FE126E in a TL or TQWT cabinet

[reikso2h]

Hi,
I have a pair of unused Fostex FE126E's and I am looking for a project for the summer. I don't really have that much experience at all, so any advice would be helpful.

I've been looking at TQWT enclosures, and I would probably like to build something similar to the cabinets described here: http://www.geocities.com/agalavotti/tqwt.html

These are designed for the FE164's, so I would need to alter them for appropriate use with the 126's.

Does anyone have existing TQWT plans for the 126's?

Thanks in advance.

[planet10]

The FE126 really wants a horn. Your simpliest builds will be a BIB or a Metronome. Best are likely Furgel-Horn or A126. One of the spawns with series R can work, but you will lose the jump factor that makes FE126 special (still better then TQWP)

dave

[Scottmoose]

126 isn't a great choice for a TQWT as Dave suggests. It'll run into compression PDQ if you tune it much below Fs. If you want an easy-to-build cabinet a BIB will probably be the best bet (looks like a TQWT but is actually a simple type of horn).

[reikso2h]

Why is that? Why does the 126 prefer a horn?

Will i just get no bass at all if i put it in a TQWT?

[Scottmoose]

Because it's designed for one. Low Q driver with limited excursion. Drop it in a TQWT or similar, you'll get some LF, at the expense of severe compression elsewhere if it's tuned particularly low.

[ilewis33]

Originally posted by reikso2h
Why is that? Why does the 126 prefer a horn?

Will i just get no bass at all if i put it in a TQWT?

Because it's designed for a back-loaded horn enclosure, check the spec sheet:

http://www.madisound.com/catalog/PDF...ers/fe126e.pdf

As Scottmoose suggests, throw them in a BIB. I have mine in a 48" tall, 12" deep, 5" wide (internal) BIB, using 1/2" ply. It's slightly shorter than recommended, but I think the sound is fantastic nonetheless. You're certainly not going to find an easier build...

[MJK]

Of the four FE-126E drivers I have measured, the average fs is 94 Hz and the average Qts is 0.41. I do not consider the FE-126E to be a low Qts driver, don't blindly trust the manufacturer's spec sheet when evaluating a driver or designing an enclosure. My measurements fall in line with others that I have found on the Internet.

Based on these values the FE-126E would be appropriate for a resonant enclosure like a TL or TQWT and even a BR if it is tuned to the mid 90's. In fact, I would consider the BIB and the "BLH" designs for the FE-126E to also be resonant enclosures where standing wave resonances are used to augment the bass output. I do not consider any of these designs to be functioning as a well designed horn for the bass frequencies. They are really hybrid TL/horn systems.

So in my opinion, the FE-126E is suitable for many different styles of enclosures as long as you recognize that for most of them you are not going to get much low bass. Make sure you use actual measured T/S parameters and do the design work to learn what compromises are required and what type of bass performance is achievable. A sub woofer or woofer would probably solve the bass issues and still allow the full range driver sound desired.

[ilewis33]

Originally posted by MJK
Of the four FE-126E drivers I have measured, the average fs is 94 Hz and the average Qts is 0.41. I do not consider the FE-126E to be a low Qts driver, don't blindly trust the manufacturer's spec sheet when evaluating a driver or designing an enclosure. My measurements fall in line with others that I have found on the Internet.

Wow. I had no idea. Well, that explains why they work OK in the not-really-a-horn enclosures.

[MJK]

Always measure the T/S parameters of your drivers. If you are going to all of the effort to design and build an enclosure, it just seems like a big mistake/risk to assume the critical driver parameters used to predict the bass output. All of that work only to find out in the end it does not perform as expected because what you started with as an input was in error.

[illnastyimpreza]

nice nice