Hi Folks,
I have just gotten a pair of FR125S from Tom Zurowski (http://audio-resolution.com/zhorn/). Thans Tom for the drivers and huge help!
I spent 4h yesterday putting together OB speakers out of them (approx22"x33") using 5/8" baltic birch ply.
It's my first expierience with OB and It's quiet interesting. The bass get's quiet substential when I put the speakers closer to the wall. When I compare them with my Tannoy Studio 800A, FR125s seem even more detailed and more time aligned. I just wish they had more"weight" to them (they are being driven by a gainclone which I built - middleshelf in a pic). I was intrighued by an idea of Visaton 200A in "Nobox" design and thought about doing something simillar but with FR125s. Has anyone tried it? Any recommendations re. woofer and crossover? I want to run the FR125s wide open.
Any other suggestions on optimizing my current design would also be hugely welcome.
Cheers,
Rafal
I have just gotten a pair of FR125S from Tom Zurowski (http://audio-resolution.com/zhorn/). Thans Tom for the drivers and huge help!
I spent 4h yesterday putting together OB speakers out of them (approx22"x33") using 5/8" baltic birch ply.
It's my first expierience with OB and It's quiet interesting. The bass get's quiet substential when I put the speakers closer to the wall. When I compare them with my Tannoy Studio 800A, FR125s seem even more detailed and more time aligned. I just wish they had more"weight" to them (they are being driven by a gainclone which I built - middleshelf in a pic). I was intrighued by an idea of Visaton 200A in "Nobox" design and thought about doing something simillar but with FR125s. Has anyone tried it? Any recommendations re. woofer and crossover? I want to run the FR125s wide open.
Any other suggestions on optimizing my current design would also be hugely welcome.
Cheers,
Rafal
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maxro said:
Thanks Max,
I built the stereo cabinet too. I'm glad you like it.
The tannoys are dual concentric, so they "kind of" have one driver (it's really 2 drivers, on inside anoter).
By "time aligned" I mean that the FR125s make it easier to follow the melody. More natural that way. Tannoys on the other hand have wider and ruler flat freq. response and a LOT of oomph (2 90w amps(1/driver) and active xo in each speaker). theuy also don't give up much in terms of detail.
Rafal said:
You might want to try increasing your baffle height, I don't have much experience with OBs, but the only OB I heared, that had sounded correct without extra bass support was about 66" x 22" plus two 12" wings - like the ones on the pic below.
cheers
LC
edit: but maybe the FR125s is just to small for OB, mostly they use 8" and bigger...
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Rafal,
Nice speakers. Especially in only 4hrs. Kind of like a mix of the classic Japanese design and the NoBox.
I think my FR125's sound beautiful in open baffle too. But they just don't present the punch of a larger driver. Best for smaller rooms, which I happen to have aplenty. I'm looking to add bass drivers too but don't intend to let my FR's run full range. I want to cross them in the range of 125-140Hz.
I've built / used flat baffles, the NoBox and a baffle design similar to the one that lovechild mentioned. To me the NoBox style presented the best sound of the three.
With your FR's offset in the baffle and set low you're on the right track already. Should you end up with a bass driver you may have to build new ones.
A bass driver for the FR125 was sort of discussed in a recent post though OB wasn't specifically addressed. Like the OP of that thread, I'm looking at the Extremis 6.8 or Dayton RS200 in this application.
R/
Jim
Nice speakers. Especially in only 4hrs. Kind of like a mix of the classic Japanese design and the NoBox.
I think my FR125's sound beautiful in open baffle too. But they just don't present the punch of a larger driver. Best for smaller rooms, which I happen to have aplenty. I'm looking to add bass drivers too but don't intend to let my FR's run full range. I want to cross them in the range of 125-140Hz.
I've built / used flat baffles, the NoBox and a baffle design similar to the one that lovechild mentioned. To me the NoBox style presented the best sound of the three.
With your FR's offset in the baffle and set low you're on the right track already. Should you end up with a bass driver you may have to build new ones.
A bass driver for the FR125 was sort of discussed in a recent post though OB wasn't specifically addressed. Like the OP of that thread, I'm looking at the Extremis 6.8 or Dayton RS200 in this application.
R/
Jim
Just for some off-axis info: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74077&highlight=
Your OB's look very nice BTW.
Your OB's look very nice BTW.
With no coffee table and the upward tilt of the speakers, I see no reason for bad top end.Vikash said:Not for the top end. Unless you lie on the floor when listening
If I were him, though, I would consider a rug (with nice thick pad) between the speakers and listening position, I wonder if that wouldn't improve coherency even more by damping those reflections.
I also would try butting the speakers against the center cabinet, see if you get even better bass.
Very cool project, by the way. I assume it was inspired by the Stereo Sound (i.e. JE Labs) OB design?
open baffles...
Personally if you like the drivers you have and need a little more bass, do what I did .
put a full width "top" to the baffles, not the 6 one that you have. Keep the dimensions to 31" X 36" (approximately). Centre the speaker opening @ approx 14" from the floor, in the middle of the baffle. . That way tou can benefit by keeping the baffles and trying different drivers in them. I think my "mods" to the JE Labs baffles improved the bass using the Oxford J12 guitar speakers. comparing the bass output to a Polk PS10 sub, reportedly with a -3db in the 35Hz range, the bass was comparable.
I know the 12 s are huge compared to the FR125S... but they are just so damn good and play very loud being driven by 10 watts of Vfet power. I haven't put a finish on them, I've been too busy listening to them (since last fall).
An alternative may be to ad "wings to one side of each baffle , and retain your baffles as they are. I will say that since having the OBs, I have a hard time listening to any boxed speaker.
