I can remember running FE126E in FH1 and FH3 with DHTs such as Botttlehead Paramours (2A3), George Wright 300B, at least 3 different EL84 triode configurations, and there was certainly something seductive about the combinations. Might even have tried the original the original monoblock ACAs?
Jumping in - had these for about 8 months, at least a thousand or two hours on them. Often turned on before 8AM and playing music, then TV/movies thru the evening. Swap between these and a large pair of towers as the mood strikes me.
They sound 'fine' with a McIntosh MA7900 (200W/channel integrated), but they LOVE getting power from a MC275. Better, tighter, lower bass being the big change. With either amp, it is scary how big and effortless they sound when you consider how tiny the cone, voice coil are. Even getting pretty aggressive with the power, never heard anything distort (obviously being careful, knowing these drivers are not designed for abuse like a dedicated woofer). No surprise the bass is the limiting factor, but more fun to see what they can do vs. what they cannot.
Same comment on break-in, and I am generally skeptical of break-in (but less so on speakers). These don't sound good at first, mainly a lack of bass and just not 'right'. Just keep playing them and they will come into their own. I was shocked how much they changed. Also wonder if some of this was the cabinets drying out sitting inside my house for weeks and months (less moisture, more resonance?)
Have a Decware UFO2 that was ordered in October that is just going into production (maybe a month out), and very excited to try it out on this. Also have my unassembled ACA (waiting to finish a Bottlehead Reduction build first) as well. So yeah, 4 amps, all totally different, and I am going to have a blast swapping them in and out and seeing what I like the most.
They sound 'fine' with a McIntosh MA7900 (200W/channel integrated), but they LOVE getting power from a MC275. Better, tighter, lower bass being the big change. With either amp, it is scary how big and effortless they sound when you consider how tiny the cone, voice coil are. Even getting pretty aggressive with the power, never heard anything distort (obviously being careful, knowing these drivers are not designed for abuse like a dedicated woofer). No surprise the bass is the limiting factor, but more fun to see what they can do vs. what they cannot.
Same comment on break-in, and I am generally skeptical of break-in (but less so on speakers). These don't sound good at first, mainly a lack of bass and just not 'right'. Just keep playing them and they will come into their own. I was shocked how much they changed. Also wonder if some of this was the cabinets drying out sitting inside my house for weeks and months (less moisture, more resonance?)
Have a Decware UFO2 that was ordered in October that is just going into production (maybe a month out), and very excited to try it out on this. Also have my unassembled ACA (waiting to finish a Bottlehead Reduction build first) as well. So yeah, 4 amps, all totally different, and I am going to have a blast swapping them in and out and seeing what I like the most.
I have them with the FE108EZ sigmas. I got the drivers secondhand, so I don't expect break in is relevant to my situation. I power them with Elekit TU-8200. At first I thought they sounded small, so as an experiment, I added a low-cost Dayton subwoofer. Even though I've long avoided subwoofers, I like this combination. I have a recently completed ACA and Klipsch RP-600M sitting there as well and have been moving the banana plugs around a lot between these. I think I like the ACA+Klipsch and Elekit+Fostex pairings best. It's hard to choose between the pairings themselves, but fortunately, I don't have to at the moment. At some point in the future, I'll move one system or sell something.
Well, I have really tried hard to like these speakers but they just don't fit. Too bad because my wife likes the retro look of these. Anyone in the area interested in these can have them for $1.
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Ha Ha! This is tempting, but where are you? I am in Ottawa... Not that I need more full range speakers, see below... Although they make great birthday presents!
--Christian
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I recently picked up a madisound BK12M kit with the FE126En drivers from a friend and built them up. They're exiled to the garage while the varnish finishes de-gassing, though I did bring them in to play on my main system briefly. They are quite shouty, especially with 90's rock (Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead), and they are so whether played by an ACA, an ACA mini, or an F3 clone. I do hope they mellow out with break-in. Was toying with adding a Zobel network or notch filter but I guess I'll hold off until the 200-hour break-in period is done.
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Thanks Dave. The F3 clone should be close with a DF of 6 / Rout of 1.33, in the mean time the garage ACA in stereo with a DF of 10 will have to do. I really don't want to spend $350 upgrading the drivers. If I ever get a tube amp to play with, I suspect these will pair nicely.
I will add, with a current source amplifier like and F1-J, these speakers get a little bit magical. My truth serum for music reproduction is vinyl, as that medium to me is somewhat narrow and compressed into the midrange by nature and does not tolerate odd coloration or missing information well. The F1-J driving the BK12m's seems to bring up the bass and the treble without either distorting or coloring the midrange (that's left to the drivers), and adds tons of detail in the process, like a precision. Not to mention the soundstage / phase accuracy and dynamics which come from a full-range driver. Really a 'rock' equalization' without any artificial attenuation or gimmicks, just a transfer function that dials things up where they were missing. Potentially muddy records like Pearl Jam's Binaural really clean up and grow a pair. I'm a fan!!
