Yes – that’s the one – Peerless TC9FD18 drivers. But Parts Express is out of stock. Amazing sound for it’s price. The 0.4X scale mini Karlsonators are ideal for desktop use and they sound very good. I compare them to my Tannoy Monitors and they have a better midrange and soundstage.
Just go the first post on this thread and scroll down a bit. There are two photos to give you the size – the first (with TC9 drivers) shows a CD cover in front of the speaker, and the second photo shows bonjonno playing his keybord and using the mini Karlsonators (also with TC9 drivers) as monitors.
Mini Karlsonator (0.53X) with Dual TC9FD's
OB is open baffle. The speaker is basically placed on a "board" with no back and sometimes no sides.
TC9s are these: Peerless by Tymphany TC9FD18-08 3-1/2" Full Range Paper Cone Woofer
They're also available at Madisound:
Vifa TC9FD18-08, 3.5" Full Range
If you have a sub, the Nola Brio clones are a great little speaker. You only need four TC9s and a small capacitor. Less than $50 for the parts and a small amount of lumber would give you something with which you'd probably be very happy.
You can even add a tweeter if you'd like:
MTM with TC9fd
TC9s are these: Peerless by Tymphany TC9FD18-08 3-1/2" Full Range Paper Cone Woofer
They're also available at Madisound:
Vifa TC9FD18-08, 3.5" Full Range
If you have a sub, the Nola Brio clones are a great little speaker. You only need four TC9s and a small capacitor. Less than $50 for the parts and a small amount of lumber would give you something with which you'd probably be very happy.
You can even add a tweeter if you'd like:
MTM with TC9fd
Huh. Those may be an option. I'm not a fan of the...errr...suggestive...front baffle, but if they sound great, I'll get over it. 🙄
I think if the weight is low enough for my monitor arm idea, then I might be able to get by with the 0.53x version with the dual TC9s. I'll have to run the numbers and see how heavy it might be.
Any reason to consider separate tweeters with these drivers? The graphs look a little flaky above 10k to me, but then again I have no idea what I'm looking at. lol
I'm a little daunted by how complicated that build looks, though. I don't think I'd want to do it in foam board, since I won't have time to build them twice, and that's a lot of angles and fiddly parts. I'll have to study the plans a bit more and see if it looks doable with my skills and equipment.
They are extremely light. Foam core weighs nothing. Even the 0.53X with dual drivers will be very light weight and give more SPL and bass. You don't need to cut wood. I made them on my dining room table.
From my previous reply... "I don't think I'd want to do it in foam board, since I won't have time to build them twice.
Don't get me wrong, I love foamcore. I use it all the time building foamy RC airplanes. But for this project, I really just want to do it right the first time if possible. I hope to settle on a plan and set of components, build them, and be done. That is, until the bug nibbles me again and I decide it's time to replace this center channel...or the rears...or maybe the sub, and amp... 😱😀
I'm confuzzled. 😕
I read through that thread, and it looked like there was a lot of back and forth discussion of various crossover options and this/that add/remove components, but I never saw a "final" build list, or even an actual plan, now that I think of it. Did I miss something there?
If I bought 4x TC9s (no tweeters), what else would I need to complete that particular setup?
The open back design worries me a bit, since it would make my mounting options tricky. I'd have to put a little back plate on there to screw the mounting arm to. Would that mess up the sound?
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The FF85wk (and Alpair 5.2/3 are my favorite small drivers. Lots of boxes already designed for them from simple to more complex).
Here for example is the set of µFonkens for the FF85wk (with venting changes pretty much the same boxes as for the Alpair 5.2/3 [and probably the Faital Pro 3F22, which is another small driver that shows promise])
The front & side view of the µFonkenSET do not show its true shape, here some built by Bernie in solid wallet:
I would not call any of these drivers overkill.
dave
The A11ms is a much larger driver than the rest, but fits in quite a small enclosure (still over 3x bigger than for the FF85wk/A5.2/A5.3). Also much pricier. But very good.
This is the Pluvia 11 in the CGR dPlu-Ken, with small venting changes the same (large) box fits teh A11ms.
The A5.3 is an A5.2 with square instead of round voice coil wire. Small improvements in the high end are claimed but it is mostly a marketing thing to sell more drivers in the large Japanese market. A5.2 and A5.3 fit exactly the same boxes.
Stock the A.2/5.3 is smoother than the FF85wk, once i am done with them they are hard to separate.
Another small amplifier worth looking at is the Pass ACA. A decent intro to simpleClass A amplifiers.
The full parts & chassis kit seems to spend more time sold out than in stock, but there are lots of alternate sources for boards for the more ambitious. Probably the Pass amp with the most units out in the field helping people enjoy their music.
dave
Thanks Dave. Would you say a µFonken build with say FF85WKs would sound superior to the dual TC9s in a 0.53x Mini K-nator or MTM, like we've been discussing?
I don't mind spending a little more if it means significantly improved performance, but I'm also a big fan of saving money when a cheaper option is just as good. Understatement of the year, right?
Speaking of cheap, I was beginning to put together my P-E shopping cart for other small parts, and I'm leaning towards spring-clip terminals since they're so much less expensive, and I don't expect to be using heavy gauge wire. Is this a mistake?
I don't mind spending a little more if it means significantly improved performance, but I'm also a big fan of saving money when a cheaper option is just as good. Understatement of the year, right?
