Any options for small, high efficiency speakers?

tennisets · 14th March 2005, 09:14 PM

I'm building a push pull 2A3 amplifier soon, which will be good for about 8 to 10 watts (see here for the design).

As such, I will need a pair of fairly high efficiency speakers to pair with the amp. I would just build one of the Fostex reccommended backloading horns, or some other similar design and go on my merry way. But there is a caveat:

I'm going to college next year (Northwestern). I won't have much space, and I'll have a roommate at least my first year. So large speakers are out.

So I need small, high efficiency speakers that can work well near the wall. They will be paired with a sub (not sure what yet). I have a table saw at my disposal, so DIY is preferable.

My budget is less than $1000, but the less the better, obviously, as long as it sounds good. I'd like to spend no more than $750, if possible.

If I don't find anything to DIY, I"ll probably buy the Omega Super 3Rs. So use that as a reference of what kind of quality I'm looking for.

I have no preference on what kind of design it is, as long as it is small and efficient. I hope this works out, as I really don't want to give up on good sounding speakers during college. Using headphones 100% of the time would really start to irritate me (I'll be using AKG K1000s). Thanks for any help!

Timn8ter · 14th March 2005, 10:03 PM

The Omega's use a modded FE127E though I don't know what the mods are. If you can handle reading a very long thread you could look at the "Reference" design in the single driver forum. There were a few suggested design though I'm sorry to say we haven't concluded it. I would be very inclined to look at the FE108EZ in something like a folded QWT for your situation.

simon5 · 15th March 2005, 12:42 AM

You could look at the HE10.1 and HE12.1 kits from Adire Audio.

tennisets · 15th March 2005, 06:39 AM

Those aren't available anymore, and from what I've read don't really sound like very good speakers, honestly. Everything I've read about them says they can be fun, but don't have very good sound quality.

planet10 · 15th March 2005, 07:31 AM

Small room, small speaker, IMHO quite gorgeous.... don't discount them because they will come in WAY under budget.

http://home.hetnet.nl/~geenius/Solo103.html

dave

Geenius · 15th March 2005, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by tennisets
So I need small, high efficiency speakers that can work well near the wall.

I'll second Dave: Sounds exactly like the Solo-103 to me!

tennisets · 15th March 2005, 01:48 PM

That looks like a nice design, but I don't think it's really for me. I do listen to a lot of rock music, as well as large scale orchestral music. Both of those are huge shortcomings for that speaker.

One of the things that sounded so nice to me about the Omega Super 3 is that it CAN play large scale music without any problems (at least according to the reviews I've read). I'd also like a design that gets down to at least 65 Hz or so on its own. I don't want to have to use the sub for higher frequencies than that, because the speakers will likely be on a desk, or right next to it, and the sub will be on the floor next to the speakers. So I can't rely on the sub too much.

I'm not against using cheap drivers (actually, some of the fostex are very expensive compared to standard drivers). But that enclosure is even smaller than I'd like, and just doesn't get quite low enough. Is there anything similar that is a little larger and will scale better with the music?

The other thing about the Super 3 that appeals to me is its shape. The wide but shallow design would be more suited to the lack of space in a dorm room than a conventional speaker shape, but obviously it's not something that would make or break what design I choose. It would just be a little bonus.

tennisets · 15th March 2005, 04:58 PM

Hmm, I've been looking further into some of the Fostex designs, since they seem like a good solution. How about the FX120 in the Fostex reccommended bass reflex enclosure? The only thing I'm a little concerned about is if the sensitivity would be high enough. The Omega Super 3s get 93dB sensitivity out of a 91dB driver, so maybe I could get about 91dB out of the 89dB FX120. That should be enough, especially considering the FX120's VERY benign impedance curve. The respons looks great too. It has less treble energy than the FE127E, which looks pretty peaky above 5kHz. Or what about the FF125K, that driver's response looks nice if it's off axis a bit, and it's more sensitive than the FX120.

Here's the FX120:
http://www.fostexinternational.com/d.../pdf/fx120.pdf

And here's the FF125K:
http://www.fostexinternational.com/d...pdf/ff125k.pdf

And here's the enclosure:
http://www.fostexinternational.com/d...p/ff_enc.shtml

What do you guys think?

planet10 · 15th March 2005, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tennisets
The Omega Super 3s get 93dB sensitivity out of a 91dB driver

Someone is fibbing then -- or he is using the FE126 instead of the FE127 (in which case the box likely doesn't go as low)

dave

Timn8ter · 15th March 2005, 10:01 PM

Can't be a FE126E unless they added their own shielding.

