Well my new 1 meter fiberglass horns and Fostex FE206E's are a truly delightful surprise.
I need to get or borrow a digita camera and post pictures.
But I mainly am amazed at the sound.
I am a Front Loaded Horn convert -
The horns use the LeCleac'h calculation for flare.
The sound is like all the good things I've done to get to better audio rolled into one and then some -
If someone had told me how good it would be I wouldn't have believed them.
Just listening now - got to build stands ( I've got them propped up) but that can wait till I've done some listening.
I don't even have the subs hooked up yet (I've just been burning the FE206E's in) but the sound is truly engaging.
With $88.00 drivers no less - Dave (Planet 10) is right - you can have killer sound for a lot less than you wuld think.
Ken
I need to get or borrow a digita camera and post pictures.
But I mainly am amazed at the sound.
I am a Front Loaded Horn convert -
The horns use the LeCleac'h calculation for flare.
The sound is like all the good things I've done to get to better audio rolled into one and then some -
If someone had told me how good it would be I wouldn't have believed them.
Just listening now - got to build stands ( I've got them propped up) but that can wait till I've done some listening.
I don't even have the subs hooked up yet (I've just been burning the FE206E's in) but the sound is truly engaging.
With $88.00 drivers no less - Dave (Planet 10) is right - you can have killer sound for a lot less than you wuld think.
Ken
Describe your system
Please, what are you using? Front loaded horn with FE206's? Bass horn or woofer or sub? Tweets? Amp?
Thanks,
Rick
Please, what are you using? Front loaded horn with FE206's? Bass horn or woofer or sub? Tweets? Amp?
Thanks,
Rick
ken have you any inputs as to the dispersion characteristics of this speaker...i've had many people tell me about the beaming is a little too harsh in the upper frequency range (top 3 octaves) please see my Fullrange IB dipole sub thread for any inputs...all help is appreciated as i am considering this driver
Ken,
Where did you get the horns,
did you build them ,
or did you buy them somewhere ?
Are you thinking of tweeters?
cheers
Where did you get the horns,
did you build them ,
or did you buy them somewhere ?
Are you thinking of tweeters?
cheers
Hi guys
I am using a front loaded horn that will be used with subs which I have not hooked up and tried to dial in as of yet.
I bought them as a part of a group purchase with some of the Dixie Bottleheads.
Yep - They are from Martin in Perth although I have heard it said that the Azura's are a bass horn - don't really know the name - we just call them the 1 meter Aussie horns _big grin_ or the big Flippng Aussie horns _Even Bigger Grin_
I have not had a problem with Beaming - the FE206E has a reputation for more response in the upper-mid than Lowther's do. I suspect that any beaminess is application dependent (box/room/siting,etc.) instead of the driver. I will say that I believe that the FE206E is an unreal amount of quality for the money. How they can sound this good for $88 USD each was a quite big surprise.
I don't know if it is due to the size of the horn or the LeCleac'h curve that is used for the flare, but the soundstage, airiness, is very large and for want of a better phrase, liquid. There is an openness, ease and "being there" that is quite difficult to really put into words - I believe it is what all the horn guys ( I'm now one for sure) are trying to tell us about.
In Email communication with LeCleac'h he commented that the horns will have to probably be damped in the back to settle the upper mids down. I have not yet done so. The drivers are probably still breaking in so I thought I would wait on that. Plus it has not seemed to be a problem.
Still lacking the bottom end due to not having hooked up the subs, they are so engaging they I would not have believed I could be so blown away.
Brett, I don't know what you're listening to now but these things are well worth a try, particularly since you're in OZ.
I live pretty close to Haldor. He's got a real time analyzer and access to a spectrum analyzer. I plan to get him to bring some gear over and we'll setup the subs, tweak room and placement, etc.
When I get some test gear and _know_ what is going on I will post it here and in the full range driver forum.
BTW, I can't hear over 4k so there may be something up there going on that I am unaware of. However, my wife's hearing is acute in the upper ranges and she loves them.
Later
Ken L
I am using a front loaded horn that will be used with subs which I have not hooked up and tried to dial in as of yet.
I bought them as a part of a group purchase with some of the Dixie Bottleheads.
