At least measurement wise the great divide is not between different board materials as much as it is lamination and braces. That is wood based boards, using a stone slate is better but MDF/plywood with braces and laminations gets pretty close.
dämmung-und-versteifen
HAUPT
dämmung-und-versteifen
HAUPT
I build chip amps that get scary close to SET (I have 2A3 & 45 currently) & sound great with the 126e.
Another consideration is a Hawthorne Audio spud amp. 6CL6. Message me & I can build you something. I'm not a commercial business. Just a diy hobbyist who enjoys slinging solder.
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Madisound mentions that other 4.5" drivers will go in these, e.g. the FF125WK and the FE-127e. How would the BK-12m perform with the FE-127e? (not always are corners available for the FH3 which is an impressive design).
I'm also interested to find out what the cone excursion is compared to the same driver used either in a Fonken versus the BK-12m and the FH3?
I'm also interested to find out what the cone excursion is compared to the same driver used either in a Fonken versus the BK-12m and the FH3?
Firstly, the FE127E was discontinued a while back - the closest "drop-in' replacement would be the FF125WK
Secondly, yes, other drivers of this cut out size, Fostex or others ( Mark Audio, TangBand, Fountex, et al) would "fit" in the kit or DIY version, but the actual designer of the enclosure (Scott Lindgren) should be the one to opine on whether it'd be appropriate. Be forewarned that the reply might be terse.
As best as I can recall, we only ever tried ours with the FE126En - its intended mate. Performance was fine - but not surprising, nowhere near the bass extension or spaciousness of presentation of the FH3.
Secondly, yes, other drivers of this cut out size, Fostex or others ( Mark Audio, TangBand, Fountex, et al) would "fit" in the kit or DIY version, but the actual designer of the enclosure (Scott Lindgren) should be the one to opine on whether it'd be appropriate. Be forewarned that the reply might be terse.
As best as I can recall, we only ever tried ours with the FE126En - its intended mate. Performance was fine - but not surprising, nowhere near the bass extension or spaciousness of presentation of the FH3.
Sorry to bring up old post about the additional bracing, but since I already build ones, and I see that the side walls in the bottom are vibrating (in my "only by an ear" estimation it messes up some of the freaquences in a 400-700hz range).
Chrisb,
you mentioned, that small bracing is an option.
My question is this: what about the larger one (see the the image, you provided the smaller one, mine is red, on top of it) - would it help more?
Or would it stand in the way, so to say, and would be more of an obsticle than a helper?
To sum it up: aestetics aside (for exampe larger brace for me seems even nicer than the originally proposed one), what is the best bracing option?
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Dave,
thank you for the answer.
Could you clarfiy a few points?:
1. bevel shape - is it ok, if it would be rounded? Otherwise I don't imagine, what kind of corner should I make.
2. "and can be holey to complicate the resonances of the brace itself" - are you suggesting that i make a few large holes in the brace itself? What % the holes should make of the brace?
Many thanks in advance,
F.
I don't really go for the full-on orchestras so that won't be a major limitation with the music I enjoy.
My phono is the Hagerman Bugle2 and my cart is the AT150mlx.
I have several other amps which have more power than the Bottlhead amps, but I'm hoping the BK12m will spend most of its time being driven by my lower power tube amps.
I have the Blumenstin Orcas which use the smaller 3" fostex driver. I've been super impressed by these little speakers even without the use of a Sub which I also use.
My phono is the Hagerman Bugle2 and my cart is the AT150mlx.
I have several other amps which have more power than the Bottlhead amps, but I'm hoping the BK12m will spend most of its time being driven by my lower power tube amps.
I have the Blumenstin Orcas which use the smaller 3" fostex driver. I've been super impressed by these little speakers even without the use of a Sub which I also use.
Well, maybe I worry too much about power recommendations - I can certainly remember enjoying FE126s in HornShoppe Horns, FH1 and FH3 with my own little Bottlehead system a few years back - Rega3 RB100/AudioNote (Goldring) cartridge / DIY tube phono stage/ Foreplay and Paramour monoblocks. Music was a lot of jazz / fusion and chicks and guitars kinda stuff - the room was rather small and narrow, and listening levels were never particularly high, so it wasn't driven into obscene levels of distortion. That room has been repurposed as office and speaker storage room (something like 8 or 9 pairs at the moment), so is no longer used for serious listening.
