The FF85K Sprite

[planet10]

Originally posted by VDV
Check if you can please, if my delta is too big i would buy a new pair, i think i could burnt them a little

Over the full sample of 44 drivers Re ranged from 6.9 - 7.3

But when considered in batches (ie out of the same case, batch 1 (4 units), 7.1-7.3, batch 2 (20 units) 6.9-7.1, batch 3 (20 units) 7.0-7.2

dave

[VDV]

Originally posted by planet10


Over the full sample of 44 drivers Re ranged from 6.9 - 7.3

But when considered in batches (ie out of the same case, batch 1 (4 units), 7.1-7.3, batch 2 (20 units) 6.9-7.1, batch 3 (20 units) 7.0-7.2

dave

Thank you very much, i will stick with mine, my delta is acceptable i think .
Fostex grills are hurting speaker a little bit, the rubber ring on the top of the speaker unglued a little bit because of the pressing grill. And surround is deformated a little Maybe a new pair will sound better, but this one's sound is just amazing on some records, for example with female vocal and guitar.

[Jim Shearer]

Originally posted by chuyler1
I am powering them with a Sonic Impact gen 2 T-amp. If all I had to compare was the Cambridge Soundworks PC speakers then I probably would have had a bigger "WOW" response. But I really like the sound of the frugels and I was expecting better imaging from the 3" driver. Perhaps the FF85Ks need some more break-in time, or perhaps I should look into some of planet-10's treatments. I'm tempted to build a second pair and purchase a set of eNabled drivers (I don't trust myself to make those intricate patterns).

On a side note, should I consider any sort of BSC?

I am a strong advocate of BSC, BUT in this case, perhaps not. I'm still in the middle of the micro-Fonken build, so I don't know for certain; I can say that with the Sprites, no BSC was needed. And I have no idea why. The baffles couldn't have been much smaller. And putting a driver in the end of a cylinder is the worst possible configuration. Yet the performance of the Sprites was stunning! (to me, anyway.)

Cheers, Jim

[chuyler1]

Over the last few days I've been breaking them in and finishing them off. I applied 4 coats of Minwax wipe-on poly with very VERY light sanding with 320 between coats. For the last coat I sanded with 00 steelwool and applied some Minwax finishing wax.

I also applied some strip cauck around the edges of the magnet to reduce reflections and I adjusted the amount of polyfill I put in. The imaging is much better but the bass is a little peaky. At times you might say "where's the sub" but when the bass player goes up or down a note or two the effect goes away.

I found that when placing them close together like on my desk they need to be towed way in so the speakers cross paths in front of you. If they are straight or even facing directly at you the vocals are basically omnipresent instead of centered. Placing them in the corners of my room ontop of my frugelhorns improves imaging even more and helps the bass by being in the corners.

I'll have a more detailed review later, gotta go run some errands now.

[VDV]

Has ff85k got some kind of sreaming sound if power is around 5wats?

[Jim Shearer]

They’re finally done! The FF85k’s are in their micro-Fonken cabinets. Photo below shows one sitting on top of the larger FE127 Fonken.

I used Acousta-Stuff fiber from Parts Express, since the cabinet is so small and hard to install the foam lining I have used in other builds.

As you can see, I elected to use a round-over bit in the router than than doing a 45 degree chamfer on the vertical edges. I darkened the ports with Minwax red chestnut stain; veneered the cabinets in red oak; and coated with Minwax semi-gloss polyurethane.

Initial impressions:
-- No BSC needed; (I still don’t know why that should be, but, hey--it’s great!)
-- seems to have less bass than in the Sprites; probably because the Sprites have a ‘commercial’ tuning to put a little bump at the bottom end to make them sound like they have more bass than they actually produce.

Now I need to try integrating them with a sub--which should work better than the Sprites, since the bass is properly balanced and rolls off smoothly.

Cheers, Jim

[chuyler1]

Nice work Jim! Could you compare the two fonkens? Sound stage, depth, detail, etc. Obviously the bigger fonkens are going to have more bass but I'm just curious about your impressions of the two side by side.

[Jim Shearer]

Thanks!

Comparing the Fe127e to the FF85k: I like the FE127e, but the FF85k (above the bass freqs) has more of everything I like. It has clarity, detail, and balance. As to sound stage: you need bass for that, so I can't say until I get a sub running w/ them. As to imaging: I think the FF85k is better, but this is something I'm not as sensitive to as may others here seem to be.

My ultimate endorsement is that after hearing the FF85k's, I changed my plans for next summer's builds. I will be purchasing another pair of FF85k's which I will try in an MJK OB configuration, and perhaps another design as well.

Cheers, Jim

[planet10]

Originally Posted by Jim Shearer

My ultimate endorsement is that after hearing the FF85k's, I changed my plans for next summer's builds. I will be purchasing another pair of FF85k's which I will try in an MJK OB configuration, and perhaps another design as well.

I tend to concur... the extra top the FF85 has (FF85KeN in my case) really fills things in. I'm wrking on adding a supertweeter to my FonkenPrime system in an attempt to bring the more dynamic Fonken+woof system closer to Tysen in those places where Tysen has an edge.

We also have parts for the MJK baffle variation.

dave

[chuyler1]

As much as I like the extra top end of the FF85K, I can listen for much longer on my FE126eNs. I know I need to eNable the 85 for a true comparison but for pure listening enjoyment I just love the 126.