Brett said:
Yep - They are from Martin in Perth although I have heard it said that the Azura's are a bass horn - don't really know the name - we just call them the 1 meter Aussie horns _big grin_ or the big Flippng Aussie horns _Even Bigger Grin_
I have not had a problem with Beaming - the FE206E has a reputation for more response in the upper-mid than Lowther's do. I suspect that any beaminess is application dependent (box/room/siting,etc.) instead of the driver. I will say that I believe that the FE206E is an unreal amount of quality for the money. How they can sound this good for $88 USD each was a quite big surprise.
I don't know if it is due to the size of the horn or the LeCleac'h curve that is used for the flare, but the soundstage, airiness, is very large and for want of a better phrase, liquid. There is an openness, ease and "being there" that is quite difficult to really put into words - I believe it is what all the horn guys ( I'm now one for sure) are trying to tell us about.
In Email communication with LeCleac'h he commented that the horns will have to probably be damped in the back to settle the upper mids down. I have not yet done so. The drivers are probably still breaking in so I thought I would wait on that. Plus it has not seemed to be a problem.
Still lacking the bottom end due to not having hooked up the subs, they are so engaging they I would not have believed I could be so blown away.
Brett, I don't know what you're listening to now but these things are well worth a try, particularly since you're in OZ.
I live pretty close to Haldor. He's got a real time analyzer and access to a spectrum analyzer. I plan to get him to bring some gear over and we'll setup the subs, tweak room and placement, etc.
When I get some test gear and _know_ what is going on I will post it here and in the full range driver forum.
BTW, I can't hear over 4k so there may be something up there going on that I am unaware of. However, my wife's hearing is acute in the upper ranges and she loves them.
Later
Ken L
related equipment
source is a Socny C555ES SACD player ( came from Oade Bros)
I'm using a Nakamichi CA-1 SS preamp that I bought for my h/t while I continue to debug AC hum from my underconstruction tube preamp with 12B4's and sowter transformer volume controls
The amp is a VAC 30/30 300B push pull. I am collecting parts for a GM70 amp.
Pure Silver Sound interconnects
Plain Cat 5 for speaker wire
Tweeter/supertweeter - one benefit of full-range is the clarity of sound without a crossover
Probably will do nothing on a tweeter for several other reasons - the Fostex looks pretty good on up to about 12K and I may do fine with the Fostex. I know that the chart does show a little beaminess in the higher areas - Don't forget - this driver is going to be handling everything above 135 Hz . And its doing an amazing job when you consider that it sells for $88.00. I'm tickled that it's doing as much as it is so well.
I doubt many adults past 30 can hear over 12 K, I'm 57 and my guess is that anything over 10K is moot for most of my family and friends.
But the big thing with me on a tweeter is that my wife has very acute hearing in the upper ranges where I can't hear - this has been a problem in the past for us listening together - If I turn the volume to where I want it, she frequently leaves the room because the highs are driving her nuts.
So losing response above 12K may well be a good thing in my house.
Later
Ken L
source is a Socny C555ES SACD player ( came from Oade Bros)
I'm using a Nakamichi CA-1 SS preamp that I bought for my h/t while I continue to debug AC hum from my underconstruction tube preamp with 12B4's and sowter transformer volume controls
The amp is a VAC 30/30 300B push pull. I am collecting parts for a GM70 amp.
Pure Silver Sound interconnects
Plain Cat 5 for speaker wire
Tweeter/supertweeter - one benefit of full-range is the clarity of sound without a crossover
Probably will do nothing on a tweeter for several other reasons - the Fostex looks pretty good on up to about 12K and I may do fine with the Fostex. I know that the chart does show a little beaminess in the higher areas - Don't forget - this driver is going to be handling everything above 135 Hz . And its doing an amazing job when you consider that it sells for $88.00. I'm tickled that it's doing as much as it is so well.
I doubt many adults past 30 can hear over 12 K, I'm 57 and my guess is that anything over 10K is moot for most of my family and friends.
But the big thing with me on a tweeter is that my wife has very acute hearing in the upper ranges where I can't hear - this has been a problem in the past for us listening together - If I turn the volume to where I want it, she frequently leaves the room because the highs are driving her nuts.
So losing response above 12K may well be a good thing in my house.
Later
Ken L
Re: Hi guys
I had a bit of an email exchange last year with Martin, and very nearly bought some. Some personal committments got in the way of completing the transaction, as the prices are good enough that the flares themselves aren't a problem. What put me off was I'm not real keen on any of the Lowthers I've ever heard, and that was going to make it a bit expensive, and a risk; if I hated them I was oing to take a loss. The FE206's make it a much more economical proposition.