If you like what the Orca's can do, the BK12 should be satisfying as well - see my comments above in this thread re bracing and damping of the lower void.
If you like what the Orca's can do, the BK12 should be satisfying as well - see my comments above in this thread re bracing and damping of the lower void.
hey guys,
I picked up a pair of these this week, they were built from the Madisound plans by a skilled woodworker. He did a very nice job on the build.
I have a question. The drivers in mine are the FE126E. I also got a single spare driver which is the recommended FE126eN, I haven't tried it out yet. I've noticed the specs are a little different between the two, but don't know how that relates to this backhorn. I'm not throwing very demanding music at them, but I'm finding there's some occasional spittiness, or glare, which I would normally attribute to the drivers needing a lot more break in time...but I wanted to check if I should just forget the older drivers and look for a single 126eN going forward, if this is endemic to the older units?
My amp is a Triode Lab EL84TT, which works beautifully with my other speakers and is dead quiet. Speaker cables aren't the best - I'm using 12awg stranded copper but the speakers were made with Speakons and the connectors are the cheapest Neutriks. I like Speakons but these connectors have pretty cheesy looking conductors. I may try bypassing the Neutriks and see if it makes any difference.
Thanks for any help.
I picked up a pair of these this week, they were built from the Madisound plans by a skilled woodworker. He did a very nice job on the build.
I have a question. The drivers in mine are the FE126E. I also got a single spare driver which is the recommended FE126eN, I haven't tried it out yet. I've noticed the specs are a little different between the two, but don't know how that relates to this backhorn. I'm not throwing very demanding music at them, but I'm finding there's some occasional spittiness, or glare, which I would normally attribute to the drivers needing a lot more break in time...but I wanted to check if I should just forget the older drivers and look for a single 126eN going forward, if this is endemic to the older units?
My amp is a Triode Lab EL84TT, which works beautifully with my other speakers and is dead quiet. Speaker cables aren't the best - I'm using 12awg stranded copper but the speakers were made with Speakons and the connectors are the cheapest Neutriks. I like Speakons but these connectors have pretty cheesy looking conductors. I may try bypassing the Neutriks and see if it makes any difference.
Thanks for any help.
BLHs when done right are only supposed to be 'on the pipe' below the driver's HF mass corner [2*Fs/effective Qts], ergo its out of phase comb filtering with the driver's output BW should be attenuated enough not to have any objectionable impact; whereas 'glare' means to me something higher up in the mids/treble BW, so short of knowing all the technical particulars, this 'sounds' like strictly a driver issue unless there's some local boundary reflections audibly distorting it by the time it gets to listening position [LP], a fairly common problem with BLHs BTW.
An easy way to find out is to tightly stretch some suitable grill cloth [one or more layers of expanded double knit or similar] over its terminus [mouth], which will both smooth out the response a bit and lower its HF 'noise' [AKA 'critically damping' the vent], especially if there's little/no internal damping, another common problem with any type of vented alignment short of a semi-aperiodic alignment.
If this doesn't do it or at least not enough without rolling off too much [mid] bass, then time to resort to wall, floor damping, changing toe-in and/or horn tilt off vertical or similar reflection damping options.
If you have a coffee table or anything else between the speakers/LP, then either move it well out of 'line of sight' or at least throw a heavy quilted blanket [furniture movers or similar] over it when critically listening.
GM
An easy way to find out is to tightly stretch some suitable grill cloth [one or more layers of expanded double knit or similar] over its terminus [mouth], which will both smooth out the response a bit and lower its HF 'noise' [AKA 'critically damping' the vent], especially if there's little/no internal damping, another common problem with any type of vented alignment short of a semi-aperiodic alignment.
If this doesn't do it or at least not enough without rolling off too much [mid] bass, then time to resort to wall, floor damping, changing toe-in and/or horn tilt off vertical or similar reflection damping options.
If you have a coffee table or anything else between the speakers/LP, then either move it well out of 'line of sight' or at least throw a heavy quilted blanket [furniture movers or similar] over it when critically listening.
GM
If drivers are fresh from the box, I'd wager that break-in is certainly part of the issue. The Neutriks are not likely part of the problem, but you could try thinner wire. I can't remember the last time I used anything larger than #18 except in car sub woofers - internal wiring on all my FR driver builds is single strand of #24 from CAT5 network cable.