OK,
My situation is a little funny. I just moved into a 1976 Dodge Sportsman. For financial and musical reasons. I live in Amsterdam where finding a place to live where you can practice is next to impossible. So, I bought a van.
I'm looking at getting a decent sound system going. Of course, I have very little money, and space is weird. I just bought a Topping TP 22 TK2050 as it sounded like the cheapest decent amp around.
I am considering cheap speaker options. Pioneer SP-BS22-LR or Micca MB42X. Also, small is good for me as right now I have big speakers that have to sit on my bed which is above the drivers seat….
However, I wondered, might it make sense to use Fostex 206 full driver speakers as ceiling speakers? There are already terrible old speakers installed in the ceiling connected to the cheap van cd player. I could easily install them there and wire them to my little amp at my table.
I realise this question shows the depth of my ignorance. Many people online here are building beautiful wooden enclosures for their foster speakers and I'm just suggesting installing them in the ceiling of my van. But, what do you think, might it work?
If not, any other suggestions? I'm a bit handy, would be willing to grab a solder iron. And as you can see, happy to think way outside the box. But probably limited to around $150.
Also open for vintage suggestions.
Thanks in advance for any input.
BTW, I listen to music from laptop, a variety of old Philips PCDP dating back to the 80s, Vinyl if I can figure out a decent way to put my record player in the van…. I also have some Beyerdynamic 880s which is use for all my serious listening now.
My situation is a little funny. I just moved into a 1976 Dodge Sportsman. For financial and musical reasons. I live in Amsterdam where finding a place to live where you can practice is next to impossible. So, I bought a van.
I'm looking at getting a decent sound system going. Of course, I have very little money, and space is weird. I just bought a Topping TP 22 TK2050 as it sounded like the cheapest decent amp around.
I am considering cheap speaker options. Pioneer SP-BS22-LR or Micca MB42X. Also, small is good for me as right now I have big speakers that have to sit on my bed which is above the drivers seat….
However, I wondered, might it make sense to use Fostex 206 full driver speakers as ceiling speakers? There are already terrible old speakers installed in the ceiling connected to the cheap van cd player. I could easily install them there and wire them to my little amp at my table.
I realise this question shows the depth of my ignorance. Many people online here are building beautiful wooden enclosures for their foster speakers and I'm just suggesting installing them in the ceiling of my van. But, what do you think, might it work?
If not, any other suggestions? I'm a bit handy, would be willing to grab a solder iron. And as you can see, happy to think way outside the box. But probably limited to around $150.
Also open for vintage suggestions.
Thanks in advance for any input.
BTW, I listen to music from laptop, a variety of old Philips PCDP dating back to the 80s, Vinyl if I can figure out a decent way to put my record player in the van…. I also have some Beyerdynamic 880s which is use for all my serious listening now.
In this case a small enclosure with 3 - 4" drivers would make far more sense - the 206 is no doubt a decent enough performer in an appropriate enclosure / application, but I think this is not one of them.
And I'm not generally a fan of ceiling mounted speakers for anything other than background / ambient "acoustic wallpaper" - such as restaurant.
Something like a Fostex FF85 / 105WK, Mark Audio CHP/CHR 70, any of several TangBand / Omnes, Fountek etc in the 3-4" range in 2-3 liter boxes would be what I'd look at.
Canton, Radio Shack and numerous others used to make very delightful little aluminum enclosure 2-ways that sounded just great in cars and even small minivans when not subject to road noise thresholds of over 60dB
And I'm not generally a fan of ceiling mounted speakers for anything other than background / ambient "acoustic wallpaper" - such as restaurant.
Something like a Fostex FF85 / 105WK, Mark Audio CHP/CHR 70, any of several TangBand / Omnes, Fountek etc in the 3-4" range in 2-3 liter boxes would be what I'd look at.
Canton, Radio Shack and numerous others used to make very delightful little aluminum enclosure 2-ways that sounded just great in cars and even small minivans when not subject to road noise thresholds of over 60dB
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Thanks Chris for the feedback. Btw i am not suggesting ceiling mounting a box but actually installing a speaker into the ceiling itself. I suppose i need to check how much space there is between the ceiling and the actual roof of the van. ... Another option would be to install speakers into the cabinet. Op po site the table is a horizontal cabinet about a foot and a half deep and high and maybe 5 feet long. Perhaps I could just turn that into a speaker enclosure. I don't really need it as a cabinet.
Sorry if my description is confusing... will take some pictures when I get home.
Sorry if my description is confusing... will take some pictures when I get home.
Another question though. .. do you think something like the fostex 85 could potentially be a better option than just buying one of the budget speakers I mentioned earlier? The pioneer or micca that is. Obviously incredible volume in't a big issue for me. Mostly interested in quality of sound and accurate reproduction.
If you want to install a speaker in the ceiling, Fostex's are all wrong as they tend to have low to mid Qts and you want a high Qts driver for this. You might just stick with auto sound speakers maybe coaxial 2 way 5.25 in drivers. If you want to go full range, look for a 4 in driver with Qts of 0.9 or above otherwise there won't be any bass. Anything much bigger and you won't have enough clearance for a magnet. Another option is to use a speaker/box combo designed for flat panel TV's - they can sound surprisingly good and are very cheap if bought in clearance section.
I'm a big fan of the 85WK (have a pair at each home of work desktops) but am frankly surprised that mini line array with TC9FD hasn't been mentioned already 😉 - all jesting aside , by numerous accounts a competent little performer.
A couple of decades ago, I replaced the stock dash mounted mono speaker in a Volvo wagon with a pair of similar sized Vifas - I couldn't kill those things, and they sounded way better than they had any right to.
