Smoothest driver....

[type]

What in your opinion is the smoothest driver you've owned?

I'll nominate the 871s as it's the one I always seem to go back to even after trying others.

[planet10]

I found the 971 kinda choppy at the top... smoothest driver i've owned would be Fostex FX120

dave

[badman]

MCM 55-1200. A 'wide range' rather than quite 'full' but very smooth

http://www.geocities.com/gordonwater...ker_specs.html 2nd or 3rd down

[larkinrulez]

Originally posted by planet10
I found the 971 kinda choppy at the top... smoothest driver i've owned would be Fostex FX120

dave

Hi Dave...
I'm thinking about that driver since many months...how would you describe the difference between the FE127E (stock) and the FX 120?

[planet10]

Originally posted by larkinrulez
I'm thinking about that driver since many months...how would you describe the difference between the FE127E (stock) and the FX 120?

The stock FE127 tends to be dominated by the paek around 7k. Even if the peak doesn't obviously get in the way of your listening i found it caused fatigue after a while, The FX120 is baby bottom smooth. Once you get over the "false detail" that the peak in the FE127 has, the FX120 also shows that it has greater low level resolution. This quite possibly has to do with the cone treatment that comes stock on the FX120 -- if i had to guess, some sort of borasilicate substance, akin to what Totem paints on the inside of their boxes. The coating looks to have fine sand embedded in it. It also goes lower, and probably higher.

Ignoring a couple dB less efficiency FX120 is a fair step up from stock FE127e.

A fully treated FE127eN on the other hand has the edge on the FX120 as far as downward dynamic range and detail retrieval goes (again to an extent fue to the squashing of the cone's self-noise). The peakiness , althou suppressed to a great extent is still there. Listeners generally chhose the FE127eN over the stock FX120, as the FX120 sounds "fuzzy" in direct comparison.

Solid evaluation of a treated FX120 (FX120eN) has been slowed down by clients scooping up my prototypes before we can do really serious eval -- they are very promising thou. Another pair is nearing the finish line on my bench, and plans for a 2nd iteration FonkenFX have been sent off to Chris to be built (short of an early concept for a biFonken, this will be the trickest Fonken yet to build, and will be exploring new territory)

dave

[serenechaos]

FE108ES II as far as "out-of-the-box", although I hope the FE138ES-R will be smoother when it breaks in.
The 108 took a few hundred hours to really loosen up.
Maybe enabling would help?

The FE166ES-R was rough on top without damping the basket & the gauze on the whizzer.
That smoothed it out a lot.
Robert

[gmilitano]

I'll second the FX120. The JX92S is "smoother" but I find myself listening to the FX120 more often right now. Likely a matter of personal taste. I like the paper cone, metallic dust cap of the FX120 sound. Everyone else who comes over prefer the JX92S.

Hope this helps.

[rjbond3rd]

For me, the FE166ES-R's, once they broke in, became creamy-smooth as hand-churned butter. They have a sweetness that I haven't heard elsewhere, regardless of price.

I'm breaking in some FE208-Sigmas in Bob Brines' LT-2000 cabs, and they amaze with their LF. The bass is fantastic, and the midrange is beauteous. But while they exceeded my expectations, they still aren't as silky-smooth as the FE166ES-R's.

I don't think I could ever settle down with a single set of drivers -- many drivers do a certain trick exceedingly well. I haven't heard a single "best" driver yet. Every driver represents a different set of trade-offs.

[Nelson Pass]

Originally posted by type
What in your opinion is the smoothest driver you've owned?

I'll nominate the 871s as it's the one I always seem to go back to even after trying others.

What do you mean by smoothest?

[chrisb]

Originally posted by Nelson Pass


What do you mean by smoothest?

you know, the one with the Brazilian Wax