First Speakers (Fonkens) Done! Next?

[cgrums]

It's been a long time coming but my first speaker build has come to fruition. I finished a pair of the planet10's Fonkens and am very very pleased.

The Fonkens were commissioned by a friend along with an appropriate amp to drive them. Unfortunately the budget didn't allow for the planet10 modified drivers so they're currently stock. The pair is currently running off a 'Bevois Valley' amplifier; a 10W PP EL84 design by Morgan Jones.

Seeing as this is my first 'real' speaker experience I have to say I'm very impressed. I now understand 'imaging' in ways that I have not been able to glean from reading others' reviews. Female vocals, acoustic guitar, you name it, the spatial presentation and detail of the Fonkens with well-recorded material is astounding. The intended recipients room size and musical tastes are going to lend themselves very well to these little guys.

That being said I'm ready to move onto a pair of speakers for myself. I'm currently planning on replacing the pair of KEF bookshelves that I have in my office. I'm hoping to maintain some of the appealing factors of the Fonkens (imaging, detail, that lush mid-range, the 'involvement factor') while hopefully improving in the areas that the Fonken is deficient (bass extension mainly).

My motivations for a different speaker lie in the fact that the Fonkens didn't do particularly well with some genres of my musical tastes. Mainly:

-Heavier Rock: including Prog, Metal and everything in between, lot's of floater, tool and the like.
-Electronica: Mostly Ambient stuff for studying
-Hip-Hop: Atmosphere, Living Legends, Latyrx, Pigeon John and more mainstream stuff.

I like tubes and as such am trying to stay with these more efficient speakers. It's becoming evident in my research that my musical tastes require a larger box. The wife has already vetoed anything really large (taller than me; 66") and the room is smallish (~12'x14')

At this point I'm very interested in the Half Chang....am I making a mistake? Any advice appreciated.

[Scottmoose]

OK, I'll be honest here & say that for those kinds of music, FR drivers generally aren't ideal. They do many things well, but the reproduction of large LF transient swings demanded by such material isn't one of them.

However (and it's a major one) it's also true to say the same applies to a lot of modern multiway speakers as well, especially those fashionably slender floorstanders so popular these days. So much for generalisations.

FWIW, if you want to stick with FR drivers, and keeping your prefered material in mind, there's two options that spring to mind. Firstly, stick with a modestly sized unit & support with woofers (not necessarily subs, just woofers) crossed in at ~500Hz. That'll sort out your power / transient handling. Alternatively, go for the largest possible FR driver; at least 8in; you might even want to consider the 10in or 12in Audio Nirvana units. The major issue with the latter though is it's huge (as most FR drivers go) Vas, which demands a big box -somewhat bigger than all but the largest that Commonsenseaudio advocate for it, truth be told.

[cgrums]

Hmmm....seems my surmise is not too far off. Thanks for the response Scottmoose, sorry for the newbish question: in your mention of adding woofers are you speaking of adding woofers to an existing FR cabinet? Or are you speaking of separate boxes all together? (which is how I initially interpreted that) Do you happen to have any suggestions or references for adding in those types of woofers?

I'm stubborn enough to continue along this path for at least another pair or two.....I'm not adverse to experimenting though.

[chrisb]

Well, there is a Fonken design for the FE167, which while it doesn't quite match the midrange magic of the FE127, it certainly adds "authority" to the lower octaves.

It's also quite Wife friendly - with plinth base stands approx 1meter tall, 274mm wide x 238mm deep.


When Dave can get some spare time, he'll update the P-10 website build gallery.

[chrisb]

Originally posted by cgrums
Hmmm....seems my surmise is not too far off. Thanks for the response Scottmoose, sorry for the newbish question: in your mention of adding woofers are you speaking of adding woofers to an existing FR cabinet? Or are you speaking of separate boxes all together? (which is how I initially interpreted that) Do you happen to have any suggestions or references for adding in those types of woofers?

I'm stubborn enough to continue along this path for at least another pair or two.....I'm not adverse to experimenting though.

Depending on the dimensions of the FR enclosure, the woofers can be built as separate cabinets to act as stands.

For example, we've had great success adding a push-push pair of CSS SDX7 woofers per side to Fonken 127s

[cgrums]

Interesting about building them as stands. I could've sworn I saw a post (maybe from Dave) that had a pair of Fonkens on a stand with built in woofers. Neat approach.

Any thoughts on Half Changs with woofers in separate enclosures?

[mikje]

Originally posted by chrisb



For example, we've had great success adding a push-push pair of CSS SDX7 woofers per side to Fonken 127s

chrisb,
How would the drivers in a push-push be wired? Series, parallel, or one per channel? Thanks.
Mike

[Scottmoose]

That'd work too, although TBH, you wouldn't really need the HC cabinet as the woofers would be handling the LF range it's operating in anyway. It's not a huge room, so extension isn't the name of the game so much as transient handling through the 60 - 120Hz region were a lot of energy in rock etc. is concentrated.

FWIW, I'd look to something like an Eminence Delta Pro 12in bass unit in a vented cabinet 30in x 12.75in x 9in (internal HxWxD), Zdriver 12.875in, Zvent 26in, vent 4in diameter x 4in long, line all internal walls with acoustic fiberglass or similar. On top of it you could sit an FE206E, sealed cabinet, same WxD dimensions as above, 20in tall (internal), Zdriver 12in. I'd suggest a 500Hz XO frequency, probably 2nd order. This is isn't a finished design, especially WRT the XO of course -ideally, you'd run the bass end off it's own dedicated plate-amp etc. so you can dial it in to taste, but something on these lines would probably be a start, as rock & electronica really does like a big cone. For interest's sake, the respective FRs of the two cabinets are attached.

Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind hearing Billy Idol's Rebel Yell through a setup like this. It should be 'entertaining' in a room that size.

[chrisb]

Originally posted by cgrums
Interesting about building them as stands. I could've sworn I saw a post (maybe from Dave) that had a pair of Fonkens on a stand with built in woofers. Neat approach.

they integrate quite well visually and acoustically; 4 of the SDX7 certainly move some air

Any thoughts on Half Changs with woofers in separate enclosures?

it probably wouldn't take much revision to incorporate at a bass driver into the lower void cavity.

Originally posted by mikje



chrisb,
How would the drivers in a push-push be wired? Series, parallel, or one per channel? Thanks.
Mike

IIRC, they were parallel for approx 4ohm load per channel, but I'd imagine that provided they're in-phase, whatever works for your amp(s) would be fine.

[planet10]

Fonken167