And yes, considering this is after all an auto install, a pair of inexpensive coaxes, or even whizzer coned unit would be worth considering. There's very likely a size that would fit in vehicle stock locations if any are still accessible.
A couple of decades ago, I replaced the stock dash mounted mono speaker in a Volvo wagon with a pair of similar sized Vifas - I couldn't kill those things, and they sounded way better than they had any right to.
And yes, considering this is after all an auto install, a pair of inexpensive coaxes, or even whizzer coned unit would be worth considering. There's very likely a size that would fit in vehicle stock locations if any are still accessible.
Such as the Vifa TC9FD 😀 Seriously, it could be a good fit in this case.
-- I see, chrisb beat me to it.
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Ok, well I'm going home today so I'll send some photos of the inside of the van. There may be a few unusual cabinet options aside from the ceiling installation I first mentioned. Or I could try and build an enclosure.
So, are you suggesting the Vifa oculd sound as good or even better than the Fostex 85WK in this case? I'm more than happy to go with the cheaper option!
OTOH, it may be a van, but it's also my full time home so I don't mind spending slightly more than $15…..
And, could anyone make a comparison with those cheap bookshelves I mentioned earlier? I've read a lot of really positive reviews of those and I'm just curious how they would stack up to a project like this. No, that's inaccurate, how would they compare to one of these full ranger drivers in a good enclosure in a good space?
So, are you suggesting the Vifa oculd sound as good or even better than the Fostex 85WK in this case? I'm more than happy to go with the cheaper option!
OTOH, it may be a van, but it's also my full time home so I don't mind spending slightly more than $15…..
And, could anyone make a comparison with those cheap bookshelves I mentioned earlier? I've read a lot of really positive reviews of those and I'm just curious how they would stack up to a project like this. No, that's inaccurate, how would they compare to one of these full ranger drivers in a good enclosure in a good space?
Update:
Impulse buyer that I am...
I found a pair of Fostex FF85WK in Europe for a decent price. Was about to order the Vifa but with shipping and possible customs I figured I'd just go for the Fostex, which I've been curious about for a long time.
So, now just need to figure out the best option for installation.
Impulse buyer that I am...
I found a pair of Fostex FF85WK in Europe for a decent price. Was about to order the Vifa but with shipping and possible customs I figured I'd just go for the Fostex, which I've been curious about for a long time.
So, now just need to figure out the best option for installation.
You can't go wrong with either as many regard the FF85WK as one of the best 3 inch full rangers out there, and others regard the TC9FD as one of the best 3.5 inch. For a ceiling mount the TC9FD will have better bass extension due to higher Qts.
I think the TC9FD should be available locally in NL from a distributor somewhere. I know Wesayso bought over 50 of them for his TT's. 🙂
I think the TC9FD should be available locally in NL from a distributor somewhere. I know Wesayso bought over 50 of them for his TT's. 🙂
Ah maybe I'll ask Wesayso how he did that. You know where he's living?
Actually just cancelled my Fostex order as that French site sells the driver with enclosure kit for much cheaper than what I would pay to do that and buy them separate. So, what do you reckon would work better in a van, Vifa in ceiling or Fostex in the kit I posted above?
Actually just cancelled my Fostex order as that French site sells the driver with enclosure kit for much cheaper than what I would pay to do that and buy them separate. So, what do you reckon would work better in a van, Vifa in ceiling or Fostex in the kit I posted above?
The port on the kit looks a bit larger than I'd imagine you need - I've built a few little boxes * for these with much smaller total CSA of slot port ( i.e 1005mm^2 vs approx 1250 or so for the YAC 413 port recommended for this kit)
And IMHO 18mm ply is a bit overkill for this particular driver (our own kits for this one use 12mm) , but they're probably using same stock for numerous other kits as well. Other than that, looks like a breeze to put together.
* microFonken FF85WK
And IMHO 18mm ply is a bit overkill for this particular driver (our own kits for this one use 12mm) , but they're probably using same stock for numerous other kits as well. Other than that, looks like a breeze to put together.
* microFonken FF85WK
Thanks for the input Chris. hmmm, well for the price overkill doesn't seem like a problem to me. Ie, it couldn't hurt to have 18mm, no?
I did find the Vifa nearby and it is cheap. So that is a real contender again. So, what's your opinion, fostex in this kit or Vifa in my roof?
The Fostex in this enclosure, would it work ok even if in a funny location? ie close to a wall or on a bed....
I did find the Vifa nearby and it is cheap. So that is a real contender again. So, what's your opinion, fostex in this kit or Vifa in my roof?
The Fostex in this enclosure, would it work ok even if in a funny location? ie close to a wall or on a bed....
One thing to note, a driver in a properly designed reflex box will have better bass extension than one mounted in a ceiling baffle with no port. If you want a ported box, the FF85wk will be more compact with lower Qts. The Vifa can be ported and will easily reach 55 Hz but the box is much bigger.
xrk & I have the equal disadvantage of each reading & writing wonderful things about the two drivers in question - but have only heard our own favorites, in a variety of different enclosures
re the Fostex kit - no, that's probably not too much overkill, and the price is certainly quite reasonable
a small stand-alone box can certainly have sonic advantages over a dedicated in-wall or ceiling installation
re the Fostex kit - no, that's probably not too much overkill, and the price is certainly quite reasonable
a small stand-alone box can certainly have sonic advantages over a dedicated in-wall or ceiling installation
It would appear that the FF105WK kit is virtually identical, even the same port part number.
Cabinet kit Fostex FF105WK
jeff
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