Anyone hear about a new Fostex FE126?

[planet10]

Originally Posted by zmix

The specs and parameters of the 126 and 127 are very close.

Not very close at all.

dave

[chrisb]

Originally Posted by zmix

Did this driver ever materialize? I'd built a great pair of FE127 based fullrange speakers, but sadly now one has a warped voice coil due to a power amp failure (they don't like 55vDC..!) , and Fostex have discontinued the FE127.

I am close to purchasing a pair of FE126 as a replacement..

Any thoughts?

Note that the dates on the original posts in this thread are almost 5yrs ago, and the "new" driver ( Ed effused at the time about the "IT" driver) has since been superceded as part of a complete revamping the FE series.

So far, it's not certain whether the revised T/S parameters on the the new FExx6EN series will have a deleterious effect on enclosure designs optimized for the previous drivers.

As Dave has noted, the OLD FE126E could certainly not be considered as a drop-in replacement for the FE127E.

During the past 5-6 years, we've played extensively with both in a variety of enclosures (perhaps more types of designs than Ed?), so this is not idle conjecture.

Frankly, if you like the sound of the FE127E, you might want to consider the new Mark Audio EL70 paper cone driver. It has lower sensitivity and 4 ohm impedance, and there's certainly a difference in the presentation stage, but it offers some definite advantages. It's been found to be quite flexible in terms of enclosures in which it works.

[zmix]

OK, I just looked at the T/S parameters, don't know why I thought the 126 and 127 were similar.. must have been reading from two copies of the same datasheet...

Looks like I'll be redesigning my speaker around a different driver...

Back to the original topic: No 'improved' FE126 ever materialized from Fostex, did it?

[planet10]

Originally Posted by zmix

No 'improved' FE126 ever materialized from Fostex, did it?

No, not from Fostex.



dave

[chrisb]

Originally Posted by zmix

OK, I just looked at the T/S parameters, don't know why I thought the 126 and 127 were similar.. must have been reading from two copies of the same datasheet...

Looks like I'll be redesigning my speaker around a different driver...

Back to the original topic: No 'improved' FE126 ever materialized from Fostex, did it?

If I may,( an exercise in pendantry?):


While I participated in the evolution of the aftermarket mods resulting in the driver Dave pictured above, and am firmly convinced of the benefits thereof, I'd feel remiss in not noting that we never heard an earlier FE126 (i.e. before the "E" designation).

In fact a quick Google search of the Fostex International site suggests no such model existed, or was widely distributed. Fostex is known for limited volume release or restricted geographic distribution of special edition drivers that may or no show on this list.

Discontinued Models - Speaker Components


In any case, how much of an improvement might have been effected by the FE126E over its putative predecessor is perhaps best assessed by others.


As said a couple of post back, the latest iteration by Fostex of this model designation ( i.e. FE126En)

http://www.fostexinternational.com/d...df/FE126En.pdf


has some differences in several T/S parameters that may or not have a negative impact on performance in enclosures optimized for the previous model:

http://www.madisound.com/catalog/PDF...ers/fe126e.pdf


Note that both these spec sheets by Fostex include "suggested" enclosure designs (including a small BR) that have, to be polite, accrued mixed reviews by many builders.

Now of course, none of this really answers the question about how to resolve the issue of "which Fostex driver to replace damaged FE127E" in an existing proven design? The suggestion I made in a previous post was based on recent experience.