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Exciting new line of fullrange drivers from Feastrex

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Thanks for the response Chris, hopefully the top brass at Feastrex will listen to the people:D

I like my idea that each driver should come with it's own tested T/S specs, and in matched pairs if they differ by much, just like what is done with vacuum tubes. Anyhow looking forward to hearing them someday!! Dave:)

PS. I bought a cheap car amp a few years back from MTX, and it came with certificate inside signed by the person at the test bench verifying it's power output.. I thought that was kind of cool....
 
Well, I continue to monitor this thread and read each post. In the recent activity surrounding published T/S parameters, this should be a no-brainer. Anyone trying to sell drivers should realize that their intended customer base wants an easier path to building a cabinet suitable for the driver... especially at the price level of Feastrex. Also, the availability of cost-effective testers makes this pretty trivial once you have things setup. I actually purchased a WT2 and have used it on my D5nf drivers. Lacking this basic capability at the manufacturer's side makes me wonder how they do any meaningful matching of pairs.

Going back to the way the name Featrex came about, let's divert to Western Electric. The new manufacture 300B triodes all come with an individually calibrated plate curve specification sheet and each tube is individually serial numbered. And this is for a product that costs $400 per single tube. Also, think about trying to sell a new tube type without basic specifications beyond filament requirements and plate ratings, don't think it would fly, anybody else think differently?

I think Feastrex would fare much better if they offered not only T/S specifications but also provided some reference cabinet designs with measured specifications of the final product. This would give the DIYer a feeling of what can be achieved without the guessing game and wondering if they really have a cabinet that extracts the best from the driver. It's really not that difficult to do and would certainly improve the acceptance of these unique drivers.

Regards, KM
 
Points well taken, KM. Feastrex actually has the WT2 and is able to use it. They also have the Woofer Tester Pro, which should be able to do everything that might be on anyone's wish list and more, but they are still trying to get a grip on how to use it. I never imagined (although in retrospect I should have imagined) that they might have so much trouble mastering a device that requires English language ability to understand.

By the way, I just got an email in my mailbox from the president of Feastrex telling me that they will indeed do these things. So the squeaky wheel gets the oil after all. Keep on squeaking!

They are telling me that when the data comes it will also come with all sorts of information about the ambient conditions under which it was taken. That's important for all the drivers but especially for the field coil drivers.

-- Chris
 
cdwitmer said:
"I hear ya"

These recent comments have been duly fed back to the top people at Feastrex...

By the way, I just got an email in my mailbox from the president of Feastrex telling me that they will indeed do these things. So the squeaky wheel gets the oil after all. Keep on squeaking!

They are telling me that when the data comes it will also come with all sorts of information about the ambient conditions under which it was taken. That's important for all the drivers but especially for the field coil drivers.


Good. Thank you Chris. We wouldn't say it if we didn't believe it.

They think there is an over-reliance on T/S parameters and formulaic approaches to enclosure building in the DIY world.

Utter nonsense. If people were simply stuffing them into, say, T/S aligned BR boxes with no other thoughts other than that, I'd agree with them. But they are not. Indeed, most people working with FR units are a very creative bunch indeed. All of the boxes I have done on the FH site for e.g. use driver T/S parameters in their design, and I don't really think you can call them all that formulaic... (?)

A good designer does not blindly use driver parameters or box alignments alone & ignore other factors not part & parcel of, say, Theile & Small's work. Such things are a tool -a very useful one, but to be used in conjunction with other knowledge & experience, not alone.

I have a suspicion (correct me if I'm wrong here) that nobody at Feastrex (Clark aside) actually knows all that much about loudspeaker enclosure design. If they did, that kind of idea would never even cross their mind. Besides which, what the end-user actually does with the drivers they buy is up to them, not the manufacturer. Oh sure, I have a good idea what they're thinking 'we don't want our pride & joy to be stuffed into a box mindlessly taken from WinISD (or whatever) & then hear self-same owner complaining about the sound.' But they have to understand that a) they are selling a product & they have to let it make its own way in the world, and b) that's not a very likely occurance. See posts above.

