FrugelHorn build with Fostex 127e

[hybridfiat]

This may have been covered but I cant find any threads that give a builders experiences and opinions of the final sound.
If there is a thread or post can you direct me or if you have experience of the frugelhorn with or without the suprabaffle Id apreciate any opinion or advice.

Ive started by preparing some thick veneered panels using heavy ply and local Marri timber. The suprabaffle will be 2" thick figured jarrah (crotch cut).
Iv got to decide whether to go the frugelhorn route or a simpler folded design like the Fonken. Ive only got a week to get them ready for a local environmental awareness display. They utilise salvaged timber sourced from local clearing of bush for road widening and housing.
Any thought??

[Scottmoose]

Well, at the risk of pointing out the obvious, the FH was designed with the FE126E (& FE108ESigma) primarily in mind; if you're using the 127, you'll probably need to spend some time playing with the back-chamber volume, throat area & damping.

[hybridfiat]

Hmmmmmmmmm Good point.
What to do now?
Give in and do a tried and tested cabinet? Any suggestions?

[loninappleton]

Reusing stuff for this demo is a good idea. And an application of what is described as Caveman audio: the best audio using minimal material expense.

The BIB goes together quickly, is relatively easy to explain to the interested and the design shows how much a small well crafted speaker can do. And it's been widely built-- I have them myself.

[chrisb]

hybrid:

as Scott notes, the FE127E is poorly suited to the FH, or any BLH type enclosure

Lon's suggestion of the BIB would certainly make for a quick build that yields impressive sound from a small driver, but the enclosures aren't particularly portable.

It ain't no secret that I'm familiar with the Fonken family, and that the "Prime" is a particular favorite of mine, but it's not a quick build. For a very compact enclosure that can be a quick build still yields very satisfying sound from the FE127E, I'd suggest you consider another option:

http://homepage.mac.com/tlinespeaker...-0v999-map.pdf




Out of curiosity, what type of amp will be driving these? If they will be demoed at an environmental awareness display, I'd be inclined to think that a high efficiency digital amp would dovetail nicely. While my thermionic proclivities are no less secret than my general affection for Fostex drivers, from personal experience, it's easy to endorse something like a 20W or so Class T or DIY chip amp. I've used Kingrex T-20 & T20U driven directly from a lap-top or desktop PC to great success with this design.

[loninappleton]

Regards BIB portability. Yeah, I've equated it with dancing with a dump truck. Not many peeps remember Rod McKuen, but he did come up with some good ones I can't take credit for.

Also I'm using the Dayton DTA-1 t-amp with the computer to get a classical music feed.
The Dayton t-amp handles it fine and is very portable.

And for recycling and hacking I've used a method seen on these forums for a down and dirty setup: hacking a boom box. The small amps in a 3 watt boom box make
high efficiency speakers sing. No one was more surprised than me. The boom box has to be cut into where the speaks are. Most BB's don't have any installed. You have a week to get lucky on a dumpster dive. I also keep an eye on Freecycle-- the local free exchange of cast-offs. Find one near you:

The Freecycle Network

[planet10]

Josh built a set of Frugel-Horn with FE127. He used standard air cavity and was not unpleased with them.

Still, i'd tend towards one of the dedicated designs. There are LOTs to choose from. FonkenPrime is still my favorite (but we haven't nearly built them all), and a pr mFonken convieniently fits into an old Macintosh 128/512 MacSack so we use those for portable demos. Also small enuff that one could (with proper care) successfully make them from solid. I have one associate planning on making a granite pair.

dave

dave

[hybridfiat]

Thank you for your replies.
Sorry it takes so long to respond, different time zone (Western Australia).
Different language too it seems..."dumpster dive" ?
I think that Ill go with chrisb's suggestion of the Fonken given the time constraints.
As for the amp I can use either a Tripath amp (41Hz AMP6) or a Peter Daniels LM4780 dual mono or one of his LM3875s. All are in enclosures made with scavanged materials.
I havent got a shot of the LM3875 but the toroid is encased in a box made of chestnut (from a freinds garden and the amp is in an aluminium enclosure constructed from the rear panels of burnt out power units found in a skip at work.
The LM4780 is in an enclosure built from 12mm thick aluminium found in a skip and Jarrah burl found on a fallen tree branch near to my house.

The 41Hz amp6 is in an enclosure made from sheoak I milled myself from trees fallen in the local wood cutting area.

[chrisb]

Originally Posted by hybridfiat

Thank you for your replies.
Sorry it takes so long to respond, different time zone (Western Australia).
Different language too it seems..."dumpster dive" ?
I think that Ill go with chrisb's suggestion of the Fonken given the time constraints.
As for the amp I can use either a Tripath amp (41Hz AMP6) or a Peter Daniels LM4780 dual mono or one of his LM3875s. All are in enclosures made with scavanged materials.
I havent got a shot of the LM3875 but the toroid is encased in a box made of chestnut (from a freinds garden and the amp is in an aluminium enclosure constructed from the rear panels of burnt out power units found in a skip at work.
The LM4780 is in an enclosure built from 12mm thick aluminium found in a skip and Jarrah burl found on a fallen tree branch near to my house.

The 41Hz amp6 is in an enclosure made from sheoak I milled myself from trees fallen in the local wood cutting area.

that's the spirit - my money's on the PD 4780 dual mono's to kick most serious a$$ with whichever enclosure you finally decide.

the little mFonken boxes could certainly be fabricated from reclaimed solid lumber at next to no cost, although depending on the temp and humidity variations of your local climate, how long they'd retain integrity is another matter.


BTW "dumpster" is probably similar to your "skip" - (so for the alliteratively inclined, that'd be diving and surfing? - i.e. "reclaiming" from cast-offs)

[hybridfiat]

I agree about the PDs they make any speaker sing. Ive got the advantage now of being able to compare at least 6 different amps to the other and the little tripaths despite the suprisingly good reproduction cannot stand against the gainclones. Even after a couple of components have been upgraded (Nichicon Muse caps).

The timber is 16mm thick laminated to 12mm marine ply using K36 epoxy.
Not likely to delaminate or move I think. I wouldnt use solid timber to make big speakers but the small boxes dont seem to as fussy.
I live in Perth, someone once said of the weather "Perth has the climate that California thinks it has".