Frugel-Horn Mk3 Builds & Build Questions

[Reima]

email me.

dave

Email sent.

 

[Reima]

Are these the spikes that they are tapped for?
Dayton Audio DSS4-BC Black Chrome Speaker Spike Set 4 Pcs.

The Al bars which Chris refers to are simplier than those, and are tapped for the PE DDS4(?) spikes, where you can screw off th epoints and put a felt-pad on the bottom.



I don’t have a better photo. They have worked on a number of other builds too including FHXL.

dave

 

[planet10]

Yes. Even my favourite colour?

To be honest, most of the time we just stick felt pads on the ends of the bars.

dave

yes, i got the email…

 

[Reima]

Yes. Even my favourite colour?

To be honest, most of the time we just stick felt pads on the ends of the bars.

dave

yes, i got the email…

Thanks Dave, felt would probably work well at home where I have tiles.

 

[Scottmoose]

Short of carpets, where they may be beneficial for stability, spikes can be a double-edged sword as Dave alludes to. I generally try alternatives first, and if they provide the requisite stability, stick with them.

 

[Reima]

Short of carpets, where they may be beneficial for stability, spikes can be a double-edged sword as Dave alludes to. I generally try alternatives first, and if they provide the requisite stability, stick with them.

I will be using them on carpet, my main concern is stability.

 

[Scottmoose]

With the outriggers, you're unlikely to have an issue. You might want to look at something like this, or whatever similar you can find locally as an alternative to spikes though:
Adjustable Levelling Feet - Set of 4 - M8 Thread with 38mm Foot Diameter - Ideal for Furniture, Appliances and Small Equipment : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

 

[enio nery]

i use plumb bobs

 

[Plott]

Hello,
I am new to the forum (please see my introduction), not so new to diy-projects, but 3 days ago I have finished my first speaker project, the Frugal Horn MkIII
I mean... I am about to finish it. The cabinets are completed, the Alpair 7MS are mounted and broken in for 20 hours.
Yesterday the first hearing session - well, there are many many things what I really liked These are the very open and natural sound and the great stage, among others.
But there are also some issues...
First issue was the missing bass, but I solved it with removing of some stuffing from the front chamber - it is great that I can tune the amount of bass, depending on my room, the driver, the electronics, the color of my t-shirt...
So the bass is now here (maybe I should remove some more), but the main issue is the higher mid section, it is just shrill, or as one member wrote here, it screams. With lower volumes it is "okay", but with increasing the volume it will be somehow disturbing.
I tried to search for information, but there are so many pages and obviously I did'nt found the right one
So could you help me please with some hints? Thanks a lot in advance!
I upload some pictures too.

Best regards
Istvan

 

[avanh]

Hi Istvan,

Thank you for sharing your experience with the Frugel Horn with MA Alpair 7ms. I’m planning to build the Frugel Horn myself, but I’m not sure I want to use the 7ms. Your experience confirms what I’ve read about these. I think the Alpair 7ms needs some filtering to tame the higher mids. The older Alpair 7.3 seemed to do well without any kind of filter, which is what I’m after. Perhaps the current Pluvia 7HD is better if you want to go filterless. Your post is a few days old but I hope you’ll still get some replies on your question about how to get the Alpair 7ms to sound right; I’d be really keen to find out as well. Nice photos!
Best regards, Alex

 

[Plott]

Hi Alex,
thank you for the reply, I am glad that you like the pictures.
Yes, I think too that some filtering would help - but instead I ordered a pair of Pluvia they should arrive tomorrow or so and I can give them a try. In the meantime I also had some support from Stefan at KJF Audio concerning the stuffing, so let see how it goes further.
I wish you success with your build.
Best regards
Istvan

 

[planet10]

From your picture, the damping is not well enuff teased and the amount in the front is very excessive,

Shrill? Make sure you haven’t tightened the fsdyrning scres to much? They should be tight enuff to just hold a real or imaginary washer from spinning. Any tighter is excessive.

dave

 

[Scottmoose]

Apologies, just spent the last 8 hours in the local hospital.

What Dave said; an excess amount of damping in immediate proximity to the driver can also mass-load the moving components, deforming them under dynamic loads and potentially causing the midrange distortion mentioned.

 

[Plott]

Thank you Dave and Scottmoose, much appreciated.
The stuffing is really bad... since then I removed a good portion and the bass came back.
In the next step I will try to remove all the stuffing from the front chamber, tease it and then put back 40 gramms. The rear chamber is tricky...
There are many pictures where the cut-out for the driver is chamfered "because the drive must breathe" - is it a "must do"?
Thank you in advance.
Best regards
Istvan

 

[chrisb]

While I never lived with any of the “ms” series for more than a few days, I’d suspect them to be more susceptible to less than optimal performance with either excessive damping near drivers, or lack of sufficient chamfering / relief on rear of mounting hole; which I’d say is definitely required on the 7 and 5 cm sized drivers - perhaps less so on the larger models.
Nice work in the folded bevel joinery.

 

[Plott]

Thank you, Chris!
The chamfering seems now to be a requirement... so now I have a lot to do but as I wrote, my first diy-speaker ever.
What was the reason of the short relationship with the MS?

Istvan

 

[planet10]

40g is likely about twice what is needed on the front.

dave

 

[toobhed]

...one of the best tweaks I've done was to remove insufficiently teased stuffing from A7 and A12p Pencils and replace about 1/2 - 3/4's of it after really really teasing small pieces at a time so they drop in there like snowflakes...keep teasing!

 

[planet10]

The fluff should have a consistent loft. One can see in Plott’s pictures that the damping looks lumpy, a clear sign of insufficient teasing. For sufficient damping material for FH3 likely at least an hour of teasing.

dave

 

[Cindra]

For Pluvia 7HD I used 20 grams in the front and it works well