pics of my 167e bob brines inspired speakers

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
thought i would share these with you guys

the design is based around that of bob brines ft1600 - and i must say that although i have no other fullrangers to compare them with they do sound fantastic now that the drivers are burnt in

they are maple veneered mdf with solid mdf plinth

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


big thanks to bob brines for the inspiration :)
 
yeah 3 x cat5e cables -will try just one and compare

driven (currently by a yamaha hc amp - soon to replaced with a gainclone :) )

as for the sound - they sound very open - if i close my eyes i can "see" where each instrument is
bass although not REALLY low is very clean and sharp

all in all i think they sound fabulous - but then these are my first adventure into fullrangers
 
give it some time... clarify?

planet10 said:


Give it some time...

dave


Dave, with all respect- I beg to differ on that point. Isn't the bass extension limited more by the cabinet than the drivers? I'd guess they'll sound better with break-in... but do you really think they'll go lower?


On a side note- I switched to Cat5 from cheap RS speaker cable tonight, and I definitely noticed a difference in the high frequencies. We had some solid core 24 gage 12 strand sitting around, so I gave it a shot. I never paid attention to cables before, but I think I like the change!


-Joe
 
planet10 said:
I prsonally know 2 people who built this same speaker and the bass improved as the drivers broke in.

dave

Sorry, I guess I'm just nit-picking about lower/better.

I built a different set of speakers based on MJK's mathcad software, and the low cutoff seemed to hit the predicted point and stay there. I'm trying to understand this as well as I can... I'll go read some more about it.
 
Ft 1600 speakers

Your speakers look great, I like the plinths. I've built a pair of these myself(Thanks Bob!). They are indeed very open, image like crazy, and as Planet 10 has mentioned, the Bass improves(faster, more texture?) with break-in. For the price of admission, how can you go wrong? Cheers, Don
 
Bob Brines said:
Very nice indeed!

Are those 27-strand braided Cat5 cables you are using? If so, replace them with a single pair of Cat5 wires -- just two strands of the 24ga wire, one +ve, one -ve. Tell us what you hear.

Bob

I wouldn't have believed it either but after several people suggested I give it a try I'm convinced. Bob, Dave, guys like you are always challenging my beliefs; thank you.
The speakers look great and I can also vouch for the driver break-in. It's not a myth either.
 
Timn8ter said:


I wouldn't have believed it either but after several people suggested I give it a try I'm convinced. Bob, Dave, guys like you are always challenging my beliefs; thank you.
The speakers look great and I can also vouch for the driver break-in. It's not a myth either.


I defer! I defer!

Sorry I called it a myth- I was just thinking, "Hmmm... quarter wavelength enclosure.. shouldn't it just go down to the quarter wave?"

I ran the FE167 worksheet, and increasing the driver's Qms and decreasing the Fs increases the level of low end bass. Is that what's going on with breakin?

I've had a vague feeling that I ought to follow the lead of more sophisticated builders, and measure T/S parameters of the actual drivers before building cabinets. If I go that far, I might as well take breakin into account, eh?
 
I don't believe in cable magic, but I do know that changing the RCL characteristics of a cable will affect the sound at the speakers. The FE167E in a TL, or BR for that matter, benefits from a little series resistance, particularly if driven by an SS amp. Going from a 27(!) pair CAT5 cable to a 1 pair cable ups the resistance and effectively ups the Qts of the driver. This rounds off the cut-off, lowers F3 a little and lowers group delay a bit also. Cables need to be matched to the speaker/amp pair.

I don't think that the Fs lowers much with break-in. I thinks this is a phyco-acoustic phenomenon. When you live with weak bass, or any other coloration long enough, it starts to become "normal".

Bob
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.