why I needed to confess: I’ve got a new religion: D5eism = Joy
Somebody get this guy into rehab while there is still something left to rehabilitate. On second thought, don't.
Heh-heh-he.
Joe, I "feel your pain." Ironic isn't it? That something that makes you feel so good could torment your soul so much.
Imbibe deeply, my friend. Drink freely from the sweet waters . . . I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.
Heh-heh-he.
Joe, I "feel your pain." Ironic isn't it? That something that makes you feel so good could torment your soul so much.
Imbibe deeply, my friend. Drink freely from the sweet waters . . . I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.
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An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
So you've got the very first ones . . . "Made in Japan" should properly read "Made in Japan by total maniacs who derive fiendish pleasure from infecting others with the same mania"
And I suspect they ought to come with some sort of an Attorney General's Warning . . . although it's hard to figure out whether they're the cause or the cure for what ails you. (In any case the listener is having too much fun to care . . . )
And I suspect they ought to come with some sort of an Attorney General's Warning . . . although it's hard to figure out whether they're the cause or the cure for what ails you. (In any case the listener is having too much fun to care . . . )
Voltage...
...is at top setting 17v.
Last night I was listening to Brian Bromberg Wood 1 and there was this huge rattle, and I thought, aha, I've found a weakness in the driver. It can't reproduce this bass. Wrong! I went around the rear of the cabinet and at first thought it was the power con connector rattling, so I put some fo.Q material on it, which actually helped the sound a lot, but there was still a rattle, so I put my hand on the back panel. I had not screwed that in sufficiently. A few turns with a screwdriver and the rattle was gone.
How can a 5" driver make bass like this? It's just ridiculous and defys the laws of physics. God, it is powerful. There was so much energy it felt like it could have blown the back off of the cabinet!
I'm hearing what has to be perfect separation of voices and instruments. For example, on Allison Krause's 'It Doesn't Matter' ('So Long So Wrong') Her voice is deep in the mix with the chorus, but I can clearly hear the trailing end of her phrase as she goes up and down a few notes. I never heard this before, and always heard it as one note lost in the mix. This is very thrilling stuff.
There is a lightness and a rightness to the 5e that seems more correct than the 9e. The 9e by its nature begins to give a bit of a cupping sound at a certain frequency, which makes one wonder if it would be better crossed over to a tweeter for better dispersion. This is in no way to fault the 9e. It is glorious and has a heft to the mid bass that is spectacular, but I have to think that the d5e, so far in my limited experience, is perfect or (I suppose I have to leave room for the possibility) almost perfect.
Funky Cabinet, God's driver
...is at top setting 17v.
Last night I was listening to Brian Bromberg Wood 1 and there was this huge rattle, and I thought, aha, I've found a weakness in the driver. It can't reproduce this bass. Wrong! I went around the rear of the cabinet and at first thought it was the power con connector rattling, so I put some fo.Q material on it, which actually helped the sound a lot, but there was still a rattle, so I put my hand on the back panel. I had not screwed that in sufficiently. A few turns with a screwdriver and the rattle was gone.
How can a 5" driver make bass like this? It's just ridiculous and defys the laws of physics. God, it is powerful. There was so much energy it felt like it could have blown the back off of the cabinet!
I'm hearing what has to be perfect separation of voices and instruments. For example, on Allison Krause's 'It Doesn't Matter' ('So Long So Wrong') Her voice is deep in the mix with the chorus, but I can clearly hear the trailing end of her phrase as she goes up and down a few notes. I never heard this before, and always heard it as one note lost in the mix. This is very thrilling stuff.
There is a lightness and a rightness to the 5e that seems more correct than the 9e. The 9e by its nature begins to give a bit of a cupping sound at a certain frequency, which makes one wonder if it would be better crossed over to a tweeter for better dispersion. This is in no way to fault the 9e. It is glorious and has a heft to the mid bass that is spectacular, but I have to think that the d5e, so far in my limited experience, is perfect or (I suppose I have to leave room for the possibility) almost perfect.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Funky Cabinet, God's driver
You're making me drool, talawalla.
What you are describing is, without much doubt, the essence of what many have been seeking in sound reproduction.
Fitting that it should come from someone who is equivalent to, if not actually, a "National Treasure".
What is the approximate tariff for this little piece of heaven?
Russell
P.S. there is an irony in that many engineers, myself included, do not have the luxury of ever hearing exactly "what they have made", just various approximations. Of course, ultimately, this has always to be a matter of degree.
What you are describing is, without much doubt, the essence of what many have been seeking in sound reproduction.
Fitting that it should come from someone who is equivalent to, if not actually, a "National Treasure".
What is the approximate tariff for this little piece of heaven?
Russell
P.S. there is an irony in that many engineers, myself included, do not have the luxury of ever hearing exactly "what they have made", just various approximations. Of course, ultimately, this has always to be a matter of degree.
Russell,
You are always welcome to visit and listen, and report your findings.
Retail price is $7950 per driver.
