Abby Upgrade?

[bfrank1972]

I have a pair of Abbys with somewhat mangled whizzer cones (friend of my wife's daugher couldn't resist) - they still sound ok but I'm thinking about replacing the FE166E's... then I got to thinking about upgrading them to Super Abby's (FF165K's plus a rear firing super tweeter). I'm not sure I want to initially 'commit' to cuttign a hole in the back of my Abbys so:

1) For those of you that have heard both, are the Super Abby's that much better than the Abby's? Worth attempting a upgrade?

2) Any suggestions/tips on how to approach a 'temporary' rear firing tweeter setup to see if I like (before cutting)? Also I know the FT96H is used in the Super Abby's, but any suggestions for other units (preferrably a bit cheaper)? Finally what is the recommended crossover capacitor for this setup?

Many thanks in advance,
Brad

[InclinedPlane]

Fostex has top mount horn tweets that you can just set on top of the cabinet They are expensive and have outrageous sensitivity, so padding would be required.

[planet10]

I have given a head's up to a friend who has had FE166, FF165, and FF165KeN in his Abbys. Hopefully he will chime in.

dave

[mp9]

my guess is that since the fostex tweeter doesn't need the internal volume of the cabinet all you need to do is find a way to mount it outside of the rear wall to get a idea of what it'll do.
i'd think a small box to house the tweeter attached by two wood screws should do. or you could secure it to a tripod to hold it in place behind the speaker, then no alterations are needed to the abby's. if you attach hook up wire with clips instead of solder and put small nylon or rubber washers on the screws so as not to scratch the flange holes they'll still be in new condition to send them back to one of the retailers with decent return policies if you don't like them.

iirc, the different drivers were intended for near field placement in small rooms vs placement in larger rooms, not that one was better than the other. my local hifi shop community audio had a pair in the window, don't remember which version and i haven't gotten around to stopping in for a listen. he has a great auditioning room behind the store front but i feel odd hanging around asking to hear this and that because i'm a diy guy and not likely to purchase anything.
only real drive upgrade i can think of would be the out of production limited edition fe166es-r if you can find a pair.

[Scottmoose]

Not really, I remember Terry himself advised not trying the ES-R in the Abby.

There were originally two versions of the Abby; the regular, with the FE166E, and the Nearfield, with the FF165K. The latter has less linear displacement (although it doesn't actually sound like it in practice), a somewhat lower Fo, & no whizzer. Dispersion is better than the 166, & it doesn't get up quite as high, making it a smoother sounding device generally, so better suited to smaller spaces. That ended up as the starting point for the Super Abby, with the additional rearward-firing tweeter to make up for the 165 not getting up quite as high as the stock 166. From that point, I think the basic Nearfield model (sans supertweeter) faded away, leaving the stock Abby with the 166 & Super Abby in place. Of course, Terry was increasingly ill, so the Cain & Cain range never ended up being perfectly cohesive.

[mp9]

Originally Posted by Scottmoose

Not really, I remember Terry himself advised not trying the ES-R in the Abby.

i could be mistaken but i definitely remember a speaker/166es-r option on the c&c website around the time before and or after madisound got the drivers, however now that you mention this it could've been a option or special order version of the double mouthed horn/fe108ez.

[pjanda1]

As mp9 said, there is no reason you'd have to cut a hole for the supertweeter. Even a shelf would only require a pair of screw holes that would be practically invisible. If you buy the FT96, I'd make is secure even if it is temporary! If the FR driver cutout is the same size, you may as well try it.

Paul
Wild Burro Audio Labs - DIY Full Range Speakers

[bfrank1972]

Thanks for the advice guys - there are two reasons I'm thinking of replacing my current FE166E with the FF165K

1) I notice the FE166E 'shoutyness' that some people refer to. It's not bad and only on certain tracks, but it is there and I'd like to get rid of it. I'm wondering if it has to do with the whizzer cone - which is currently intact but somewhat mangled looking.

2) To be completely honest, the FF165K is better if you have curious kids coming over to your house. My two daughters have complete respect for my audio gear, but other kids (and some parents for that matter) don't really understand the delicacy of certain things

Maybe I'll just try 'rolling' with the FF165K, see if the high end is enough for my room, and then add the tweeter later if I think it needs it. Only problem with trying this stuff is these drivers take so long to break in!

[chrisb]

Something else to be careful with is that the rear mounted T-nuts Terry used on the supra-baffles can come loose, and be rather a pain to deal with.

The same chap that Dave mentioned a few posts ago (Frank) had owned a pair of Abbys and tried both drivers. I managed to get a few sessions of listening, with IIRC never more power than Bottlehead Paramours or Vaughn Audio Carina - personally, I favored the FF165K, particularly with the Carina in Ultra-linear mode.

If it were me, the first thing I'd do is to swap out the T-Nuts for externally threaded insert fittings - one loose T-nut can spoil your fun for sure.

[Scottmoose]

Bloody hell, I'm amazed Terry would have allowed T-nuts to be used for the suprabaffle. For a bloke who really was a heck of a cabinet maker, that seems a bit of a fudge.