johnb said:
As people vote with their dollars that is exactly what is happening... Fostex distibution in North America is actually a fairly new thing, and they are taking off. Expect the success of drivers like the 166SE to foster more exotica from Fostex (maybe we'' even see the field-coil FE108/168 i dream about
)dave
I just recently bought these kits and assembled them. I filled in the empy spaces by the corners with some of that expanding foam. They went together really easily and yes, it does take quite a few clamps
I mainly bought these because they were a great deal and I have always liked how a folded horn sounds (own a pair of klipsch corner horns, voice of the theaters, klipsch rebels) I wanted these so I could experiment with some speakers I had laying around.
I used a Dynaudio 17W75 7" midbass woofer I bought from Madisound several years ago and I really didn't want to spend the money on the fostex tweeter so I used an Altec 908-8A horn for the highs. It just sits on top for now. I had several crossovers laying around and I ended up using some I built a long time ago. I used the dynaudio woofers in some other cabinets and I was amazed how much bass that midbass woofer could produce. House rattling.
I didn't know what to expect at first when I turned them on, but one thing was for sure is that I needed an L-pad for the horn. After I wired that up and turned the horn down some it was amazing. The entire system sounded great, I had to make a few adjustments with the equalizer but it all worked out great. The midrange and highs are so clear, but it is missing a little on the bottom end. I think I may have to end up using a subwoofer to get that added kick that is is missing. I still wouldn't replace my klipsch with these but sometimes its nice to hear music from different sounding speakers.
I used some acoustastuff behind the woofer as it stated in the instructions, and I was wondering if there was anything that could be done to make the bass a tad bit cleaner. It sounds real nice but when I turn it up quite loud it gets a little muddy, but I can definately live with it. I am sure this woofer wasn't even designed for the cabinet but I must say it sure gets the job done. I'm wondering if anyone has experimented with any 20-100 dollar woofers and got nice results. I am reading a lot about how this sounds great with the fostex woofers and I may go that route down the road.
I still plan to veneer the cabinets and use some high quality wires, but I want to make sure that I have what I want before I completely finish the cabinets.
All in all this one excellent speaker cabinet and they are quite cheap and would be wonderful for anyone getting into the audio world, or even someone like me who pretty much spent his entire life around the audio world.
Thanks in advance,
Jeremy
I mainly bought these because they were a great deal and I have always liked how a folded horn sounds (own a pair of klipsch corner horns, voice of the theaters, klipsch rebels) I wanted these so I could experiment with some speakers I had laying around.
I used a Dynaudio 17W75 7" midbass woofer I bought from Madisound several years ago and I really didn't want to spend the money on the fostex tweeter so I used an Altec 908-8A horn for the highs. It just sits on top for now. I had several crossovers laying around and I ended up using some I built a long time ago. I used the dynaudio woofers in some other cabinets and I was amazed how much bass that midbass woofer could produce. House rattling.
I didn't know what to expect at first when I turned them on, but one thing was for sure is that I needed an L-pad for the horn. After I wired that up and turned the horn down some it was amazing. The entire system sounded great, I had to make a few adjustments with the equalizer but it all worked out great. The midrange and highs are so clear, but it is missing a little on the bottom end. I think I may have to end up using a subwoofer to get that added kick that is is missing. I still wouldn't replace my klipsch with these but sometimes its nice to hear music from different sounding speakers.
I used some acoustastuff behind the woofer as it stated in the instructions, and I was wondering if there was anything that could be done to make the bass a tad bit cleaner. It sounds real nice but when I turn it up quite loud it gets a little muddy, but I can definately live with it. I am sure this woofer wasn't even designed for the cabinet but I must say it sure gets the job done. I'm wondering if anyone has experimented with any 20-100 dollar woofers and got nice results. I am reading a lot about how this sounds great with the fostex woofers and I may go that route down the road.
I still plan to veneer the cabinets and use some high quality wires, but I want to make sure that I have what I want before I completely finish the cabinets.
All in all this one excellent speaker cabinet and they are quite cheap and would be wonderful for anyone getting into the audio world, or even someone like me who pretty much spent his entire life around the audio world.
Thanks in advance,
Jeremy
I finally put mine together and I finished them in Bombay Mohogany , they looked great. I did not use the T90A tweeter with them, I use the Fountek JP2 Ribbon instead, great sounding setup. I did take out the Stuffing out of the cabs and replaced it with a single deflex panel behind the driver. These are some of the best little speakers I v`e owned. Great speaker for the money.
BigDog
BigDog
bk16 throat distance
I have built 4 bk16 cabinets from the plans on Madisounds site. I don't seem to be getting any base at all. I used the ff165k's and mdf to build them but think that part of the plans might have been wrong or I miss caculated the angles. Can you tell me what the distance is between the front plate and the center plate of the horn is? mine is only 1.5 inchs and it appears that it should be bigger.
