Some FR measurements of the new FE166En

[Bob Brines]

I've been working on a new MLTL cabinet for the FE166En since the FE167E went away and the 166 needs a smaller cabinet. I took the following at 0.5m in a large garage. Usually, I normalize all of the different angles to 1000Hz, but that did not fit what I was seeing, so I simple spliced at 500Hz. The bottom end below 250Hz is combined nearfield driver and port. I scaled the whole thing to match calculated SPL, so take absolute SPL with a grain of salt. All plots were smoothed 1/6 octave. (For those of you who insist that detail is lost in the smoothing, I added the raw plots.)

Above 500Hz, my on-axis plot agrees favorably with the Fostex factory plot. The 5* and 10* plots are darn near flat from 3kHz to above 15kHz. My first impressions of the 166En were that this is a very smooth sounding driver. I can see why. No peaks 5-7kHz and some 3dB of BBC dip.

So, for your enjoyment:

[GM]

Dips at ~2,4,8 kHz, what more can one with tinnitus want, he asks rhetorically?

GM

[Scottmoose]

Nice. Cheers for that Bob.

[Bob Brines]

Originally Posted by GM

Dips at ~2,4,8 kHz, what more can one with tinnitus want, he asks rhetorically?

GM

An where is my tinnitus? 8kHz.

Bob

[hm]

Hello,
thanks Bob.

[Parasonic]

Originally Posted by GM

Dips at ~2,4,8 kHz, what more can one with tinnitus want, he asks rhetorically?

GM

Ha Ha that hits home, GM

Bob, thanks for the info. I was considering a project with the FE167E, but as you said, it's not available (why am I always a day late and a $ short?)-anyways look forward to trying this new driver

Terry

[jazzclassics]

hi Bob, very informative and useful, thank you. could you also make some subjective comments on this driver?

[Godzilla]

Might it sound any better enabled? Thanks for posting your measurements. Looks like a promising driver!

[GM]

Hmm, as smooth as it measures and BB says it sounds, damping its little spikes runs the risk of raising any perceived sibilance at the expense of critical mids 'life', so doesn't seem like a good plan to me.

GM

[Bob Brines]

Originally Posted by jazzclassics

hi Bob, very informative and useful, thank you. could you also make some subjective comments on this driver?

Quite frankly, the FE166En's have been in boxes ever since the FF165WK's hit the street. Not that the FE166En is not a good driver, just that the FF165WK sounds good to my ears and is more suitable for the cabinet I prefer.

Bob