Came across the single driver thread after doing some searching and asking questions for a suitable set of speakers for a small valve amp to use in an office. Planet 10 was kind enough to send me some plans for a 4.5 litre enclosure for a set of FE127E drivers (stepping out in a few minutes to purchase the materials, start build probably Friday). Being a curious person and always looking for the next project, I began browsing the other designs available for this driver. The Spawn family have plucked my curiosity. Now having done some reading, I am interested in building either the Harvey or Olivia cabinets for the FE127E. From reading, it looks like plenty of people are interested in the Harvey and its sisters/brothers, but not so much interest in the Olivia. I must admit that the Olivia looks like the ugly step sister compared to the Harvey, but looking at the response graphs, the Harvey has a couple of horrible looking peaks and troughs, almost 20 dB peak to peak. The response of the Olivia looks dead flat from 50 Hz up with only 1-2 dB drop from 800 to 1000. Looking at the response graphs, the Olivia looks like it should be much better than the Harvey. Has anybody listened to both? What are the real differences? Is there more to this than aesthetics and response graphs?
Thanks for your input!
Cheers,
Chris
Thanks for your input!
Cheers,
Chris
You'll notice on the plans for Harvey that the latest version is substantially flatter in response than the earlier type.
They're somewhat different in approach. Harvey, Iris, Bruce & Loreena were the first Spawn cabinets, use a bit more horn loading, and were intended from the outset to be flexible enough to accept a variety of units, while the later, simpler BVRs, are mostly optimised for a specific driver, though a couple (through accident rather than design) will accept other drivers with some modifications. YMMV. We try to cater to all tastes.
They're somewhat different in approach. Harvey, Iris, Bruce & Loreena were the first Spawn cabinets, use a bit more horn loading, and were intended from the outset to be flexible enough to accept a variety of units, while the later, simpler BVRs, are mostly optimised for a specific driver, though a couple (through accident rather than design) will accept other drivers with some modifications. YMMV. We try to cater to all tastes.
Thanks for your response Scottmoose.
Looking at the revised response graph for Harvey, it looks like there is still about 10 dB peak to peak in the 600-900 Hz area. Not being very knowledgeable in this area, my question I guess is that how does this relate to the sound of the speaker in the real world? Maybe the reality is that other room effects have more of an influence? Not trying to picky about the design, just trying to work out the significance of the response graph to listening pleasure and to compare the two designs. I think you were hinting that as the Olivia was optimised for the FE127E driver you could get a better response from that cabinet than from the Harvey as it is a compromise so that it can be suitable for a wider range of drivers?
Very busy with work and university exams for the next month or so, but expect I will be able to fit in the build of one of these cabinets just after Christmas.
So, if I have a pair of FE127Es in hand, a modest powered (7-14 watt) valve amp, a standard sized living room, what would be the better sounding cabinet?
Thanks Guys,
Chris
Looking at the revised response graph for Harvey, it looks like there is still about 10 dB peak to peak in the 600-900 Hz area. Not being very knowledgeable in this area, my question I guess is that how does this relate to the sound of the speaker in the real world? Maybe the reality is that other room effects have more of an influence? Not trying to picky about the design, just trying to work out the significance of the response graph to listening pleasure and to compare the two designs. I think you were hinting that as the Olivia was optimised for the FE127E driver you could get a better response from that cabinet than from the Harvey as it is a compromise so that it can be suitable for a wider range of drivers?
Very busy with work and university exams for the next month or so, but expect I will be able to fit in the build of one of these cabinets just after Christmas.
So, if I have a pair of FE127Es in hand, a modest powered (7-14 watt) valve amp, a standard sized living room, what would be the better sounding cabinet?
Thanks Guys,
Chris
chrish said:
FWIW, I've built at over a dozen pair of least 5 different mono and bipole designs using the FE127E, and for my money either Mileva or Bryn for ease of build and slightly more extended bass response; for refined articulation in the lower mid-bass and superior imaging / soundstage depth, the "classic" Fonkens. (i.e. narrow baffle with big-a$$ chamfers and side port slots.
I didn't mention the iBIB or Metronome for FE127, both of which look to be relatively simple builds compared to the Fonken, as I've not heard that driver in either of those boxes. There's only so much time and space to build and store all these cabinets. I'd be happy for someone who has made the comparison to share their impressions.
Scott - any anecdotes to share from recent FR love-ins that I might have missed?
Regardless of the design you select, none with the FE127 will rock the house as powerfully and effortlessly as FE206 / FE207 in Demetri, Sachiko, Bruce or G Chang. However they could still engender some cognitive dissonance among your expert friends who know that "a single 4"driver can't do that", and there is magic in the midrange on the FE126/FE127 that I've yet to hear from their larger siblings.