I have built 4 bk16 cabinets from the plans on Madisounds site. I don't seem to be getting any base at all. I used the ff165k's and mdf to build them but think that part of the plans might have been wrong or I miss caculated the angles. Can you tell me what the distance is between the front plate and the center plate of the horn is? mine is only 1.5 inchs and it appears that it should be bigger.
FE166en ?
Apologies if it is bad form to resurrect such an old thread. I found the plans for the BK-16 on Madisound's website and shipping to New Zealand is rather expensive so that opens up the possibility to change the depth of the cabinet and get more space at the rear of the driver. Horn length will become a fraction longer at the same time but that cannot be helped without doing major rework.
Greg - for the FE166En what do you recon the optimum size of the rear chamber behind the driver needs to be - how much should I move the baffle "forwards"?
Many thanks in advance,
AM
Apologies if it is bad form to resurrect such an old thread. I found the plans for the BK-16 on Madisound's website and shipping to New Zealand is rather expensive so that opens up the possibility to change the depth of the cabinet and get more space at the rear of the driver. Horn length will become a fraction longer at the same time but that cannot be helped without doing major rework.
Greg - for the FE166En what do you recon the optimum size of the rear chamber behind the driver needs to be - how much should I move the baffle "forwards"?
Many thanks in advance,
AM
It is already larger than I prefer to accomodate (had planned something different) and I cannot accomodate anything larger. If I had the space I would go to Ron Clarke's Austin 166 but alas...
Don't fancy going to the factory designed BR either since a) the driver is not optimum b) don't have the factory recommended P16 pentagon shaped sound dampers (cannot get my hands on them either) and c) have no information on required passive frequency adjustment filters e.g. bsc, zobel etc.
Many thanks for the reply.
I'd be inclined to think you'll have problems trying to get close to optimal performance with the FE166 (alone) in any type of enclosure that doesn't provide a rear load in a similar manner to the factory BLH, or any of numerous DIY designs, or alternatively without EQ/compensation etc.
In the latter regard, no doubt there are forum members who could point to the appropriate solutions - but even then, you could still be restricted in overall SPL and LF extension by the more limited x-max than say the old FE167E.
In the latter regard, no doubt there are forum members who could point to the appropriate solutions - but even then, you could still be restricted in overall SPL and LF extension by the more limited x-max than say the old FE167E.
The FE166En has increased Xmax and originally it was planned to go into a 1960 Karlson 8 box. Karlsons have immaculate cone control and can be EQ'd to your hearts content. Very suitable for modern music.
Unfortunately I made a mistake estimating the width of the location where they could go so I have to go to something like the BK-16. Greg posted that the previous version, the FE166E, needed a larger rear chamber and I am hoping to find out how much larger. Hopefully he'll find time to chime in, have sent him a message mentioning I have posted here.
The FE166En is a very fine driver when applied properly. And another one I am fond of is the Tang Band W4-1320SJ.
AM
Unfortunately I made a mistake estimating the width of the location where they could go so I have to go to something like the BK-16. Greg posted that the previous version, the FE166E, needed a larger rear chamber and I am hoping to find out how much larger. Hopefully he'll find time to chime in, have sent him a message mentioning I have posted here.
The FE166En is a very fine driver when applied properly. And another one I am fond of is the Tang Band W4-1320SJ.
AM
The Arpeggio also requires another frequency correction network which Morgan Jones placed in front of the amplifier which is not an ideal option in my case... Thanks for the heads up on that one, did have a long and hard look at it. In the end it was the limited power handling of the Arpeggio that canned it.
Dave
Interested to take a look at it and see if it suits my requirements. The FE166En is recommended by the factory for the discontinued BK-16 however.
Attachments
AM - to be clear, do you already have the FE166 in hand? If not, you're probably aware by now of :
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/178800-new-fostex-range-scheduled-released-jan-11-a.html
Depending on the actual release dates of these new products, which could likely vary by market area, they might well be available by the time you settle on an enclosure design that most suits your needs.
( BTDT)
To which I don't think you've yet answered the question as to size of space these would need to kit.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/178800-new-fostex-range-scheduled-released-jan-11-a.html
Depending on the actual release dates of these new products, which could likely vary by market area, they might well be available by the time you settle on an enclosure design that most suits your needs.
( BTDT) To which I don't think you've yet answered the question as to size of space these would need to kit.
AM - to be clear, do you already have the FE166 in hand? If not, you're probably aware by now of :
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/178800-new-fostex-range-scheduled-released-jan-11-a.html
Depending on the actual release dates of these new products, which could likely vary by market area, they might well be available by the time you settle on an enclosure design that most suits your needs.
To which I don't think you've yet answered the question as to size of space these would need to kit.
I have the FE166En on hand. Orginally I was going to place something in a space of 18" x 14" x 11". Never mind, I have been in contact with Dave and am going to take a hard look at his plans, I might just have to bite the bullet and use those. The horns that have the mouth to the wall are just not an option. Many thanks for your input.
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