F200a in BIB???

[tripathdude]

I am building a music studio in one of my bedrooms which is 11x12 with 8 foot ceilings with hard wood floors. The room will be treated with corner bass traps using cotton insulation.

The instruments in the room will be a harp and violin with a MIDI controller for the piano. I am going to use quantum leap pianos with the controller through the speakers. The music will mainly be acoustic instrument samples and internet radio in the background. These speakers need to be as close to the corners as possible.

I was thinking of using Fostex F200a in a BIB, but no one has done it seems. I am looking for a setup that will give the same bass as a B20 in a half chang, but with more detail. Speakers need to be forgiving of harsh recordings.

Setup will be EMU 0404-Sabre DAC- Promethius Tube Buffer-Tripath TK2050 amps.

[Godzilla]

>>> I am looking for a setup that will give the same bass as a B20 in a half chang, but with more detail.

I think this will be a great option for you!

Below are the original dims for this driver in a BIB. Open the BIB calculator and see what the latest math gives you. It looks to be one of the slimmer BIBs. I think it will have an elegant look and make an amazing sound in your space.

BIB Calculator - Bigger Is Better Loudspeaker Design

Fostex FX120 and F120a
L = (Line length) 120"
Zdriver = Driver 24" down from sealed end of cabinet
Sm = 50"^2

[chris661]

As a thought,

I've found my Fostex FE126eNs to be quite unforgiving of recordings. They certainly show up all of MP3s defects (including 320k)... I'm not sure Fostex would be the way to go.

Anyone with opinions on this?

[tripathdude]

It seems if the fostex are enabl, it turns them into a completely different animal. I plan on enabling whatever driver I get. The f200a are expensive, but I am looking at a one driver solution for purity of sound. The costs of adding bass drivers plus the plate amps drives the price to almost as much.

It is hard to believe that the 120a can go as low in the bass as the Pioneer B20s with a different cabinet. Do you think the 200a would give too much bass in a BIB?

[chris661]

Apparently so. Still, Fostex drivers are considered to be very detailed. Give them a good recording, they sound good. But, as the old saying goes... Crap in, crap out.

Edit - still, if the primary purpose will be playback of decent quality recordings, then by all means go ahead.

[Crossblade]

To be forgiving ?
Shouldn't the Studio Monitor SHOW how a recording sounds, so you can make it sound GOOD?

Why did you choose F200? I guess it is a good driver, but ... are you sure you want IT exactly.

As an alternative, I would suggest Mark Audio Alpair 12.

Make sure to make good acoustic treatment with lots of bass traps (12 corners) and early reflections (2 sidewalls, ceiling and floor) panels.

[tripathdude]

It is hard to know what I want without listening to the driver first. It seems the f200a gives the lowest frequency range down to 30hz. The Mark Audio driver seems interesting, but how low does it go and has it been enabled yet to see the outcome?

[tripathdude]

It looks like parts-express has a good return policy. Madisound seems more picky about their return policy. I could buy the new Dayton PS22-8 or the Tang Band 1772 drivers to try out. It looks like if I buy the F200a, I am stuck with it. Would the 1772 or the 1808 work better in a BIB?

[ChrisA]

Originally Posted by tripathdude

It is hard to know what I want without listening to the driver first. It seems the f200a gives the lowest frequency range down to 30hz. The Mark Audio driver seems interesting, but how low does it go and has it been enabled yet to see the outcome?

30Hz? I thought these speakers were to be used music that you record. If you have a piano. harp and violin you really do need 30Hz speakers. Yes pianos technically can produce 21Hz but but even a 9 foot concert grand has string long enough and what you hear are second and higher harmonics. Bottom line is there is not much in your sorce below about 40Hz.

HiFi stereo is different. You naver knowwhat CD you might buy and there might be an acoustic bass or drum on it. But if you know for sure you only can play three instruments you best option is to buy three speakers systems, one for each instrument.

general HiFi is hard but you should be able to take advantage of knowing you ONLY need to reproduce the sound of a violin. You are building a musical instrument speaker that only has to do one thing well

[tripathdude]

I am going to have an acoustic harp and violin in the room. The only thing I am using my speakers for is to reproduce real piano. One of the pianos is an Bosendorfer piano that goes an extra octave below an 88 key piano.