Even though we're in the same country, I'm across the other side of the continent.
Currently I'm using a multiway compression driver horn system, liberally based around my Klipschorns. I've been hanging off on the sale of a house and the negotiations around a new business before I committed to a set of Edgar 350Hz trax flares, and some 80Hz shells. The Azura/Fostex combo would be a fraction of that, and less hassle than integrating 4 different drivers and horns. If they go down low enough (say 120Hz), popped on top of a set of LABhorns would make a simple 2 way
Yes PLEASE!. I'd be particularly interested to see what the driver and flare combo does on it's own. I know Dave Slagle says he gets 80Hz from his Lowthers in the same flare, but the HF response is of interest too.
What I'd also like to know is, what sort of music do you listen too? This helps me guage any comments made on SQ. I listen to a lot of rock, classic and new, blues, folk etc, so something that sounds fine on baroque, but goes to peices with the Who isn't going to work for me.
What colour are yours?
Looking forward to hearing more.
Cheers!
Brett
Ken L said:
I had a bit of an email exchange last year with Martin, and very nearly bought some. Some personal committments got in the way of completing the transaction, as the prices are good enough that the flares themselves aren't a problem. What put me off was I'm not real keen on any of the Lowthers I've ever heard, and that was going to make it a bit expensive, and a risk; if I hated them I was oing to take a loss. The FE206's make it a much more economical proposition.
Even though we're in the same country, I'm across the other side of the continent.
Currently I'm using a multiway compression driver horn system, liberally based around my Klipschorns. I've been hanging off on the sale of a house and the negotiations around a new business before I committed to a set of Edgar 350Hz trax flares, and some 80Hz shells. The Azura/Fostex combo would be a fraction of that, and less hassle than integrating 4 different drivers and horns. If they go down low enough (say 120Hz), popped on top of a set of LABhorns would make a simple 2 way
Yes PLEASE!. I'd be particularly interested to see what the driver and flare combo does on it's own. I know Dave Slagle says he gets 80Hz from his Lowthers in the same flare, but the HF response is of interest too.
What I'd also like to know is, what sort of music do you listen too? This helps me guage any comments made on SQ. I listen to a lot of rock, classic and new, blues, folk etc, so something that sounds fine on baroque, but goes to peices with the Who isn't going to work for me.
What colour are yours?
Looking forward to hearing more.
Cheers!
Brett
Re: related equipment
I've got one running on the breadboard at the moment. Awaiting some regs to DC V and I reg the filaments. Nice tube.
Ken L said:
I've got one running on the breadboard at the moment. Awaiting some regs to DC V and I reg the filaments. Nice tube.
Re: related equipment
Hi Ken ,all
Cool valve, would love to hear more 😎
I have no experience with the Fostex , but have used Lowthers a lot,
gave up on them because I missed the high frequencies, ended up
using tweeters anyway.
I see. Our hearing is sometimes problematic, I'm 45 and have a big notch at 2K in both ears + hearing damage and tinnitus in my right ear 🙁
I had my hearing checked about 5 months ago and can hear to about
14-15 kHz.
Still, I find that the lower midrange and midbass is better with a tweeter
+ the sound is rounder and more complete.
Cheers
Hi Ken ,all
Ken L said:
Cool valve, would love to hear more 😎
I have no experience with the Fostex , but have used Lowthers a lot,
gave up on them because I missed the high frequencies, ended up
using tweeters anyway.
I see. Our hearing is sometimes problematic, I'm 45 and have a big notch at 2K in both ears + hearing damage and tinnitus in my right ear 🙁
I had my hearing checked about 5 months ago and can hear to about
14-15 kHz.
Still, I find that the lower midrange and midbass is better with a tweeter
+ the sound is rounder and more complete.
Cheers
Re: Re: Hi guys
Mine are biege, which is much easier to intergrate into a decorating scheme.
I listen to a wide variety that includes classical, opera, bluegrass, jazz, and rock - about the hardest rock I listen to is Dire Straights, the Eagles, Boz Scaggs - I'm more interested in purity than slam - although I do figure that the next major addition is a pair of Labhorns.
Brett, it may be hard to beat those compression drivers and the Klipsch setup.
