On the occasion of my comparison listening, yes - the rear mouth output gives the FHs a much wider soundstage- and of course because they're designed to accept a wider range of drivers than the Pensils, they can deliver enhanced dynamic contrast and more forward presentation - e.g. Fostex FE126E
not as easy to answer those - room placement ( vis a vis boundaries / corners) and driver selection make the FH much more of a chameleon than the Pensil, and to be completely honest I've not directly compared the Pensils to FH /A7 ( i.e, my "comparison" was between FH/FE126E and Pensil 7 - apples and oranges, really)
Both designs are by Scott. The mandate for the Pensil was simple with good performance. He had more latitude with FH3.
Given that pinpoint imagining is affected by the cabinet only in its diffraction signature, and that both these cabinets (with the same drivers) are essentially the same on that front, imagining will come down to room placement & the signal you are feeding them.
Having just having heard the Pensil 7s i have to say that compared to the FH3 they may go a tad lower, but the bass is a bit wooly in comparison. They are, in the grand scale of things, dominated by the driver except in the bass. Quantity, quality & interaction with the room. Given the small room, and the rear loading it will provide for the FH3 i expect they will have more bass weight (you may well need to dial it down with more damping). FH3 is more finessed than Pensil. Only bass comes out of the terminus of the Pensil or the mouth of the FH3. Elsewhere performance is determined by the driver, the baffle, and any early reflections of the inside walls. And the room and placement in the room.
Compared to most stuff out there, the A7.3 (and to a significantly greater extent the A7.3eN) image like few other drivers, and unless you work really hard to SNAFU that with "bad" box design, you will be very pleased with them.
dave
Maybe. In terms of placement for imaging they will be about the same (you won't get FH3 as close to the wall as P7.3 because it is deeper, but it is usual that you need to pull them out for best imagining). A7 FH3, with more bass range (with damping and wall proximity) would likely give it the edge, but we are talking small differences between the 2. The big thing for me was finesse in the bass. And since complexity of build doesn't concern me, i'd go FH3 every time. The beauty of the Pensils is that they provide amazing performance -- more than enuff to easily show up similar (and greater) cost multiways -- consider it an entry level "drug" 
) and are an incrediably simple build (a least until you decide yours need the holey braces).
If you can live with less bass, or are planning on helper woofers, the miniOnkens are hard to beat, the new trapezoids even better, or you could graft side cheeks (solid wood) to the sides of either FH3 or Pensil to give room for a BIG champher or roundover, which is what gives miniOnken much of its edge in terms of a low diffraction signature.
dave
) and are an incrediably simple build (a least until you decide yours need the holey braces).If you can live with less bass, or are planning on helper woofers, the miniOnkens are hard to beat, the new trapezoids even better, or you could graft side cheeks (solid wood) to the sides of either FH3 or Pensil to give room for a BIG champher or roundover, which is what gives miniOnken much of its edge in terms of a low diffraction signature.
dave
Largely because they won't let me in the shop but as a serf (Chris & Bernie, both very capable)
dave
and I wonder why that is
even simpler when someone else does - sorry, couldn't resistThe beauty of the Pensils is that they provide amazing performance -- more than enuff to easily show up similar (and greater) cost multiways -- consider it an entry level "drug"
and not to beat a dead horse,or more accurately whine about my own situation, but for some folks the decor / placement issues trump sonic performance - the Pensils have a smaller footprint than the FH3, and may (or not) need less "breathing room"
it's always chancy to second guess what might work best in other systems, but to the question of bass from the FH/A7, my first impression of them at the tail end of VI DIYFest '10 was that they certainly had substantially more weight and extension than the FE126E in the same box - in other words plenty - indeed without additional damping below the driver (as was the case in that session), quite possibly too much -and as already stated, I/ we've not yet made the direct comparison of Pensil and properly tuned FH/A7
how's that for dancing around the cow patties?
