Could you be a bit more specific as to the purpose of "attaching a pair of drivers to the front baffle"? (sic) and proposed type, etc?
The FH3 design was planned from the outset to be flexible enough to accommodate any of numerous drivers in the nominal 3-4" size, and with either the addition of separate "supra-baffle" to allow for swapping of different drivers, or very clever machining, models as large as the TB W5 1611 have been shoe-horned in. For that matter, there's no reason that a simple 2-way couldn't be fit as well.
The FH3 design was planned from the outset to be flexible enough to accommodate any of numerous drivers in the nominal 3-4" size, and with either the addition of separate "supra-baffle" to allow for swapping of different drivers, or very clever machining, models as large as the TB W5 1611 have been shoe-horned in. For that matter, there's no reason that a simple 2-way couldn't be fit as well.
You could swap out the drivers for one of the Mark Audio offerings, but you may not actually have "more" volume compared to the 126's. They won't be as "shouty" thou.
Or you could build the slightly larger FHXL with the new A10p driver, for more volume and no shout.
jeff
I have been thinking along those lines too. I hear good things about the alpair 7a, but not sure if they also have some downsides compared to the Fostex.
The FH3 was originally envisioned for a single driver - while duals of much smaller units might well work (FF85WK, any of several small TangBands, etc), I think the frame size of the A7 would preclude a pair from fitting close enough for the acoustic center to align at the correct point in the tapped horn.
A single A7 in the FH3 works very well. To expand on what Jeff mentioned earlier, the rated sensitivity of these two drivers can be a bit misleading in terms of the effective perceived loudness - particularly at lower volume levels - and the A7 has substantially more low end torque than the FE126E.
If you're contemplating dual drivers for more output, you might need to consider enclosures purposely designed for same - 2 that I'm familiar with are the Castle Microtower (I've built 2 pairs), and the new FH twin, which came about from the question: "what if you stacked a pair of them?" IMHO, not as elegant as the slanted FH3 or FHXL design, but they certainly work.
Doing so will degrade performance. You will get less bass. If you want to do per box, you'll need to double the FH3 as we did for the CSS MTM. And then there a number of options for dealing with combing.
Plans for these only need a quick qc pass before release. emailme if you want to be 1st.
dave
mikje - re the next get together of VI crazies, it's usually the third or fourth weekend in August
Dave- to early to start planning for #11? BTW, yet another family wedding* to attend this year on the 23rd , if that helps in the scheduling
* 3 or 4 down, and only about another 6 or so to go - my daughter eloped in Costa Rica last year - bless her heart - just Jen, Reid , "preacher" and photographer on the beach - the singular most romantic wedding I've ever not attended - but I digress
Dave- to early to start planning for #11? BTW, yet another family wedding* to attend this year on the 23rd , if that helps in the scheduling
* 3 or 4 down, and only about another 6 or so to go - my daughter eloped in Costa Rica last year - bless her heart - just Jen, Reid , "preacher" and photographer on the beach - the singular most romantic wedding I've ever not attended - but I digress
Thanks Chris. Do you allow fascinated and curious but clueless folks like me? I am liking single driver, full range arrangements more and more. I have some of the Vifa drivers that PE sold for less than $10, so I'm trying to decide how to put them to good use? Shhh.... I have a lot of friends on the Parts-Express forum, and they kind of like crossovers and such
Mike
A little off topic, but when is the next get together for those of you who build and design these types of creations? If it's on Vancouver Island, it'll be about 1400 miles for me, but I'd love to make it to one of these? I have a lot of frequent flyer miles....
The 11th Vancouver Island diyFEST will be mid-late August. We's love to have you. You won't set a record for from farthest away, but it would put you in the top 5. If you are flying in, we can arrange this end of things for you.
We have been encouraging diy get-togethers, they are popping up all over.
dave
Thanks Dave. If it works out for me to be there, I'll touch base with you as August gets closer.
Mike
Thanks Chris. Do you allow fascinated and curious but clueless folks like me? I am liking single driver, full range arrangements more and more. I have some of the Vifa drivers that PE sold for less than $10, so I'm trying to decide how to put them to good use? Shhh.... I have a lot of friends on the Parts-Express forum, and they kind of like crossovers and such
Mike
Almost all the speakers I have built in the Foam Core thread use the Vifa, look in post 1 index to get ideas. The Nautaloss ref monitor is a very nice top for a FAST system. If you want to go full range with only Vifa, I recommend the 0.53x scale Karlsonator.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/223313-foam-core-board-speaker-enclosures.html
I'd say the A7.3 still gives them a run...it depends on what assets you most value. But if efficiency, dyamics, and a bit of bass extention are not to be sacrificed the larger driver wins. A7.3 still has a bit of an edge in mid/top and DDR (and the smaller box)
dave