I haven't posted this as a _review_ because I haven't really done that much critical listening, the drivers are still breaking in, etc. The highs at this time do not have the sparkle and tinkle that my Scan-Speak solist with 2905/9500 setup has - However, the scan speaks are running on pure silver cables that I haven't yet had time to swap over, plus the highs keep slowly getting better. Which is one reason I thought I would wait awhile longer to do any measuring and serious setup.
Right now I'm at the point where they're sitting on the floor with improper height and tilt and essentially there's a great deal left to do in setup, building stands, tweaking, placement, etc.
I also am going to be very interested in comments from some other local guys after they hear them when setup and broken in.
Jim Dowdy lives about 40 miles away. Jim has been around a long time and heard a bunch of stuff. I'm going to be interested in his and some of the other bottleheads opinions. Usually I go in his direction because I have a business location about 20 miles past him. I'll get him and some of the guys down when they're broken in.
However, something special is happening with this setup - and for not very much money either.
While I would love to get by without it, I will not be surprised if I wind up using a tweeter/supertweeter, probably in a minimal crossover - I've seen some info that indicates people think the sound is better even if it is beyond their hearing range - don't know if it's magic - or voo-doo or hocus pocus. Only way to find out is for me to give it a try _grin_.
My posts at this time are somewhat maybe like a guy who bought an old Jaguar V-12 over the phone sight unseen and had never owned anything close to that before.He's so overjoyed at the power and handling he doesn't see the rust or fading paint. That only comes later after the new wears off.
I will be honest and scruplous in my posts about this setup - there's really no pride of ownership to me on something like this. Only sharing with others what works and doesn't work. That sharing by others is what has led me to this point
Later
Ken L
PS Pride of ownership did surface last night when the guy that lives next door came over and his jaw dropped at the sound. He was more bowled over at the sound than I was and kept asking questions. He never got around to saying what his system was made up of all together (it's still in storage) but he did say that he had a nice Linn Turntable.
Brett said:
Mine are biege, which is much easier to intergrate into a decorating scheme.
I listen to a wide variety that includes classical, opera, bluegrass, jazz, and rock - about the hardest rock I listen to is Dire Straights, the Eagles, Boz Scaggs - I'm more interested in purity than slam - although I do figure that the next major addition is a pair of Labhorns.
Brett, it may be hard to beat those compression drivers and the Klipsch setup.
I haven't posted this as a _review_ because I haven't really done that much critical listening, the drivers are still breaking in, etc. The highs at this time do not have the sparkle and tinkle that my Scan-Speak solist with 2905/9500 setup has - However, the scan speaks are running on pure silver cables that I haven't yet had time to swap over, plus the highs keep slowly getting better. Which is one reason I thought I would wait awhile longer to do any measuring and serious setup.
Right now I'm at the point where they're sitting on the floor with improper height and tilt and essentially there's a great deal left to do in setup, building stands, tweaking, placement, etc.
I also am going to be very interested in comments from some other local guys after they hear them when setup and broken in.
Jim Dowdy lives about 40 miles away. Jim has been around a long time and heard a bunch of stuff. I'm going to be interested in his and some of the other bottleheads opinions. Usually I go in his direction because I have a business location about 20 miles past him. I'll get him and some of the guys down when they're broken in.
However, something special is happening with this setup - and for not very much money either.
slowmotion said:
While I would love to get by without it, I will not be surprised if I wind up using a tweeter/supertweeter, probably in a minimal crossover - I've seen some info that indicates people think the sound is better even if it is beyond their hearing range - don't know if it's magic - or voo-doo or hocus pocus. Only way to find out is for me to give it a try _grin_.
My posts at this time are somewhat maybe like a guy who bought an old Jaguar V-12 over the phone sight unseen and had never owned anything close to that before.He's so overjoyed at the power and handling he doesn't see the rust or fading paint. That only comes later after the new wears off.
I will be honest and scruplous in my posts about this setup - there's really no pride of ownership to me on something like this. Only sharing with others what works and doesn't work. That sharing by others is what has led me to this point
Later
Ken L
PS Pride of ownership did surface last night when the guy that lives next door came over and his jaw dropped at the sound. He was more bowled over at the sound than I was and kept asking questions. He never got around to saying what his system was made up of all together (it's still in storage) but he did say that he had a nice Linn Turntable.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.