Fostex FE 206E -treated with dammar varnish

[Vix]

Hi!

First of all, sorry if this has already been discussed elsewhere. Have a look at this:

http://www10.big.or.jp/~dh/tips/dammar.html

I bought Dammar Varnish, 250ml. It seems that it already contains turpentine, so no need to thin it further.

I’d like to ask if anyone has treated Fostex FE 206E cone with dammar varnish.
According to the site, Lowthers sound better after being painted. I would like to know how Fostex Fe 206e reacts on such a treatment. At the moment, they are working in ML TL enclosure.

This mod is non-reversible. An advice is appreciated; before I take a brush and “paint” Fostexes….

Best regards,

Vix

 

[jeremym]

I have a pair of FE206's, but I have not put damar on the cones yet. I have put several coats on some of my other paper coned full range drivers, including a set of FE167's. Here's my advice:

If you are going to damar the cones, be sure to thin the varnish first. The stuff I got was too thick to go on in a thin coat. I'd suggest doing one coat, allow it to dry, then listen to the result to see if you like it. You can't go back, so don't put too much on at once.

I found the damar on my 167's changed the character of the driver slightly. It seemed to damp the high frequencies somewhat, and give the driver a more laid back sound. I believe I put on too thick of a coat-if I could do it again I would have thined it out with turpentine first.

I've seen some suggest putting damar only on the wizzer cone. You might try this first and see how you like it.

 

[Dumbass]

A totally reversible tweak you also might want to try is using a golf-ball as a phase plug. Screw in a small hook and hang it by string so it is directly in the middle of the whizzer. People have reported good results by phase-plugging the whizzered Fostex drivers.

 

[johninCR]

Vix,

Drivers all sound different and what different people like is a very subjective thing. Coating cones on anything except subwoofers will change how they sound. What is it that you are trying to change about the sound of your 206's ? Are they already well broken in ?

 

[Vix]

Hi


Thanks for advices.

Well, I like Fostex as it is. But, at different places on the net, I was reading that Fostex Fe206e is a really good driver, and that with a few mods it can become excellent. I thought that treating the cone might be one of the tweaks that will make it even better.

My Fostex is well “broken-in”. In the beginning it sounded awful, I was so desperate that I almost threw it away. Now it sounds fine. There is still a small trace of “shout” where it shouldn’t be. I was hoping to “remove” that with the dammar. On the other hand, I know that I may risk loosing the high freq. “sparke”; in other words, that it may become dull sounding, something I don’t want.

Anyway, I have a pair of no-name cheap fullranges-will treat one of them first, then compare the sound. And I have turtpentine as well and will thin the dammar.

Thanks a lot,

Vix

 

[johninCR]

Vix,

If getting a replacement isn't a big deal then I'd consider it and only the whizzer first. I wouldn't touch the main cone.

On my 206's, I was much more comfortable with taking a razor knife to the dust cap to remove it. That way you can at least try different phase plugs. I used the socket plug and just stuck with that, which cleaned up the touch of raggedness on top end. It also reduced the shout, which with more breakin time has completely gone away.

I'd be hesitant to do something non-reversible on the cone material because it will definitely change the sound.

Also, I read somewhere that shout was often caused by a poor ground and/or noise on the power line. The guy who wrote it seemed very knowledgeable and wasn't selling anything.