Tweaks for FE167E/Brines FB-16's.

[robertwstephens]

Hello! I have been lurking in this forum for a little bit. Last sumer I built a pair of Bob Brines FB-16's. I have not done any treatments on the FE167E's. I was curious what some of the recommended tweaks on the drivers would be? I am using an 8 watt PP amp and in the process of building a 3 watt SET. I listen to a lot of jazz. I like the speakers as they are, but am always looking to make small improvements where I can. Peace. Robert

[Bob Brines]

Planet10 has a bunch of tweaks for Fostex drivers. Dave can correct me, but I believe that they are linked on his DIY page.

Bob

[marce]

Try the phase plugs first. an easy mod and the results are very interesting, and revealing

[robertwstephens]

Hello! Thanks for the reply. I used Bob's suggested notch filter in the build. Does anything change with the filter if I use phase plugs? Merry Christmas! Robert

[planet10]

Originally posted by robertwstephens
Does anything change with the filter if I use phase plugs?

Possibly. Bob does have at least 1 set of plugged 167s, perhaps he has played.

dave

[Bob Brines]

The phase plugs do not affect the BSC filter. While I used Dave's phase plugs in the FT-1600 MLTL rather than the FB-16 BR, the affects of the plugs is well above the baffle step range. I did a write-up on Dave's phase plugs here . In this particular application, the phase plugs soften the sound and adds warmth. It is a useful tweak.

Bob

[robertwstephens]

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I will order a pair of plugs and report back. Peace. Robert

[marce]

Hi,
I've just read Bob's accessment of the phase plugs and would agree with his conclusions, but would like to add the following.
I have a pair of FE166's which are even more forward in the treble than the FE167's (I belive) and found that the phase plus gave me a totaly different sounding driver and one which was to my ears far more enjoyable. The most suprising thing I heard was more bass, and did a search of forums to convince myself that this was real it was so surprising. I also ran a pair of FE17's with the FE166's crossed over very high (10k +) to add a bit pf sparkle to the sound (I'm not a spring chicken any more) and found this combination very enjoyable. The phase plugs in my opinion improved the drivers and added more to thier presentation than they subtracted.
There are several threads on the addition of Dave's phase plugs, they make an interesting read and will give you some idea of what changes in sound to expect.

[moray james]

"Spider talk" or the noise generated by the loudspeakers spider. The larger the spider the more noise it will produce. The easiest way that I know to minimize "spider talk" is with a two or three layer felt blanket. This can be made by cutting three 1/16 inch thick felt doughnuts. Make these with a full diagonal slit from out side edge to centre. The inside hole should be just a bit larger than the VC and the outside ID should be large enough to reach the outside edge of the basket punchout holes. If you mount the felt disks loosely over the spider and stager the slits you can then tag the outside edge of the felt disk at about three spots to the basket with a little glue and let everything else float. The felt will filter noises generated by the spider as well as eat up some cone noise reflected by the magnet top plate. Give it a try it is super easy in and out with as many layers as you like.

[robertwstephens]

Thanks for posting the tip about the felt. I will try it out! Peace. Robert