I'd wager more than a few BIB owners have been asked "OK, I know you said ' full-range' , but where'd you hide the sub?"
If your drivers are stock, once you've built and lived with them for a while and really want to further boggle your friends, get adventurous and start painting those little blocks on the cones.
Thanks Chris and Dave,
Have just picked up the sheet goods for the build of the mFonken (4.5 litre version). Hope to have them built soon. Have end of year university exams on Thursday, so might be able to get a start on them on Friday. Saturday night I am flying to Narita, Japan. Picked up the FE127Es at a hardware/craft store there on my last trip. They had some other Fostex drivers and also noted they had a set of the BK10 cabinet kits and some other low-priced enclosures for the Fostex drivers, as well as some valve amp kits (only for 100 volts mains unfortunately). If you think that there might be a significant advantage to trying an FE167 or FE207 design, I am happy to try that instead. Thought it might be a neat exercise to compare the FE127E in the mFonken enclosure to the Olivia, but can just as easily pick up a different set of drivers when in Japan this weekend. I would guess that the compromise with a full range driver is that larger you go in size, the better the bass extension and volume, but the poorer the higher frequencies? Where is the "sweet spot" with this driver range?
Sorry for all of the questions, but very new to this full range driver stuff. Previous speakers have been Lynn Olsen Ariels and a pair of Murphy Blaster Vifa Towers. If you are familiar with the Ariels, you will know that complex cabinets will not necessarily scare me away.
Cheers,
Chris
Edit:
My main system has active crossover at 80hz with a pair of stereo 100 litre boxes each with two scan speak 25W/8565-01 10 inch drivers, so if I keep it in main system, bass is not a problem. However, there is the very real chance that I will attach it to a new valve amp and place it in a different room, or give them away to a friend etc, so sounding good on their own is important too...
Have just picked up the sheet goods for the build of the mFonken (4.5 litre version). Hope to have them built soon. Have end of year university exams on Thursday, so might be able to get a start on them on Friday. Saturday night I am flying to Narita, Japan. Picked up the FE127Es at a hardware/craft store there on my last trip. They had some other Fostex drivers and also noted they had a set of the BK10 cabinet kits and some other low-priced enclosures for the Fostex drivers, as well as some valve amp kits (only for 100 volts mains unfortunately). If you think that there might be a significant advantage to trying an FE167 or FE207 design, I am happy to try that instead. Thought it might be a neat exercise to compare the FE127E in the mFonken enclosure to the Olivia, but can just as easily pick up a different set of drivers when in Japan this weekend. I would guess that the compromise with a full range driver is that larger you go in size, the better the bass extension and volume, but the poorer the higher frequencies? Where is the "sweet spot" with this driver range?
Sorry for all of the questions, but very new to this full range driver stuff. Previous speakers have been Lynn Olsen Ariels and a pair of Murphy Blaster Vifa Towers. If you are familiar with the Ariels, you will know that complex cabinets will not necessarily scare me away.
Cheers,
Chris
Edit:
My main system has active crossover at 80hz with a pair of stereo 100 litre boxes each with two scan speak 25W/8565-01 10 inch drivers, so if I keep it in main system, bass is not a problem. However, there is the very real chance that I will attach it to a new valve amp and place it in a different room, or give them away to a friend etc, so sounding good on their own is important too...
Scottmoose said:From all I've heard about them, you probably won't be inclined to change after hearing the mFonkens.
No doubt there are much bigger boxes for the FE127 that can extend the bass response substantially, but these cute little buggers will open your eyes to the potential of this driver.
Dave: post some pictures of the little cherry bombs?
Actually building two pairs of the mFonkens, one pair for my study/office and one pair for a friend. As these will be office speakers, small size was a major factor in choosing this design. Also, since they are not main system speakers, and due to the difficulty in sourcing good, void free ply in Australia, I purchased MDF for the construction. Hope I have not committed a major sin! End of year exams tomorrow, hope to start cutting and gluing Friday! Will post pictures and impressions in appropriate threads when completed.
Will pick up an extra pair of FE127Es in Japan this weekend (if there are any left in stock) for the Olivias. These will really be built as an experiment. Don't expect they will be better than my rather expensive and difficult to build Ariels in my main system, but if they are, I will keep them there!
Cheers,
Chris
Will pick up an extra pair of FE127Es in Japan this weekend (if there are any left in stock) for the Olivias. These will really be built as an experiment. Don't expect they will be better than my rather expensive and difficult to build Ariels in my main system, but if they are, I will keep them there!
Cheers,
Chris