Dave and Chris are right on the money with FH Mk3 placement. My one is not Alp 7.3 - it's now with CHP-70, but liking it pulled into the room 2' away from the walls. I am making the supra baffles for the Alp 7.3s - hope to audition them with the Alp 7.3s later this week or maybe next weekend.
You need to take some pics of your system and post them Zia! You've built so many speakers lately I'd love to see your setup/handiwork
If you already have point me in the right direction so I can see ...Scott
Thanks Scott. Last set I finished completely were the Mar-Ken 7.3s for Banglacx - posted pics of that here:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/markaudio/198892-mar-ken-alpair-7-3-a.html
The Lotus^2 are built, but not veneered/stained yet... thinking of options... I would have loved to go modern on this one with pure white/cream paint finish. Since I have silver cones, might do the opposite and do a dark color finish. If you have ideas post on the thread.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/199397-lotus-2-build-listening-impressions.html
FH Mk3 I need to take some pics. They are haven't been veneered yet either. Too busy listening to them.
-Zia
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/markaudio/198892-mar-ken-alpair-7-3-a.html
The Lotus^2 are built, but not veneered/stained yet... thinking of options... I would have loved to go modern on this one with pure white/cream paint finish. Since I have silver cones, might do the opposite and do a dark color finish.
If you have ideas post on the thread. http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/199397-lotus-2-build-listening-impressions.html
FH Mk3 I need to take some pics. They are haven't been veneered yet either. Too busy listening to them
.-Zia
Colin being the guy in England
dave
Hi Dave,
how can I contact him?
I would appreciate a pencil flatplack for my enabled A7 gen 2.
TIA
Giulio
If Chris' pointer doesn't get you there email me. Note that Colin will need to get permission from Mark to go ahead with the build, i can't see him saying no.
dave
A bit of a late reply but I feel its worth mentioning - I have a pair of pensils and a set of small ported enclosures which sit on OB woofers.
The pensils are great, very satisfying. The imaging is very detailed, I don't hear "two speakers".
The OB I expect is similar to the horns in that there is a totally different dispersal pattern for low frequency. With the OB woofers the whole sound has the illusion of opening up and taking over the whole room. Its impossible to find proper words for these things, but I'd take a swing at it by saying both have great imaging, but the OB (and I'd assume the horn) open up a huge soundstage that is astounding.
I'm very happy with the pensils and they work well in the very irregular layout of my home office. If it were my main system, I'd definitely try the horns. If a friend was asking for a recommendation between the two, my recommendation would probably be mostly based on his woodworking skills, the pensil is as easy a project as you'll ever find, the horn looks to require a tad bit of skill.
Aha - now I see why I'm getting PMs re flatpack kits! Too many Colins round here.
I've sent Giulio a reply but just in case it is of any use to other UK DIY-ers …
If you can't find the flatpack manufacturer, any decent joiner will be able to make the cabinets or supply pre-cut & routed panels. I've done this for a couple of enclosures when I didn't have room to diy.
You could also ask Wilmslow Audio who can supply flat pack cabinets to your plans. They're more expensive than a local joiner but at least they know the requirements for airtight joints, etc.
The Pensil design looks a straightforward build - I'd be inclined to get a joiner to precut / route / rebate etc and do the assembly myself to make sure it was built to loudspeaker standards.
Hope that helps.
I've sent Giulio a reply but just in case it is of any use to other UK DIY-ers …
If you can't find the flatpack manufacturer, any decent joiner will be able to make the cabinets or supply pre-cut & routed panels. I've done this for a couple of enclosures when I didn't have room to diy.
You could also ask Wilmslow Audio who can supply flat pack cabinets to your plans. They're more expensive than a local joiner but at least they know the requirements for airtight joints, etc.
The Pensil design looks a straightforward build - I'd be inclined to get a joiner to precut / route / rebate etc and do the assembly myself to make sure it was built to loudspeaker standards.
Hope that helps.
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