14th March 2005, 09:14 PM	#1
tennisets diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Evanston, IL	Any options for small, high efficiency speakers? I'm building a push pull 2A3 amplifier soon, which will be good for about 8 to 10 watts (see here for the design). As such, I will need a pair of fairly high efficiency speakers to pair with the amp. I would just build one of the Fostex reccommended backloading horns, or some other similar design and go on my merry way. But there is a caveat: I'm going to college next year (Northwestern). I won't have much space, and I'll have a roommate at least my first year. So large speakers are out. So I need small, high efficiency speakers that can work well near the wall. They will be paired with a sub (not sure what yet). I have a table saw at my disposal, so DIY is preferable. My budget is less than $1000, but the less the better, obviously, as long as it sounds good. I'd like to spend no more than $750, if possible. If I don't find anything to DIY, I"ll probably buy the Omega Super 3Rs. So use that as a reference of what kind of quality I'm looking for. I have no preference on what kind of design it is, as long as it is small and efficient. I hope this works out, as I really don't want to give up on good sounding speakers during college. Using headphones 100% of the time would really start to irritate me (I'll be using AKG K1000s). Thanks for any help!

15th March 2005, 12:42 AM	#3
simon5 diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Québec, Québec	You could look at the HE10.1 and HE12.1 kits from Adire Audio. __________________ DIYaudio for President !

15th March 2005, 07:31 AM	#5
planet10 frugal-phile(tm) diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Victoria, BC, NA, Sol III Blog Entries: 4	Small room, small speaker, IMHO quite gorgeous.... don't discount them because they will come in WAY under budget. http://home.hetnet.nl/~geenius/Solo103.html dave __________________ community sites t-linespeakers.org, frugal-horn.com ........ commercial site planet10-HiFi p10-hifi forum here at diyA

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14th March 2005, 10:03 PM	#2
Timn8ter diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Seattle, WA	The Omega's use a modded FE127E though I don't know what the mods are. If you can handle reading a very long thread you could look at the "Reference" design in the single driver forum. There were a few suggested design though I'm sorry to say we haven't concluded it. I would be very inclined to look at the FE108EZ in something like a folded QWT for your situation.

15th March 2005, 06:39 AM	#4
tennisets diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Evanston, IL	Those aren't available anymore, and from what I've read don't really sound like very good speakers, honestly. Everything I've read about them says they can be fun, but don't have very good sound quality.

15th March 2005, 01:48 PM	#7
tennisets diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Evanston, IL	That looks like a nice design, but I don't think it's really for me. I do listen to a lot of rock music, as well as large scale orchestral music. Both of those are huge shortcomings for that speaker. One of the things that sounded so nice to me about the Omega Super 3 is that it CAN play large scale music without any problems (at least according to the reviews I've read). I'd also like a design that gets down to at least 65 Hz or so on its own. I don't want to have to use the sub for higher frequencies than that, because the speakers will likely be on a desk, or right next to it, and the sub will be on the floor next to the speakers. So I can't rely on the sub too much. I'm not against using cheap drivers (actually, some of the fostex are very expensive compared to standard drivers). But that enclosure is even smaller than I'd like, and just doesn't get quite low enough. Is there anything similar that is a little larger and will scale better with the music? The other thing about the Super 3 that appeals to me is its shape. The wide but shallow design would be more suited to the lack of space in a dorm room than a conventional speaker shape, but obviously it's not something that would make or break what design I choose. It would just be a little bonus.

15th March 2005, 04:58 PM	#8
tennisets diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Evanston, IL	Hmm, I've been looking further into some of the Fostex designs, since they seem like a good solution. How about the FX120 in the Fostex reccommended bass reflex enclosure? The only thing I'm a little concerned about is if the sensitivity would be high enough. The Omega Super 3s get 93dB sensitivity out of a 91dB driver, so maybe I could get about 91dB out of the 89dB FX120. That should be enough, especially considering the FX120's VERY benign impedance curve. The respons looks great too. It has less treble energy than the FE127E, which looks pretty peaky above 5kHz. Or what about the FF125K, that driver's response looks nice if it's off axis a bit, and it's more sensitive than the FX120. Here's the FX120: http://www.fostexinternational.com/d.../pdf/fx120.pdf And here's the FF125K: http://www.fostexinternational.com/d...pdf/ff125k.pdf And here's the enclosure: http://www.fostexinternational.com/d...p/ff_enc.shtml What do you guys think?

15th March 2005, 10:01 PM	#10
Timn8ter diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Seattle, WA	Can't be a FE126E unless they added their own shielding.

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