My choices are Fostex F200 A, Lowthwer PM6A 16 ohm silver VC, and the Audio Nirvana drivers. I have not had a pair of Alnico AN's to EnABL yet, but the ceramic magnet items from 8" to 15" are just sensational. They are very good without the spots too. Lot's of downward dynamics except for those portions of the FR where they aren't.
Bud
Bud
So how did the Fostex sound?
Not very impressive manufacture graph... Even for Fostex
compared to other fostex?
or lowther/feastrex?
i still find the 138 hard to describe--
very out of the fostex "family sound" though.
i like it a lot better than a 166 or 126en (after trying in same room; system, trying to make each sound it's best).
closer to the f120a "f****** disaster" maybe, but a step up from there, and workable...
it doesn't have a thin, brittle, papery sound, some tone, but does take some power to get it out.
my ears (and a few others) say the freq resp graph is right though...
the highs are pretty tilted, and there are two resonate peaks.
crossing to a nice ribbon tweeter takes care of that though, and gives great highs. used leap, and good crossover components, and no one has yet been able to hear the crossover. you can sure hear it by-passed though...
Lowther was thinner, but clearer, more detailed in mids, and peakier in highs. (as bad as 138, but in different places).
Feastrex had smoother mids, but less lows and highs.
Best balance, tone overall, (and cost as much as everything else put together).
I found the highs a little rough on all in the 138/lowther/feastrex listening,
could be the amp, etc (j2, silver wiring)...
an another type, Hartley
Anyone have an experience with these:
Hartley Main Page
Current Products
It's 10in full range. No sacrifice on the bass!
but I'm gonna try the Audio Nervana next, cost wise is a very good value.
Anyone have an experience with these:
Hartley Main Page
Current Products
It's 10in full range. No sacrifice on the bass!
but I'm gonna try the Audio Nervana next, cost wise is a very good value.
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That 15 inch is an amazing driver. I EnABL'd it for guitar amplifier work, at the request of someone who wants an ultimate music machine. When the two drivers arrived I was impressed with their clarity, but they suffered the same emissions problems that every 15" driver I have heard suffered from, lack of agility and noisy rumbling for bass. The units I treated were the whizzer cone with phase plug models.
The whizzer is unusual in that it is a horn throat and extends back into the voice coil area, rather than just being glued to the end of the VC. This and a properly designed phase plug provide very very good mids and highs, lots of downward dynamic coherence, messed up by the usual narrow resonance nodes. This is, along with the other two sizes I have dealt with, the best whizzer / phase plug I have encountered.
Once treated the resonance nodes were dispersed and the woofer quit rumbling. They were suddenly very agile, extremely coherent and inviting to listen to, for audio reproduction. For guitar they were capable of a really fine portrayal of everything a Line six DSP amplifier could produce.
I did not mount them in a baffle of any kind, but being as large as they are they provided a very enticing warmth, wide dispersion, and at least a 100 db wide, coherent, information portrayal. Really, just awesome devices.
Bud
The whizzer is unusual in that it is a horn throat and extends back into the voice coil area, rather than just being glued to the end of the VC. This and a properly designed phase plug provide very very good mids and highs, lots of downward dynamic coherence, messed up by the usual narrow resonance nodes. This is, along with the other two sizes I have dealt with, the best whizzer / phase plug I have encountered.
Once treated the resonance nodes were dispersed and the woofer quit rumbling. They were suddenly very agile, extremely coherent and inviting to listen to, for audio reproduction. For guitar they were capable of a really fine portrayal of everything a Line six DSP amplifier could produce.
I did not mount them in a baffle of any kind, but being as large as they are they provided a very enticing warmth, wide dispersion, and at least a 100 db wide, coherent, information portrayal. Really, just awesome devices.
Bud
Yes, the financial consideration,
Those 220 msg Hartley's are $500 usd each. I have not heard them yet, but they are manufactured 1 hours drive south of me.
Also, it appears to have a 1+ month lead time. Hartley has been in the business for quite some time. He appears to have well honed technology, but I need to hear them!
Those 220 msg Hartley's are $500 usd each. I have not heard them yet, but they are manufactured 1 hours drive south of me.
Also, it appears to have a 1+ month lead time. Hartley has been in the business for quite some time. He appears to have well honed technology, but I need to hear them!
Were those all cast basket. I have only been exposed to the stamped basket 10 & 12 and was quite underwhelmed by them.
dave
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