Hi,
today I got a chance to test my Fostex FE206ES-R. I didn't had the time to build the recommended horn enlosure so I un-screwed my Hemp FR8.0 and used my 2 cu.ft reflex cab. I used a 8.2 ohm series resistor to get him reflex-friendly
First impression: good bass (45Hz), very detailed midrange, clear high range. A quick plot shows 92dB up to 2000Hz with a 4dB rise to the top end (even with the 8.2 ohms resistor!).
A very nice driver to play with ......
Regards
Thorsten
today I got a chance to test my Fostex FE206ES-R. I didn't had the time to build the recommended horn enlosure so I un-screwed my Hemp FR8.0 and used my 2 cu.ft reflex cab. I used a 8.2 ohm series resistor to get him reflex-friendly
First impression: good bass (45Hz), very detailed midrange, clear high range. A quick plot shows 92dB up to 2000Hz with a 4dB rise to the top end (even with the 8.2 ohms resistor!).
A very nice driver to play with ......
Regards
Thorsten
Attachments
my impressions
I have not broken them in very much, but the sound is a wholly different beast than the normal 206e.
like the 166 es-r, It is way chiller. I think that for me, super tweeter will be unnecessary though, whereas I have been debating a super tweeter with the 166ES-r off and on for some time now. my final decision is to not use one, and live with the softness.
I am pretty sure that the radial cone making really is playing a part here. they were able to tune out the hard resonances in the upper range from the cone and whizzer I am guessing. it is immediately audible. the result is buttloads of evenness across the spectrum. there is very little dynamic masking going on as well.
they just sound good too. very fun. kindof heavenly. definitely meant for super clean low powered triodes.
by the way, and it sortof goes without saying, the magnets are beautiful!!!
the cast frame is a big step up for me as well. the 166 es-r really deserved one. on the 166, I am still struggling with ideas and solutions on getting the things sealed and properly secured to cabinets.
having used the 166 es-rs for a year now, I can say that they have broken in unexpectedly well and slowly. they went through many stages, and have ended up becoming well endowed with beautiful tone over this last year. break in is not as dramatic as some of the other fostex drivers, because they actually sounded good out of the box. but they have a very subtle character. this character has become more and more definite and easy for the ear to attach to over the year.
the 206es-r is very very dynamic. they just disappear as well. it sounds like no noise comes from the cone. just music surrounding it. very errie. compression driver esque. I imagine many transformations into a very nice character for these drivers.
I have been using mine in small sealed cabinets for a few weeks. I cannot wait to let them fly in the reccommended enclosure. 101db here we come!
my opinion though about the drivers is that they are a steal. they sound wholly different from te normal version in almost all good ways. I found myself able to sit very close to them with no fatigue set in by shoutyness that the 206e demonstrates.
don't get me wrong though, i love the 206 E, i have a pair. they are their own thing. the 206es-r is another.
I compare it to the 166es-r only because this seems to be the second driver in a new "sound" for fostex. I think that they received alot of flack about the banana plant fibre sound over the past 6 or so years and they are wanting to redeem themselves with a less harsh sound. they are wanting to show what the banana plant is capable of.
thing is about the banana plant fibre stuff is that it ends up sounding great, it just takes FOREVER! a few years really. the difference is not subtle though. course, i am sure you all know this stuff. hope my humble opinion serves well.
I know I am quite a fanboy here, but these things really are very special I feel.
Clark
I have not broken them in very much, but the sound is a wholly different beast than the normal 206e.
like the 166 es-r, It is way chiller. I think that for me, super tweeter will be unnecessary though, whereas I have been debating a super tweeter with the 166ES-r off and on for some time now. my final decision is to not use one, and live with the softness.
I am pretty sure that the radial cone making really is playing a part here. they were able to tune out the hard resonances in the upper range from the cone and whizzer I am guessing. it is immediately audible. the result is buttloads of evenness across the spectrum. there is very little dynamic masking going on as well.
they just sound good too. very fun. kindof heavenly. definitely meant for super clean low powered triodes.
by the way, and it sortof goes without saying, the magnets are beautiful!!!
the cast frame is a big step up for me as well. the 166 es-r really deserved one. on the 166, I am still struggling with ideas and solutions on getting the things sealed and properly secured to cabinets.
having used the 166 es-rs for a year now, I can say that they have broken in unexpectedly well and slowly. they went through many stages, and have ended up becoming well endowed with beautiful tone over this last year. break in is not as dramatic as some of the other fostex drivers, because they actually sounded good out of the box. but they have a very subtle character. this character has become more and more definite and easy for the ear to attach to over the year.
the 206es-r is very very dynamic. they just disappear as well. it sounds like no noise comes from the cone. just music surrounding it. very errie. compression driver esque. I imagine many transformations into a very nice character for these drivers.
I have been using mine in small sealed cabinets for a few weeks. I cannot wait to let them fly in the reccommended enclosure. 101db here we come!
my opinion though about the drivers is that they are a steal. they sound wholly different from te normal version in almost all good ways. I found myself able to sit very close to them with no fatigue set in by shoutyness that the 206e demonstrates.
don't get me wrong though, i love the 206 E, i have a pair. they are their own thing. the 206es-r is another.
I compare it to the 166es-r only because this seems to be the second driver in a new "sound" for fostex. I think that they received alot of flack about the banana plant fibre sound over the past 6 or so years and they are wanting to redeem themselves with a less harsh sound. they are wanting to show what the banana plant is capable of.
thing is about the banana plant fibre stuff is that it ends up sounding great, it just takes FOREVER! a few years really. the difference is not subtle though. course, i am sure you all know this stuff. hope my humble opinion serves well.
