What amp for Frugel Horns

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Hi Guys,

Finishing up a set of Frugel Horns with FE126E drivers and now I am wondering what I need to power them.

Will the Sonic Impact T Amp work or is it not powerful enough? Other low(er) cost options. I don't think I want to build, but wouldn't mind if it was a realatively easy kit (never built an amp before).


Thanks in Advance!
 
In terms of cheap-ish amps Class D amp should be fine (basic el cheapo T-amp would need heavy modification as stock, it rolls off at ~100Hz). There are plenty to choose from. The Trend amps have a good reputation, I gather the KingRex are decent (nopt heard one). If you want valves, Bottlehead kits are reasonably priced & supposed to be pretty decent.
 
You are going to get mixed answers on this. A lot of people tend to prefer amps with a low damping factor (tube amps) as they should provide more bottom end.

However, some people seem happy with T-amps.

I do not like the sound of a tiny xmax driver with a T-amp in a ported enclosure (sealed is a different story).

Nelson Pass has a great article that illustrates this very well.

"Current Source Amplifiers and Sensitive / Full-Range Drivers"

http://passdiy.com/pdf/cs-amps-speakers.pdf


You should try a few different amps to find one your ears like.

Cheers.
 
hi nanl2053,

nelsons soz. it's also easy to build.

with my integrated marantz or my gc the 108es-frugals sound very harsh and i need a correction network. zen is good, too. aleph 3 is okay, but it sounds very bright sometimes.

i use my frugels with a 15 watt soz. the sound with my soz is good :cool:... but my soz get's very hoot, because my heatsinks are to small :hot:. but i don't care, it's winter :devilr:.

:angel:
lilmik
 
wixy said:
I use the Kingrex T20 amp + matching PSU with my FE206E's and it beats the pants of my EL34 SET amp.

The KingRex costs a bit more than the Sonic Impact, but imo it is worth it (i have also owned a Sonic Impact amp).


Hi Wixy

I'm super intrigued about the shortcomings of your el34...any chance you could pm or mail me some details to save hijacking this thread

Regards

Ed
 
The Sonic Impact Super T won't have the bass roll off ScottMoose mentions. Stereophile measured it. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-956 It is a bit more, but it looks much nicer than the cheapo one.

For a bit more money, but much more quality, these guys have some nice T-amps:
http://www.audiomagus.com/component/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,27/

You can also look for used chipamps and tube amps. The audiocircle board often has good pickin's. Keep in mind that many won't have properly sorted out grounding, or some other issue. If you are willing to scratch build, your options are huge. I'd consider a chip amp (notice parts available in our own Trading Post). Or something Tubelabs (member here) simpleSE:
http://www.tubelab.com/SimpleSE.htm

The Bottlehead SEX kit would sound great and should be a very simple build, as the kit contains everything. It's 1.5 watts aren't exactly going to knock the walls down with your little drivers.
http://www.bottlehead.com/et/adobespc/S.E.X./SEX.htm

There are other cheap prebuilt tube options out there, like some of the Chinese stuff on ebay. However, it is sort of hit and miss and might need some sorting out. So, you may as well consider full on DIY.
 
Fostex and Amplifiers

Not sure if this going to help or not but I am currently listening to a set of Fe127 bi-fonkens driven by a DIY F4. I think I can safely say this is the best set up I have heard in my living room yet.
Even my wife said it sounds good.
I am driving the F4 with the pre amp stage of my Cambridge audio integrated. Not real big gain but pretty good band width.

I can strongly recommend the combination of the F4 with fostex drivers. Other than that I think the next best is single ended tubes. I really like the 2A3 paramours

Good luck
 
F4

The dead silent background and complete full bandwidth have me smiling every time I put on a disc or record. I sure can tell a decent recording from a low budget one.
I have a wide room so the bi poles make a very large sound stage. It just seems to work very well for me. Right now I am quite happy. Now I am seeking a new pre amp.
 
The lack of bass clearly shows using my 165k based BIBs and the cheaper stock Sonic Impact amp. I want to replace it one day with the Sonic Impact Super T or one of the others mentioned above, Trends, Kingrex, etc...

Otherwise, it's a good match for a Fostex 127e based system.

My el34 amp beats the SI easily during an A/B comparison but after a few minutes (days actually) of listening my ears tune in and i am back on track with the SI.
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
There are a lot of good suggestions here... the commonality ids the high output impedance...we have tried and use quite a few.

The only one i'd be careful with is the chip-amp... the LM1875 would be the only one i'd consider.

Almost any SE tube amp would be good, but unless you have a small room the smallest i'd consider would be 2A3 (ie Paramour II). The RH84 works really well too A good no feedback PP amp works well (we have a Class A trioded EL84 variant of El Cheapo that is stunning on FH).

The Trends is really good for the money (not in the same league as any of the above) and really cute. Our KingRex is somewhere between here & Seattle.

It is interesting about the EL34 SET. That mirrors a comment Eddie Vaughn had about a DRD EL34 (on his Fonkens, but the FHs like similar amps). Eddie is working on an EL34 SR (oe similar) for the Fonken,,, we sent him a set of Bud's (O'Betics) OPTs, it will be interesting what he comes up with.

Another amp i'd like to throw out is one of the K502 variations modded as described here (about the same cost as a Trends -- you do have to asssemble it) http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=112932

http://www.tubesandmore.com/scripts.../elevclients/cemirror/ELEVATOR.FXP?item=K-502

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


There is a monoblok version too http://www.tubesandmore.com/scripts.../elevclients/cemirror/ELEVATOR.FXP?item=K-501

These use a different tube, but otherwise seem the same

http://store.tubedepot.com/diy-k11m.html
http://store.tubedepot.com/diy-k12m.html

dave
 
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