Personally if you like the drivers you have and need a little more bass, do what I did
.put a full width "top" to the baffles, not the 6 one that you have. Keep the dimensions to 31" X 36" (approximately). Centre the speaker opening @ approx 14" from the floor, in the middle of the baffle. . That way tou can benefit by keeping the baffles and trying different drivers in them. I think my "mods" to the JE Labs baffles improved the bass using the Oxford J12 guitar speakers. comparing the bass output to a Polk PS10 sub, reportedly with a -3db in the 35Hz range, the bass was comparable.
I know the 12 s are huge compared to the FR125S... but they are just so damn good and play very loud being driven by 10 watts of Vfet power. I haven't put a finish on them, I've been too busy listening to them (since last fall).
An alternative may be to ad "wings to one side of each baffle , and retain your baffles as they are. I will say that since having the OBs, I have a hard time listening to any boxed speaker.
A big improvement !!!
Hi Folks,
I modified my Open Baffles. The change is simple. I moved the driver so it's about 7" from the top, and I took Nanook's advice and put a full board on top instead of the shelf. The difference is BIG. I no longer feel the need to experiment with boxes. The soundstage improved with raising of the drivers, and the bass is still adequate especially after moving the speakers closer to the back wall (see the pics). I'm happy, my wife is happy (less wires and speakers more out of her way). Now I will have to give them a nice finish. likely an exotic, light veneer and high gloss laquer. I will also likely line the back walls with felt. The cables I'm using are 2 cat 5 ethernet cables marreted to some copper cables which I soldered to the speakers. Pretty simple ane effective.
Earlier today, I went to a HIFI store and listened to a pair of Sonus Faber speakers ($3000 cad. with stands) coupled to some ($6500 cad) integrated amp and I cringed. It didn't sound good at all (however, I'm told that the speakers are just braking in). Then I listened to Totem Model 1's with the same amp which sounded much nicer. I do think, however, that my $200 open baffles and $400 homebrew gainclone has them beat hads down. Talk about budget HIFI.
Now I don't know what to do with my Active Tannoys ; )
I may try Visaton B200 some time in a future, but that's because I am curious, not because I feel the need to change.
BTW, If somebody wants to copy my design, go ahead and tell me what you think. I call my design Gwozdz OB. The dimesions are: W:59", H:83", top depth 5.5", bottom depth 10", face has 10deg. slant and the material is Baltic Birch ply 5/8" . The driver is 9.25" from the side and 7" from the top.
Please let me know what you think and THANK YOU ALL for your advice and encouragement.
Cheers,
Rafal
Hi Folks,
I modified my Open Baffles. The change is simple. I moved the driver so it's about 7" from the top, and I took Nanook's advice and put a full board on top instead of the shelf. The difference is BIG. I no longer feel the need to experiment with boxes. The soundstage improved with raising of the drivers, and the bass is still adequate especially after moving the speakers closer to the back wall (see the pics). I'm happy, my wife is happy (less wires and speakers more out of her way). Now I will have to give them a nice finish. likely an exotic, light veneer and high gloss laquer. I will also likely line the back walls with felt. The cables I'm using are 2 cat 5 ethernet cables marreted to some copper cables which I soldered to the speakers. Pretty simple ane effective.
Earlier today, I went to a HIFI store and listened to a pair of Sonus Faber speakers ($3000 cad. with stands) coupled to some ($6500 cad) integrated amp and I cringed. It didn't sound good at all (however, I'm told that the speakers are just braking in). Then I listened to Totem Model 1's with the same amp which sounded much nicer. I do think, however, that my $200 open baffles and $400 homebrew gainclone has them beat hads down. Talk about budget HIFI.
Now I don't know what to do with my Active Tannoys ; )
I may try Visaton B200 some time in a future, but that's because I am curious, not because I feel the need to change.
BTW, If somebody wants to copy my design, go ahead and tell me what you think. I call my design Gwozdz OB. The dimesions are: W:59", H:83", top depth 5.5", bottom depth 10", face has 10deg. slant and the material is Baltic Birch ply 5/8" . The driver is 9.25" from the side and 7" from the top.
Please let me know what you think and THANK YOU ALL for your advice and encouragement.
Cheers,
Rafal
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changin dimensions...
hope you mean your baffles are 59 cm wide, 89 cm tall...
(23" X 35"). I'd add a 8" "wing" to them. Depending on how far away you listen may dictate where you place the driver. I know when I modded the JS Labs, I put a brace at the bottom, back between the vetical pieces. I listen about 10' back. I did take a pix for the forum, but not the back.
hope you mean your baffles are 59 cm wide, 89 cm tall...
(23" X 35"). I'd add a 8" "wing" to them. Depending on how far away you listen may dictate where you place the driver. I know when I modded the JS Labs, I put a brace at the bottom, back between the vetical pieces. I listen about 10' back. I did take a pix for the forum, but not the back.
obs...
if you'r gonna toss em out....ya can always send them my way('')
I must say that once you hear a set of satisfying OBs, planar, or electrostats, it is REALLY hard to go back..
I will post a couple of pix showinf exactly what I did to the rear of the OBs..
and ya, it is really interesting how good, and inexpensive, some things are.
Good sound need not cost big money. It may require some education, some thought and a willingness to experiment. I swear I will never go back to boxed speakers unless size is an issue. Then some TLs will be getting built.
if you'r gonna toss em out....ya can always send them my way('
')I must say that once you hear a set of satisfying OBs, planar, or electrostats, it is REALLY hard to go back..
I will post a couple of pix showinf exactly what I did to the rear of the OBs..
and ya, it is really interesting how good, and inexpensive, some things are.
Good sound need not cost big money. It may require some education, some thought and a willingness to experiment. I swear I will never go back to boxed speakers unless size is an issue. Then some TLs will be getting built.
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