On another note, before CES I had a visit from a speaker designer who listened to the D9e. His comment was that it was the most mid-range -centric speaker he had ever heard. To his ears, accustomed as they are to multi-way speakers, the D9e was just plain wrong. So who's to say that I'm right about this, but I am flabbergasted.
The truest test for me is that my wife says its the best sound we've ever had here and she's heard all of the other Feastrex drivers, not to mention all of the other previous speakers.
When I put on Ladysmith Black Mombazo last night, she sat down to listen of her own accord - a rare occurance.
I could hear not only their mouths and throats but also the individual as well as the summed vibrations of all of their chests. I've just never heard that before.
You are always welcome to visit and listen, and report your findings.
Retail price is $7950 per driver.
On another note, before CES I had a visit from a speaker designer who listened to the D9e. His comment was that it was the most mid-range -centric speaker he had ever heard. To his ears, accustomed as they are to multi-way speakers, the D9e was just plain wrong. So who's to say that I'm right about this, but I am flabbergasted.
The truest test for me is that my wife says its the best sound we've ever had here and she's heard all of the other Feastrex drivers, not to mention all of the other previous speakers.
When I put on Ladysmith Black Mombazo last night, she sat down to listen of her own accord - a rare occurance.
I could hear not only their mouths and throats but also the individual as well as the summed vibrations of all of their chests. I've just never heard that before.
Secips, I'm in NC, let me know when you're in the neighborhood. You're welcome to come get ruined any time. There's a new Feastrex family brewing in western MA, but not quite yet. By end of March I should have a couple difference Feastrex projects ready to hear.
Maiko is coming along. Started off with a bang, then coughing disease swept through the family, and some rotten but much needed weather. Parts all cut, assembly proceeding. Looks cool so far! Thanks for Dave and Scott for all their help in bringing it to life. I have very high hopes for it. Maybe a few more tweaks to the design depending on the listening.
My open baffle speaker is built and waiting on digital crossover upgrade kit to be installed in the DCX2496. That is turning out very easy, should be done tomorrow.
Congrats on the D5e Joe. I have not smoked Feastrex crack in a few weeks now, so you are givin me cravings!! I also preferred the highest setting on the D9e at RMAF, but Hal kept turning it down. haha
I feel the same about D5nf vs D9nf as you do about D5e vs D9e. The 5 inchers have a rightness. I think the mid/top end linearity is more critical than bass extension to musical enjoyment.
That said, bass is important... a friend's Mac MC402 amp is here for a visit. It has awoken my hifi speakers (Legacy Focus) from their peaceful slumber with their usual Manley Snappers (100W tube). Bass is so incredible it is hard to not tear up on any kind of music with rich bass info. Now I understand why Catholic church was so successful in the first 1000 years. They had organs and huge stone rooms in which to enjoy the pedal tones. It will either scare you into obedience or inspire you to tearful heavenly visions. Where else could you get your 25Hz fix without mother natures unwelcome help back then? Nowadays we have Jet trucks, airshows, rock concerts, small block Chevy and harleys, subwoofers, and the perrenial fav, thunderstorms. Everyone loves bass. It is the sexy part of hifi, not to be denied! The deep bass aspect is what I am hoping to add to the Feastrex sound with the open baffle with active boosted bass driver(s). I don't expect it will be easy to blend, but hopefully worth the trials.
Rich
Maiko is coming along. Started off with a bang, then coughing disease swept through the family, and some rotten but much needed weather. Parts all cut, assembly proceeding. Looks cool so far! Thanks for Dave and Scott for all their help in bringing it to life. I have very high hopes for it. Maybe a few more tweaks to the design depending on the listening.
My open baffle speaker is built and waiting on digital crossover upgrade kit to be installed in the DCX2496. That is turning out very easy, should be done tomorrow.
Congrats on the D5e Joe. I have not smoked Feastrex crack in a few weeks now, so you are givin me cravings!! I also preferred the highest setting on the D9e at RMAF, but Hal kept turning it down. haha
I feel the same about D5nf vs D9nf as you do about D5e vs D9e. The 5 inchers have a rightness. I think the mid/top end linearity is more critical than bass extension to musical enjoyment.
That said, bass is important... a friend's Mac MC402 amp is here for a visit. It has awoken my hifi speakers (Legacy Focus) from their peaceful slumber with their usual Manley Snappers (100W tube). Bass is so incredible it is hard to not tear up on any kind of music with rich bass info. Now I understand why Catholic church was so successful in the first 1000 years. They had organs and huge stone rooms in which to enjoy the pedal tones. It will either scare you into obedience or inspire you to tearful heavenly visions. Where else could you get your 25Hz fix without mother natures unwelcome help back then? Nowadays we have Jet trucks, airshows, rock concerts, small block Chevy and harleys, subwoofers, and the perrenial fav, thunderstorms. Everyone loves bass. It is the sexy part of hifi, not to be denied! The deep bass aspect is what I am hoping to add to the Feastrex sound with the open baffle with active boosted bass driver(s). I don't expect it will be easy to blend, but hopefully worth the trials.
