A Thoroughly confused full-range freshman...

[dagerman]

Hello,
do you know the feeling of reading a lot about a project topic, making a decision for what to build and then doing some more reading, which promptly results in all decisions made prior to be questioned? That's me....

Here's the conundrum in bullet points:
- I built myself a nice little SE tube amp that produces around 6-8 Watt (KT-88).
- I have a choice of either 4 or 8 Ohm speaker impedance.
- I recently heard some full-range speakers (both OB and Horns) using Lowther and other unknown (to me) drivers and I LOVED the sound.
- I don't need wall-shaking bass. A balanced (linear) speaker with very good imaging is what I am after. A disappearing speaker is preferred over disappearing hearing.... ;-)
- I listen to all kinds of music, so some versatility would be nice (whatever that means)
- 'Normal' living room listening environment, roughly 15x25' in size is a good assumption.
- I don't want 'monsters', so a lean appearance would be good, i.e. high is OK, as long as they stay narrow (<15 inches)
- moderate wood-working tools and skills are available
- I want to limit myself to ~$500/pair for the drivers


In my research, I came across the Audio Nirvana, after previously honing in on one of the Fostex drivers.

I've spend hours reading through the posts on both driver brands and feel much less able to make a good decision than before I started reading (which may just be perception on my end...).

The question following this long-winded intro is: Where do I need to start with this? Do I pick a driver and if so, what are the important specs I need to pay attention to (I am not a physicist or audio engineer...)? 8"? 10"? Do I decide on an enclosure type and size and find a suitable driver? The largest I (or should I say the wife) can tolerate have in my LR?

I understand that 'how does it sound?' generates answers that may or may not be valuable, because we all have different things we like to listen to, and we have different hearing and so forth.
I am wondering if there is somebody with a similar setup (standard CD source, low-wattage SE amp, similar requirements) that would be willing to give me a couple of pointers on how to best go about this.

I am not afraid to read and learn, but I need help with the 'recipe'.

Any and all thoughts are gratefully listened to!

Have a good weekend,
Stefan

[picowallspeaker]

well , FRs do confuse you ,'cos they don't or can't reproduce completely well the full audio band , so the brain emphatizes what you have and forgets what is missing !!!!
I would rely more on the Fostex brand because they use rubber surrounds as it allows a more pistonic behavior of the cone , and they don't use many whizzer cones in their production - I think none of them - which could ( and can ) be classified as two-way with mechanical crossover .
But I've heard none of them , and also AN could be a good musical choice ...it all depends of how loud do you like that note played and where you are when listening to music.

[planet10]

Here, let me throw something at you that should help confuse you even more. I feel that the sweet spot for FR drivers is 4-5".

Have you looked at Frugel-Horn Mk3 with Fostex FE126?

dave

[dagerman]

Thanks Dave. Yes, I have followed the whole thread on your flatpacks, too. It all added to the confusion... ;-)

I guess it all comes down to picking something and trying it with the risk of maybe having to change it. I read so many good things about the Audio Nirvana drivers at first and than a whole bunch of rather critical stuff...

I'll keep reading and learning for now, I guess.

[Pano]

The AN drivers are OK, but you can do better. Have a look at the new Seas 8" fullrange, for example. Heck of a driver at a decent price.

[Nelson Pass]

I would just start in somewhere at modest expense, and then progress in
whatever direction you want after you spend the time getting a feel for it.

The best part about open baffles is that all you need is a saber saw to
try things out.

[mashaffer]

My suggestion would be to start with 4" or 5" FR in a sealed chamber with an 8" or 10" helper woofer of slightly higher sensitivity (probably ported) and cross over between the two at around 100Hz to 200Hz (co-incident to the baffle step). I think that ideally you are looking for 3dB or 4dB more output from the woofer for most listening rooms.

This would give you most of the FR magic with good foundation and clarity. You could go with larger FR but that might be trickier. With halfway decent sensitivity your KT-88s should do nicely.

[larryldspkr]

I have a KT88 SE amp driving a pair of Alpair 10.2 fullrange in a 1 cubic ft ported box. My room is 14 X 20 sq. ft, sound is FULLRANGE and can play reasonably loud with a couple watts!

This set up is very satisfying!

Larry

[planet10]

Larry,

1ft^3 is bigger than i'd do the A10.2 vented. 20 lltres is as largw as i'd be willing to go (my freshly designed big box is 17 litre).

dave

[preiter]

Do you want to build 1 ultimate set of speakers and then stop? Or is this the first step in a new hobby?

Unless you are sure this is a one-time thing, I would start with a simple, inexpensive project . By the time you finish that, you will have a much better idea where your interests lie.

Just make sure that if you are using an 8 watt amp, you probably want drivers that are 90dB+ in efficiency.