got a good pair of Fostex FE206E and need some help for amp choice

[Trileru]

Hi all. I am really happy as I am starting my first (real) diy project. Been trying to make a el84 pp tube amp but failed from my lack of know-how in the world of electronics. Didn't have the money for a nice kit and time and ... anyway... I just got a good pair of Fostex FE206E, very good shape, and I am looking for a matching discrete amp, somewhere in the 40-70W per channel range with very good sound quality that matches the sensitive speakers. As well I am looking for a good functional speaker box to build. Is the one recommended by Fostex any good compared with the more advanced designs out there? I must say that my listening room is about 4x10 meters with a 2.5 meters height. I am looking for an amp kit, or pcb only and a good list of parts as I will source them in time. My soldering skills are decent to say at best So any info on amp and speaker box is welcome. I would not incline towards a chip amp, at least not yet, maybe later. Thank you in advance

[Ty_Bower]

Originally Posted by Trileru

Been trying to make a el84 pp tube amp... I just got a good pair of Fostex FE206E... Is the one recommended by Fostex any good?

The 206e has a light cone, a lot of motor, and a very low Q. To me, it implies a horn loaded enclosure, though I think the Fostex factory enclosures are typically not highly recommended. Maybe try looking through Planet 10's "spawn" plans, and see if any of them look within your woodworking capabilities.

I'd encourage you not to give up on the EL84 amp. Look to the Dynaco Stereo 35 schematics for inspiration. Consider replacing the awkward 12DW7 (7247) tube with half a 12AX7 and half a 12AU7. Suitable transformers can be purchased for well under $200, at least in the US. If you can afford a pair of 206e, a Stereo 35 clone should be within your reach.

edit: I just looked through Planet 10's site, and the only suitable box I found for the 206e was Sachiko. Somehow I thought there were more. Anyway, Sachiko is quite a formidable piece of cabinetry. However, if you are up to it I doubt you will be disappointed with the results.

[Trileru]

Thank you for the reply
I will eventually build a tube amp, but I'd do it now only with a kit. Something like the ones here:
http://www.enovaz.it/categorie-1453/...ari-Hi-Fi.aspx
Eventually with a chassis as well included in the kit. Dangerous voltages there, and had about 5-6 shocks while working on my initial project, 300V is not very motivational so I prefer to leave tubes for later on.
First I'd build some chassis tinkering experience with safe voltages.
Would something like this work?
Lm60 - Lateral Mosfet Power Amplifier Kit by AmpsLab
Seems like a good project, even better if I could source the parts myself. I am waiting on your experience on the quality of these diy kits, I searched the forum for a couple of days but I see many examples and different opinions so I am asking for my current speaker/room size setup, an easy diy kit with easy obtainable quality and not so expensive parts. Power range 50-70W or so. Not more

[Trileru]

Originally Posted by Ty_Bower

The 206e has a light cone, a lot of motor, and a very low Q. To me, it implies a horn loaded enclosure, though I think the Fostex factory enclosures are typically not highly recommended. Maybe try looking through Planet 10's "spawn" plans, and see if any of them look within your woodworking capabilities.

I'd encourage you not to give up on the EL84 amp. Look to the Dynaco Stereo 35 schematics for inspiration. Consider replacing the awkward 12DW7 (7247) tube with half a 12AX7 and half a 12AU7. Suitable transformers can be purchased for well under $200, at least in the US. If you can afford a pair of 206e, a Stereo 35 clone should be within your reach.

edit: I just looked through Planet 10's site, and the only suitable box I found for the 206e was Sachiko. Somehow I thought there were more. Anyway, Sachiko is quite a formidable piece of cabinetry. However, if you are up to it I doubt you will be disappointed with the results.

The Sachiko are quite large, I won't go that way for sure

[planet10]

Originally Posted by Ty_Bower

edit: I just looked through Planet 10's site, and the only suitable box I found for the 206e was Sachiko

And the Dallas II. A harder build but less tall.

dave

[planet10]

40-70 watts is WAY more power than needed. The most synergetic amps tend to be single-ended, and run 2-10W for tubes or SS.

dave

[GM]

To keep cab net Vb reasonable, this driver 'wants' a very high output impedance tube amp [preferably in the form of a variable DF bass tone control] to allow an Fs tuning with a cab net Vb around 38 L. Otherwise it takes a significant amount of EQ which eats up efficiency if not corner loaded.

GM

[Trileru]

Originally Posted by GM

To keep cab net Vb reasonable, this driver 'wants' a very high output impedance tube amp [preferably in the form of a variable DF bass tone control] to allow an Fs tuning with a cab net Vb around 38 L. Otherwise it takes a significant amount of EQ which eats up efficiency if not corner loaded.

GM

Can you recommend a kit for that? At least an obtainable pcb with a complete part list? I lost interest in my first project as I had to struggle to get the schematic right, let alone begin to build it. Did a lot of tries and utterly abandoned it.
About the box, I really like the Dallas 2 design, seems to fit perfectly in my room. I can do that box, especially if it doesn't require rounded wood. Can anyone tell me if the attached plans has the notations in cm or inches? In inches seems to be way too large.

[tubemax]

Hi, in my opinion EL84 tube is too much " forward " sounding - especially in combination with raw driver such as FE206E. I think only good box for this speaker is good big horn to gain as much as possible low-end to balance rest of the freq. spectrum properly.
FE206E is not a good match with bass-reflex box ( VERY thin sounding in 45L. BR box ) - maybe a bit better with MLTL...
On other hand, a 6V6, 6L6 or even ECL86 tube in triode mode will do a better job being softer sounding than EL84.

Max

[Trileru]

thx, but still looking for a solid state. I will consider this after I build what I'm looking for right now.