Whatever, if they are actually serious about selling units to the DIY market, they need to accept these realities, and they have to do it fast, before they start to alienate people. Whether they like these facts of life or not, frankly, is neither here nor there. If they wanted to sell these things as a hobby, they could, of course, go on as they have been. If they want to do more than that, then they are going to have to give the market what it demands. They have to remember -people are doing them the favour by purchasing their drive units. They're not doing us a favour by somehow 'allowing us' to buy their product. Only one company, to the best of my knowledge, has ever made that latter method work. It's the Bristol Car Company if you're interested. And (with respect) Feastrex aren't quite in that kind of league WRT heritage.

I'm sure there isn't anyone here who wouldn't wish them to succeed, but they're going to have to start helping themselves at some point.
 
DaveCan said:
How is everything going in Feastrex land?.. Any new updates or enclosure and happy user pics? Dave:)


OK these just arrived. Some time back we had some discussion about bamboo wood. These are them. Solid bamboo. Now to try out the sound of bamboo. They sure have a nice tactile quality.

Brian
 

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I would love to use bamboo for cabs and even have a large enough forest at the end of my street to provide me with all I could ever use, but the various tools maintenance/replacement cost required is just too high. :( I could get a welder to make it out of the better overall performing brushed stainless steel for less on average.

GM
 
They think there is an over-reliance on T/S parameters and formulaic approaches to enclosure building in the DIY world.

Utter nonsense.

I have a suspicion (correct me if I'm wrong here) that nobody at Feastrex (Clark aside) actually knows all that much about loudspeaker enclosure design. If they did, that kind of idea would never even cross their mind.

I visited their place last winter and listened to all of their drivers in various boxes. These are very polite businessman with an honest passion for their product; I don't think they would want to say anything to offend anyone.
they had actually just finished building the MLTL design suggested to them and it sounded horrible. Maybe that helps to explain why they aren't enthused by that approach, whereas their own "cut and try" designs (which do progress according to a certain discipline based on what I could observe) played with varying degrees of greatness.
A Japanese friend explained to me that the Japanese rely very strongly on what their senses tell them and when computer predictions and sensory perception are in conflict, they go with their senses and are comfortable with that. maybe there is a bit of a cultural thing here and that in the West we like our machines to agree with us and even lead us and feel a stronger need to reconcile our sensory perceptions with the machines predictions.

They have to remember -people are doing them the favour by purchasing their drive units. They're not doing us a favour by somehow 'allowing us' to buy their product.

I don't think that their relative silence on those issues means anything more than they are approaching this with different priorities. I left with the impression that these are very honest and uncompromising people and do appreciate all of the notice and suggestions they have received. Surely they want to sustain their business long-term and they are trying their own way.

now if we could just get those numbers!
 
:D

As Martin says, I'm a little curious about how they managed to design an MLTL without using any driver parameters?

BTW -has someone here taken offense at something / anything? bcherry seems to be under the impression they have. Not sure who / what though.

I'm sure the people at Feastex are polite, and I'm sure they're passionate. But IMO their refusal to supply any driver measurements whatsoever is completely misguided, and is going to hurt them badly if they don't sort it now. I'm not saying this for the good of my health. I gain nothing either way.

Used properly (as in, in conjunction with other factors), a person will be able to design a better optimised enclosure far more quickly with these than by continual building / testing, which the vast majority of people who spend this much on a pair of drivers would not be overly enthusiastic at doing.
 
You know what would be really big time cool? I'm borrowing this from what Scott said, but how about circulating a pair or two of the entry level drivers( D5nf ) between some, or all of the highly respected designers here at diy ?

This is a big community, and if some of these guy's were to be highly impressed with what they hear, it would be some major cost effective advertising.. The drivers could be insured ,and maybe could be offered at a very nice price to the designers if they want to keep them, or auction them off for charity or something..

Steve of Decware did this sort of thing with his prototype Taboo amp. He circulated it around to some of his customers on his forum ,and they had a week or so to live with it, then send it on to the next person on the list. It was really neat to read each persons impression and just a way cool thing to do IMO, I ended up buying the Taboo amp largely based on that approach having never heard it, but reading the reviews etc. It's a excellent amp btw, two thumbs up and worth every penny...

For me if people like Nelson, Dave and Chris (P10), MJK, Scott, GM etc ,were to really enjoy these drivers and give them some praise ,I'd be fast tracking my saving up for them, so that's one sale right there :D .. How about it Mr. Teramoto? :cool: Dave:)
 
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