Speaking of cheap, I was beginning to put together my P-E shopping cart for other small parts, and I'm leaning towards spring-clip terminals since they're so much less expensive, and I don't expect to be using heavy gauge wire. Is this a mistake?
I know a lot of people really like the TC9, but the pair we passed around here for many to listen to had similar reaction from everyone that listened to them, not very good. They are worth their price (about $10 each) but not good value IMO.
A cheap experiment, you may well find them satisfactory, or like me (& others) be disappointed.
dave
A cheap experiment, you may well find them satisfactory, or like me (& others) be disappointed.
dave
The tweeter is just an idea/option. It probably isn't really needed.
Four TC9s, the lumber and screws/glue to build them, some speaker wire, and a pair of speaker terminals (something as simple as this: Two Conductor Speaker Wire Spring Terminal) will get you a pair. A three-inch hole saw works well for the mounting hole. You could put a small capacitor (~10 UFD) in series with the bottom driver, but there are a lot of opinions on whether it is needed. Like Dave mentioned, it's an inexpensive way to see if you like them.
As far as mounting them on the wall, a small piece of wood with a hanging method should work.
Thanks Dave and Mike, those comments help!
As much as I love the idea of a cheap option, I'd really like to do this once.
That doesn't mean I just want to throw money at the issue, but if it means spending an extra $30-50 on the pair to get superior sound, I'm all for it.
That being said, are we still looking at the µFonken setup with FF85WKs, or is there another similar option that would be better, in the same general price range? Remember that as long as I can keep the individual speaker weight below about 14lbs, I think I can get away with a little larger enclosure. This has me thinking about maybe a 4" or even larger driver, if there's one that you guys think is the sweet spot for price vs performance.
I'd prefer it to be something I can get from Parts Express, but I'm open to other options for something stellar. 😉 Sorry to drag this out so much. I always overthink these things, which is half the fun really. lol
I've already download WinISD, even though I have NO clue how to run it. There's something wrong with me...
As much as I love the idea of a cheap option, I'd really like to do this once.
That doesn't mean I just want to throw money at the issue, but if it means spending an extra $30-50 on the pair to get superior sound, I'm all for it.
That being said, are we still looking at the µFonken setup with FF85WKs, or is there another similar option that would be better, in the same general price range? Remember that as long as I can keep the individual speaker weight below about 14lbs, I think I can get away with a little larger enclosure. This has me thinking about maybe a 4" or even larger driver, if there's one that you guys think is the sweet spot for price vs performance.
I'd prefer it to be something I can get from Parts Express, but I'm open to other options for something stellar. 😉 Sorry to drag this out so much. I always overthink these things, which is half the fun really. lol
I've already download WinISD, even though I have NO clue how to run it. There's something wrong with me...
With this post in mind, I would go with one of the MarkAudio drivers. Dave has heard and worked with a lot more drivers than I have, so he'll steer you in the right direction.
By the way, what part of the country are you in? It's possible someone in your area might be able to help you out, too.
Mike
You posted that as i was posting my warning about the TC9. I could not live with it. I gave away the 2 pair i had (and that was surprisingly hard).
IMO FF85wk (or A5.2/3) will smoke the TC9. Both have a range of miniOnken (the generic name for the alignment used in the uFonken), and respective Woden Baby Labs. All are surprising.
We typically use 24g solid core wire for our speakers (strands pulled from a CAT5/6 network cable), and have found that the cheap speaker connecters often sound better than blingier ones with much more metal. Unfortunately PE no longer seems to see the nice 5-way post sthey used to (and dirt cheap). The only source (other than the few i have left), are these from Q-Component/McBride Audio. McBride TC14 - Terminal Cup. The nice PE ones were the same posts on a simplier plate and about ½ the price.
Still cheap but over 4x as much as spring clips which work but i am not a big fan of.
dave
If you can live with a cabinet larger than the uMar-Ken5.2 for the Alpair 5.3, I would tend to stick with the same driver and build a Bloodhound. This cabinet is easier to build and will provide you with more bass. The Bloodhound is one of the Baby Labs designed for the Alpair 5.2 but the box will be bigger than the uMar-Ken5.2 .
Oh man, I feel like I'm finally zoning in on a solution here!
So to be clear, I'm probably best served by a pair of FF85s (or CHP-70P or CHN-70 or alpair 5.3!) Oh man, why so many options?!
For the terminals, do you mean something like this or this?
I have lots of CAT5e cable lying around, I can strip it easily. I assume you mean using it for the internal wiring, or is that for the external also? Do you leave the jacketing of the individual strands in place, or strip them down to bare copper?
So to be clear, I'm probably best served by a pair of FF85s (or CHP-70P or CHN-70 or alpair 5.3!) Oh man, why so many options?!
For the terminals, do you mean something like this or this?
I have lots of CAT5e cable lying around, I can strip it easily. I assume you mean using it for the internal wiring, or is that for the external also? Do you leave the jacketing of the individual strands in place, or strip them down to bare copper?
CHP70 has a purposely shelved down top end, the CHN70 is voiced for the Japanese (and gets a lot of flack for that over here). The A5.2/3 won’t go as low but fits a smaller box and has greater fidelity in the mid/top. The CHP70 also good there, but as said, lacking top.
dave
dave