Wilmslow audio is an utter ripoff. They sell them but I refuse to pay their stupid prices. Does anyone know where to get these tweeters for a fair price (ie around 25GBP including VAT which is what everyone else seems to get them for) without ridiculous shipping charges? The amount of potential speaker projects I've ended up not even attempting due to the difficulty of finding drivers in the UK is depressing. Madisound have great prices on their drivers but the shipping is too much for me. I just want to build something with semi decent drivers. The alternative tweeter I'm considering to the FT17H is the Eminence APT-80 but the Fostex looks superior for little more money. The eminence is probably perfectly good but I'd rather go with the Fostex if I can, which I probably can't because somehow due to being in the UK even if they rained from the sky I'd end up paying some kind of tax on them, then driving my car with £10/litre fuel to the post office to post the forms and the stamp would cost £20 
bigwill said:Wilmslow audio is an utter ripoff. They sell them but I refuse to pay their stupid prices. Does anyone know where to get these tweeters for a fair price (ie around 25GBP including VAT which is what everyone else seems to get them for) without ridiculous shipping charges? The amount of potential speaker projects I've ended up not even attempting due to the difficulty of finding drivers in the UK is depressing. Madisound have great prices on their drivers but the shipping is too much for me. I just want to build something with semi decent drivers. The alternative tweeter I'm considering to the FT17H is the Eminence APT-80 but the Fostex looks superior for little more money. The eminence is probably perfectly good but I'd rather go with the Fostex if I can, which I probably can't because somehow due to being in the UK even if they rained from the sky I'd end up paying some kind of tax on them, then driving my car with £10/litre fuel to the post office to post the forms and the stamp would cost £20
No advice on the sourcing, but the fostex and eminence are fairly different, despite both being horn 'supertweeters'. The eminence, being a pro driver, is designed for maximum output and power handling, and hence, is high efficiency.
The FT17H is a home style driver, with a much lower power handling, but IMO, a much cleaner, more refined sound. An AlNiCo magnet (AFAIK) doesn't hurt any, either.
So if you don't have a >100dB midrange efficiency, the fostex is the obvious choice.
I've used both. They're both quite capable when used within their bandwidth. Below the hornloading cutoff, they're pretty useless, so take some care in your filter design, to get a good blend.
Re: Re: Where to find Fostex FT17H in or near the UK?
These will indeed be home speakers. I'm sure the Eminence sounds decent too but I suspect, just like you have experienced that the Fostex does sound "nicer"
The midrange will be somewhere between 95-97 dB so it should be able to keep up.
badman said:
These will indeed be home speakers. I'm sure the Eminence sounds decent too but I suspect, just like you have experienced that the Fostex does sound "nicer"
The midrange will be somewhere between 95-97 dB so it should be able to keep up.
I had the same issue with WA, so I bought mine from a German seller on ebay. That was quite a while back though.
Not sure it helps but IMHO the Fostex sounds quite stark when crossed low. On the other hand it sounds very good when crossed very high (10K+), i.e. used as a super tweeter or helper on a full range driver.
Not sure it helps but IMHO the Fostex sounds quite stark when crossed low. On the other hand it sounds very good when crossed very high (10K+), i.e. used as a super tweeter or helper on a full range driver.
Please, don't be too harsh on Wilmslow Audio, they are a great team.
Yes, their prices are far higher than those in the US, but this is by necessity. They are probably paying higher rents, higher rates, and more for electricity. There is a higher cost of living over here in the UK, so they will need to pay their staff more, and take more out of the business themselves. This can only be done by having higher margins. They also have fewer customers to make a living out of.
All this adds up to "Rip off Britain" it is very frustrating, but not always the retailers fault.
Yes, their prices are far higher than those in the US, but this is by necessity. They are probably paying higher rents, higher rates, and more for electricity. There is a higher cost of living over here in the UK, so they will need to pay their staff more, and take more out of the business themselves. This can only be done by having higher margins. They also have fewer customers to make a living out of.
All this adds up to "Rip off Britain" it is very frustrating, but not always the retailers fault.
I temporarily hooked them up as supertweeters atop a pair of mission stand mount speakers, in series with a 1uf cap as a test. Due to the efficiency mismatch it sounded quite "hot" but not unpleasant or harsh! These tweeters are very clean and articulate from what I've heard so far. I realise that it was a suboptimal setup but I couldn't resist trying 
I'm using mine as super tweeters onto top of SS 710003 tweeters. Even given the SS quality the Fostex helps improve dynamics, to me they have a slight 'metalic' sound which also helps cymbols etc.
Currently using them with a .22uF and an L-pad turned way down. Running it's difficult to tell if they are on, when sticking your ear next to them. But soon as their turned off it's obvious something is missing.
Currently using them with a .22uF and an L-pad turned way down. Running it's difficult to tell if they are on, when sticking your ear next to them. But soon as their turned off it's obvious something is missing.
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