I know I am quite a fanboy here, but these things really are very special I feel.
Clark
yeah.
I dunno, I have heard higher frequencies coming out of horn mouths before. not necessarily desirable, but still.
efficiency is tough to rate accurately. I feel that in room efficiency, (especially with strategically reinforcing rooms) and frequency response is so far different than rated in most cases, that we really end up guestimating. that is what I am doing here.
if we assume that every action has equal and opposite reaction, then the back wave would be just as powerful as the front wave. perfect reinforcement would give 3db extra on efficiency. thats all mumbo jumbo though. realistically, the horn sucks up a decent amount of that. my final guestimate would be that it hovers around 100db efficient or a little under. if our horns end up being precicely 98 db, then its a sad day for bass.
also, I feel that a little more weight should be placed on the lower frequencies when averaging efficiency on frequency response, just because so much more of that 1 watt goes to below 250 or so hertz.
in either case, I am certainly no expert here. out of my league.
just some thoughts.
Clark
I dunno, I have heard higher frequencies coming out of horn mouths before. not necessarily desirable, but still.
efficiency is tough to rate accurately. I feel that in room efficiency, (especially with strategically reinforcing rooms) and frequency response is so far different than rated in most cases, that we really end up guestimating. that is what I am doing here.
if we assume that every action has equal and opposite reaction, then the back wave would be just as powerful as the front wave. perfect reinforcement would give 3db extra on efficiency. thats all mumbo jumbo though. realistically, the horn sucks up a decent amount of that. my final guestimate would be that it hovers around 100db efficient or a little under. if our horns end up being precicely 98 db, then its a sad day for bass.
also, I feel that a little more weight should be placed on the lower frequencies when averaging efficiency on frequency response, just because so much more of that 1 watt goes to below 250 or so hertz.
in either case, I am certainly no expert here. out of my league.
just some thoughts.
Clark
Well the construction of the cabinets for my FE20ESR`s are done , except for a little more sanding. I will cover the top, sides, and baffle with walnut veneer and use ebony stain for the mouth and back. I usually finish the cabinets with 3 coats of poly and on these I`m making magnetic grille covers for the baffle using Klipsch cane grille cloth to give them a sort of 60`s look, removeable of course, These cabinets are HEAVY and moving them around to finish them will require strength and care. The drivers are hooked up to a small receiver now with a bass heavy cd on repeat and will be played almost constantly until I mount them in about another 2 weeks if all goes well. Listening to the drivers not mounted or broken still impress me but I will post my progress when done. I can compare them to the Fe206E`s in the recommended horns, side by side, and I`m anxious to hear the differences and I`ll probably do some rough measuring with a test CD and a Radio Shack SPL meter to see the differences. I`ll let anyone interested know what I find. This is a great hobby.
Re: yeah.
The whole point of the back-loaded horn is to lift the drooping bass up to the same leavel as the midrange (and done well will also cancel baffle-step losses. A horn is really only good for about 3 or max 4 octaves so if it is providing an increase of efficiency up into the midrange it is not going to be doing it too well.
That is exactly what the goal should be... if we are getting to 50 Hz on this horn that is more than 15 dB of gain (at 50 Hz).... we don't want any horn gain above 200-250 Hz.
dave
blumenco said:
The whole point of the back-loaded horn is to lift the drooping bass up to the same leavel as the midrange (and done well will also cancel baffle-step losses. A horn is really only good for about 3 or max 4 octaves so if it is providing an increase of efficiency up into the midrange it is not going to be doing it too well.
That is exactly what the goal should be... if we are getting to 50 Hz on this horn that is more than 15 dB of gain (at 50 Hz).... we don't want any horn gain above 200-250 Hz.
dave
Hello everyone! This is my first post!
I ordered my 206 es-r drivers last week and can hardly wait to try them! They will be going in some 208 sigma BLH Cabs. that I built last year. Has anyone used this cab. and will the 206es-r work in them?
Im using the FE 206 in them right now and I think they sound good but then this is the first and only fullrange speakers Ive heard.
Thanks!
I ordered my 206 es-r drivers last week and can hardly wait to try them! They will be going in some 208 sigma BLH Cabs. that I built last year. Has anyone used this cab. and will the 206es-r work in them?
Im using the FE 206 in them right now and I think they sound good but then this is the first and only fullrange speakers Ive heard.
Thanks!
206esr in 208 sigma cab.
I've had a few days of listening to the new 206esr now and my first impressions are that they are well worth the money spent.
I dont have a way to do any real measuring except comparing to the old 206 that I've had in those boxes up till now. They are smoother through the entire range and much more defined too.
On the bass end I feel that they may go a bit lower but then that could be just the added definition giving the illusion of lower bass. I'm just not sure about that.
I think they could use the planet10 phase plug and I will put them in as soon as I work up the nerve to cut the center cap out of a $225 driver!
I'm powering these with a 45 set and all in all I could'nt be happier.
I'd like to thank everyone here for all the wonderful info that I've read here at DIYaudio!
Travis
I've had a few days of listening to the new 206esr now and my first impressions are that they are well worth the money spent.
I dont have a way to do any real measuring except comparing to the old 206 that I've had in those boxes up till now. They are smoother through the entire range and much more defined too.
On the bass end I feel that they may go a bit lower but then that could be just the added definition giving the illusion of lower bass. I'm just not sure about that.
I think they could use the planet10 phase plug and I will put them in as soon as I work up the nerve to cut the center cap out of a $225 driver!
I'm powering these with a 45 set and all in all I could'nt be happier.
I'd like to thank everyone here for all the wonderful info that I've read here at DIYaudio!
Travis