Rich
I would have to concur that the D5e might be the easiest driver to implement, partly because it seems to have no deficiencies. Yes, the bass does not get into timber rattling territory, but what is there is so tasty and so right that you hardly feel the lack. I can see mating the other Feastrex drivers with woofers etc. I'm not so sure it would be a good idea to go down that road with the D5e. It is like a fine brandy. You want it straight up. Anything else is a travesty. Who knows, I could end up eating those words, but for now I would have to say that there exists a driver that qualifies as true full range, that doesn't require jumping through hoops to get that full range, and that delivers more information in a more natural sounding way than I have every heard.
I can't link directly to Bert's preliminary page discussing the drivers, but if you click on the link you can then click on "Feastrex":
http://tinyurl.com/339vm3
-- Chris
http://tinyurl.com/339vm3
-- Chris
More D5e Mania and incoherent ramblings
I'll make one more outlandish statement: I think the D5e Type II may just be the best bargain in audio today. I know of no loudspeaker that will deliver this level of purity at any price. So if you are thinking of anything costing say $17,500 and up (yea, right). Ok, if someone is thinking of spending in excess of $17,500 on up into the higher numbers they will still not get this level of purity, coherence, sounds hanging in space, and resolution of the most minute details. If they need more bass, they should buy a subwoofer, though it will most likely not keep up. The bass in this cabinet is sufficient for most folks. It convincingly reproduced organ pedal tones last night. OK, so my pant legs weren't flapping, but the fundamental was definitely there. The Cure sounded flat and uninteresting - no news there, (sounds like it was recorded on a computer at home) I guess, but Smashing Pumpkins sounded brilliant. Compare the D5e II with any multiway or multi way plus subwoofer combination and see what gives more satisfaction. Instruments hanging in space on Anushka Shankar's Rise were just freaky. Frank Sinatra, Fly Me to the Moon w/Basie: Franky was in the house! Allison Krause - sheer heaven.
I'll make one more outlandish statement: I think the D5e Type II may just be the best bargain in audio today. I know of no loudspeaker that will deliver this level of purity at any price. So if you are thinking of anything costing say $17,500 and up (yea, right). Ok, if someone is thinking of spending in excess of $17,500 on up into the higher numbers they will still not get this level of purity, coherence, sounds hanging in space, and resolution of the most minute details. If they need more bass, they should buy a subwoofer, though it will most likely not keep up. The bass in this cabinet is sufficient for most folks. It convincingly reproduced organ pedal tones last night. OK, so my pant legs weren't flapping, but the fundamental was definitely there. The Cure sounded flat and uninteresting - no news there, (sounds like it was recorded on a computer at home) I guess, but Smashing Pumpkins sounded brilliant. Compare the D5e II with any multiway or multi way plus subwoofer combination and see what gives more satisfaction. Instruments hanging in space on Anushka Shankar's Rise were just freaky. Frank Sinatra, Fly Me to the Moon w/Basie: Franky was in the house! Allison Krause - sheer heaven.
Well, that's where I will take exception... enclosures. Building a poor enclosure results in overall poor performance and artifacts which are not proper or natural (No, I'm not dinging Joe on poor workmanship). Cutting corners on the enclosure (both design and implementation) for such an extremely expensive and high-quality driver makes absolutely no sense to me... it's actually ridiculous.
In fact, I've read comments that playing similar "special drivers" in the cardboard shipping containers was almost magical and delivered untold sonic bliss... come on... wake up!
When I built the BVR enclosures, I used hard solid wood, ample glue, lots of (internal) bracing and 24 screws just to hold the back on... and attention to detail means more than most people think. IMHO, this is pretty much a bare minimum setup and I can probably improve on it... note: this is not a critique on the design... just my own implementation of it.
Okay... I'll get off the soapbox now.... but please, people who are actually investing that kind of $$ into high-end drivers... do them justice and do a real enclosure for them, otherwise... it becomes difficult to put any faith in review comments, regardless of how glowing they are. I've been involved in audio for 40+ years now... and one fact still remains, there is simply no substitute for solid and sound engineering practices and the final implementation means everything... in most cases, even more than the actual design.
Regards, KM
In fact, I've read comments that playing similar "special drivers" in the cardboard shipping containers was almost magical and delivered untold sonic bliss... come on... wake up!
When I built the BVR enclosures, I used hard solid wood, ample glue, lots of (internal) bracing and 24 screws just to hold the back on... and attention to detail means more than most people think. IMHO, this is pretty much a bare minimum setup and I can probably improve on it... note: this is not a critique on the design... just my own implementation of it.
Okay... I'll get off the soapbox now.... but please, people who are actually investing that kind of $$ into high-end drivers... do them justice and do a real enclosure for them, otherwise... it becomes difficult to put any faith in review comments, regardless of how glowing they are. I've been involved in audio for 40+ years now... and one fact still remains, there is simply no substitute for solid and sound engineering practices and the final implementation means everything... in most cases, even more than the actual design.
Regards, KM
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