New addition to my Baby Lab Family - FE103SOL Shrike
Hi Folks,
....I ended up taking 2016 off from building due to a variety of reasons, but in Jan of this year I jumped back in and am psyched to be back at it again!
What better way to re-start then by giving my FF85wk Lance's a baby brother? A good friend gave me a pair of Fostex FE103 SOL's (16 ohm) for which I had to build Scott's Shrike.
They were built with .5" Baltic birch. Before milling, I veneered the sheet of birch with pieces of 1/8" cherry that arrived to me as packing material for an amp I bought.
I love the sheer beauty of the plans and they sound wonderful. I'm using a "3w miniamp with the larger tubes and couldn't be happier. Thank you Scott, et al for all the motivating posts on this site.
Regards,
Mario
Hi Folks,
....I ended up taking 2016 off from building due to a variety of reasons, but in Jan of this year I jumped back in and am psyched to be back at it again!
What better way to re-start then by giving my FF85wk Lance's a baby brother? A good friend gave me a pair of Fostex FE103 SOL's (16 ohm) for which I had to build Scott's Shrike.
They were built with .5" Baltic birch. Before milling, I veneered the sheet of birch with pieces of 1/8" cherry that arrived to me as packing material for an amp I bought.
I love the sheer beauty of the plans and they sound wonderful. I'm using a "3w miniamp with the larger tubes and couldn't be happier. Thank you Scott, et al for all the motivating posts on this site.
Regards,
Mario
Attachments
Chris, yes indeed. We owe a lot to the Professor. 😊
One side of me wants to try the 0.4x Karlsonator, but I've built a Lance using a random driver I have and I like it. I imagine it must be glorious with properly calculated enclosure for the TC9. One is artsy with the K aperture and the other is modern boxy.
If I have to compensate by using the nearest available design, and I am willing to spend time comparing the drivers' parameters, what should I look for? Thanks Chris.
One side of me wants to try the 0.4x Karlsonator, but I've built a Lance using a random driver I have and I like it. I imagine it must be glorious with properly calculated enclosure for the TC9. One is artsy with the K aperture and the other is modern boxy.
If I have to compensate by using the nearest available design, and I am willing to spend time comparing the drivers' parameters, what should I look for? Thanks Chris.
Scottmoose thanks for the reply, I will build the Lance.
I tried using .205 quick connects to temporarily hook up the FF85WK for break in. The quick connects are extremely hard to push on and the crimp connection seems loose.
Am I missing something or is soldering the best way to connect to the drivers? Thanks,
Rick
I tried using .205 quick connects to temporarily hook up the FF85WK for break in. The quick connects are extremely hard to push on and the crimp connection seems loose.
Am I missing something or is soldering the best way to connect to the drivers? Thanks,
Rick
Completed my first build a couple of months ago, Alpair 7.3 into P10 CGR. WOW! I am blown away by the sound, my first expereince of FR speakers and I'm hooked. Huge thankyou to the Planet 10 team for sharing their designs, Thankyou.
So, 2nd project, a pair of TLs are calling me. I'd like to build one of the Baby Labs for my daughter who will soon be leaving the nest to join the real world. As such she will be sharing with groups of people and it is somewhat inevitable that these speakers will be attached to another source and the volume cranked. Looking at the drivers the Aurasound looks a good candidate at its is quoted at 20w RMS, 80w max, so it should survive a fair bashing.
So, Redeye. However its very likely that the speakers will be used in a bookshelf and so the rear vent would be blocked. I dont think its appropriate to mess around with detailed designs but ......I was thinking that if I changed the matrix so the third "column" was the top of the speaker, venting at the front, how would that sound. The TL length would lose 100mm, I'd have to increase the depth of the speaker by 50mm. Or this there an alternative? Thanks for any comments
So, 2nd project, a pair of TLs are calling me. I'd like to build one of the Baby Labs for my daughter who will soon be leaving the nest to join the real world. As such she will be sharing with groups of people and it is somewhat inevitable that these speakers will be attached to another source and the volume cranked. Looking at the drivers the Aurasound looks a good candidate at its is quoted at 20w RMS, 80w max, so it should survive a fair bashing.
So, Redeye. However its very likely that the speakers will be used in a bookshelf and so the rear vent would be blocked. I dont think its appropriate to mess around with detailed designs but ......I was thinking that if I changed the matrix so the third "column" was the top of the speaker, venting at the front, how would that sound. The TL length would lose 100mm, I'd have to increase the depth of the speaker by 50mm. Or this there an alternative? Thanks for any comments
We haven’t done any versions of the Baby Labs with the rear part of the labyrinth snaking along the bottom or top to exit out the front, but it should be entirely doable.
Certainly just flipping things around so that the terminus can exit out the top instead of the back is an even easier mod.
dave
Certainly just flipping things around so that the terminus can exit out the top instead of the back is an even easier mod.
dave
Turning the speaker upside-down and venting upwards is trivial. Just build it with a hole in the bottom rather than the back and turn it upside down.
Auras present dark but meaty IMO. For younger ears, would do better with a tweeter.
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Joe, I don't have a "general" rule - the amount of power that you'll find sufficient will very much depends on the application, room, etc. That said, I'd always opt for as much power as your budget / system space limitations can allow.
We are now blessed with an embarrassment of riches in this general category of electronics, and the range of brand names, chip architecture and price ranges for pre-built or DIY kits is almost overwhelming.
Of the numerous ClassD /T amps I've owned over the years, I found the little Topping TP30 (nominally 15 wpc @ 4 ohms, but with the standard disclaimers) to be quite satisfactory for nearfield computer situation. The DAC on its USB input is not at all hurtful, and it makes for a very convenient little package.
I also have a couple of Yuan Jing units - TDA7498 & TPA3116 - both have more power and dynamic snap than the Topping's Tripath 2024 chip. The highest power amp of this class that I'd played with is a Sure 4 channel unit (TK2050) for a custom bi-amp system.
We are now blessed with an embarrassment of riches in this general category of electronics, and the range of brand names, chip architecture and price ranges for pre-built or DIY kits is almost overwhelming.
Of the numerous ClassD /T amps I've owned over the years, I found the little Topping TP30 (nominally 15 wpc @ 4 ohms, but with the standard disclaimers) to be quite satisfactory for nearfield computer situation. The DAC on its USB input is not at all hurtful, and it makes for a very convenient little package.
I also have a couple of Yuan Jing units - TDA7498 & TPA3116 - both have more power and dynamic snap than the Topping's Tripath 2024 chip. The highest power amp of this class that I'd played with is a Sure 4 channel unit (TK2050) for a custom bi-amp system.
The further away you sit from the speakers, the more power is needed. The FF85WK is quite sensitive, so even 3W nearfield (computer use) would be enough. Stick them in a 17' room though and you may be more comfortable with 10-20W per channel.