Help: which 166/7/8 enclosure for tube amp ?

[Bigun]

It's been awhile since I built a speaker and I'm a bit out of date on things,

My amp is a low power SET (6A3 tubes, expect 2-3W) and I want some speakers that will be sensitive enough for regular listening (not looking to recreate a rock concert) in an average Canadian living room.

My last project were FE127's in Onken enclosures. They were too 'bright' so I had to add some BSC and now they sound good, perhaps not as lively as I'd like so the BSC maybe overdone. I want something larger with more sensitivity and still a full-range driver.

I figure that a larger driver would give higher sensitivity (e.g. >95dB). I want to avoid the need for a tweeter so I believe I should not be going above a 6.5" driver. Hence the Fostex 166/7/8.

1) Is this thinking correct - is this a good driver choice ?

1) Which of these drivers does Fostex still make ?

2) What kind of enclosure is recommended e.g. Fonken167 / BVR (Chang?) / Back loaded horn (Hiro?) ?

Thanks in advance !

[chrisb]

Originally Posted by Bigun

It's been awhile since I built a speaker and I'm a bit out of date on things,

My amp is a low power SET (6A3 tubes, expect 2-3W) and I want some speakers that will be sensitive enough for regular listening (not looking to recreate a rock concert) in an average Canadian living room.

My last project were FE127's in Onken enclosures. They were too 'bright' so I had to add some BSC and now they sound good, perhaps not as lively as I'd like so the BSC maybe overdone. I want something larger with more sensitivity and still a full-range driver.

I figure that a larger driver would give higher sensitivity (e.g. >95dB). I want to avoid the need for a tweeter so I believe I should not be going above a 6.5" driver. Hence the Fostex 166/7/8.

1) Is this thinking correct - is this a good driver choice ?

of course - any would likely be satisfying; depending on the physical space available you may or not be limited to enclosure style / dimensions *

1) Which of these drivers does Fostex still make ?

while there still may be some FE167Es stashed away in basement labs undergoing polka-dot quarantine, for now Fostex is still manufacturing the new FE166E and FE168EZ

2) What kind of enclosure is recommended e.g. Fonken167 / BVR (Chang?) / Back loaded horn (Hiro?) ?

see * above

after building more than a few each of many types, I'd opine that even though some of MLTL /BIB or BVR will be larger boxes, they'd be a less time consuming and fiddly build than the floorstanding Fonken for 167

Thanks in advance !

[Bigun]

Thanks Chris - I'd really value your opinion on how you perceive the differences in sound (if such a thing can be described) between these enclosure types ?

Which builds represent the 'best' of each class (e.g. for BVR which box appears to have the strongest following for 166/8 - I prefer to use currently available drivers) ?

p.s. I'm not concerned about the complexity of the build, I very much enjoyed building the Moon Onkens.

[Tom V]

This may be of interest (uses the Fostex 166E):

Arpeggio Loudspeaker

[planet10]

FE166En will go into Hiro, Austin A166, Valiant (think next gen Hiro), or a design requiring a dedicated woofer such as Arpeggio (would probably require some change for the new driver), or the doc bottlehead scheme which is somewhat similar but not as well documented.

dave

[Bigun]

Tom, That's a great article to read, explains things clearly. Shows with simple math the cold hard truth.

Unfortunately, I just don't like the appearance of this design, aesthetically.

Edit: Dave, just saw your post.... I'm studying the Spawn Family....says this web page is being updated soon, can you say when ?

[planet10]

Continuously... a major update on the plans page was done a bit ago... the intro page is behind.

dave

[doorman]

The 167's (eNABled, of course!) in the Fonken floorstanders are very fine, IMHO.
The bass is way more taut and better integrated than a previous MLTL cab using the same drivers, albeit not treated.
I also heard the "Demetri's" at Dave's, and remember thinking the bass was better controlled than the said MLTL's
Have Fun!
Don

[planet10]

Originally Posted by doorman

The 167's (eNABled, of course!) in the Fonken floorstanders are very fine, IMHO.

Jeff is going to be building a pair as big standmounts...

dave