Contemplating "high end" fullrange build (Cube audio, AER etc.) - speaker selection, looking for cabinet options

Forgot about those. I thot they souded bad.

dave
I can't say I'm a huge fan either -not of the ones I've tried anyway. But they do [did?] wind coils for Supravox. Not particularly sold on those -although I do like the fact that [the late?] Dan received a pair with a large red wine stain on the back of one cone. As a former Citroen Xantia and XM owner, that does have a certain Gallic appeal -I'm only surprised he didn't find half a pack of Gauloises in the box for the full effect.

The more I think about it, the more I really do like that. 😉
 
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take a double horn, take Sonido driver in front and back, look the feedbacks and measurements
http://www.hm-moreart.de/116.htm , free plan https://de.pinterest.com/horst4304/rdh-20-copyright-free-152024/ ,
and ? AER measurements are integrated 0°-30° so not comparable to other driver, but looks great.

1747119202845.png
 
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...Everyone here tries to achieve the best possible outcomes with what is available to them, it's a greater achievement to do more with less ...
Colin Chapman would have wholeheartedly agreed.

if you had the choice of any modern driver and cabinet (including more complex cabinets), what would you go for?
Unfortunately I'm known for being Captain Context [Captain Caveman when presented with tools 😉 ], so I don't really have a single / straightforward answer to that. Realistically speaking, my own opinion is neither here nor there, since we all have different requirements, but it does bring us back to that context. Basically, what I'd go with would depend on those requirements. From my POV the essentials are:
  • Available budget? [known]
  • How large an enclosure [since there's no point suggesting something that won't fit in the room!]
  • How wide a frequency range you want to cover
  • What average SPL at the listening position?
  • How much headroom [dynamic range] is needed on top of that?
  • What sort of programme material is most likely to be used?
  • What the rest of the system is like [amplifier power, output impedance, availability of EQ, room size & acoustics etc.]?
  • Where the speakers will be in the room itself?
  • How large [or small] a listening axis is either desired or can be accepted?
  • Particular hearing issues that should be kept in mind [e.g. if tinnitus is triggered by peaks at a particular frequency, as can happen for some people]?
  • Preferred enclosure loads [if any]?
  • Who is doing the woodworking and what skill level they have?
Those cover most of the bases; with those nailed down, we'd probably have a better chance of helping you narrow things down a bit.
 
This horn is hard to make even for someone with tools and skills.
Maybe an AI can process the photo into a 3D model and/or print templates for flattened horn sides. Really just need some tape-measured lengths. Then cut and edge-glue mould-able sheets into the horn shape. (Such as automotive vibration suppression sandwich pads.)
 
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Good day to you all,

I’ve done some research and a lot of lurking, wanted to do my homework before asking for qualified opinions … There are other forums out there, but this one seems to have more informed members …


My criterion for "good" speakers is hearing the same thing from speakers which I hear at a concert (mostly classical with a preference for piano concertos) -

I’m far from a speaker building expert, so please indulge me if I’ve misread some information.


Gunn
Morning Gunn and welcome to DIYAudio!……not quite sure you’re not trolling the golden ear audiophools since you’ve just joined and you could find many targets within the full range afficianados…..but I’ll give it a go…….sans the indulgence…….my time is valuable to me and I find most folks have enough self to go around

As a recording and mix engineer for both live and studio work for nearly 4 decades, given your genre preferences dynamic range is going to be your greatest challenge. Your build must be able to effectively handle 10db peaks within the pass band of 500hz to 5khz……no small order for any driver, no less a wideband driver. You can start by examining your driver selection pools impedance test sweeps…..if ANY resonance appears in the impedance that influences the frequency response within +/- 2db at 1w/1m, you MUST exclude that driver from consideration as at 10db dynamic peak, the response fluctuation will be dramatically increased in amplitude and will dominate the performance.

Power compression will be your next challenge as with 10db or more of dynamic range from your source content AND the inherent behavior of poor off axis response from wide range drivers you CANNOT offset ANY high frequency power compression. Again…..this is no small challenge as wide band drivers by design produce high frequency content through controlled physical damping of resonant behavior…..quite the counter productive effort given the inherent design of light weight cone material.

Below Schroeder, all bets are off……without knowing your space’s cutoff frequency and resonant behavior the performance value here will likely be defining failure where concert piano is concerned.

I’ve outlined some pretty tall order considerations for a novice speaker designer ( my interpretation of far from expert….and a lot less words to type) and I can only hope I haven’t wasted my efforts in attempting to prevent you from throwing 10k into the garbage.

So enjoy you’re journey and what i would unfortunately deem a poor investment as no matter how much money you spend, no full/wide band driver exist that can hold up to the task you’ve presented other than headphone drivers or nearfield monitors…….but please forgive me if nearfield is your intended use……..I think not with your Sibelius musings from your original post.
 
Hi there,

with this kind of cost no object budget i would inquire for a field coil version of a Sonido chassis and invest in a really well constructed back loaded horn for the chassis


or a conventional Sonido SFR 200 field coil version with a combination of back loaded horn and a decent front horn to lower distortion in the midrange like something like this

Screenshot 2025-04-06 160642.jpg


all said is just my personal opinion, Stefano
 
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Their [Feastrex's] translator and friend who was a member here had a fair amount of experience. Tragically Chris was killed in a train-related accident over 10 years ago. Clark of Blumenstein hi-fi probably knows, or knew them better than anyone in the west so may be able to offer some feedback -he's a member here, but only occasionally drops by. I know Dave has tried a pair of their 5in field coils and frankly thought they were inferior to his modified Fostex FE127Es at about 1/200 the price.

I did get chance to hear a pair myself about 10 years ago at a UK show, which is far from being a good environment to listen to anything, as I well know from helping run commercial rooms. They were okay for what they were. Nothing objectionable within the context of a not-very-large fullrange -I can't honestly say I thought the results even remotely justified the price, but to each their own, and no doubt I'm either just deaf [good for 16KHz or so] or just lacking the sage knowledge and subtle sophistication to appreciate the wonders laid out bef-

And perhaps I am.
 
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" Disabled " by Bud Purvine process Fostex FE127E is beyond approach I agree. Nothing can touch it. Even Romy the Cat was flored with miraculous transformation. I'm doting myself as I type with hope of becoming a better listener 🙂 My friend swears by red wine from the cardboard container and I am willing to agree after we empty three of them
 
Who mentioned that? I don't recall doing so. The drivers in question had Dave's own modifications, not EnABL.

The FE127E was a nice little driver, and could be improved with some mechanical modifications. Far from perfect, but good for what it was, and last I checked, nobody around here has claimed otherwise.
 
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This an interesting chat, ( sadly I just discovered it!)
The, “how much do you spend on full range driver question!”.

It would be nice to live in Europe and be able to travel to different full range manufacturers and listen to their drivers/ set ups, but I can almost guarantee that they will sound different in your room with your gear!

At the moment I’m enjoying my Sonido Field Core drivers, and definitely spending more than my previous drivers has been good value..Would the Cube Audio F10 Neo v2 at 3 times the price, be better?
I’m sure that it’s nothing like 3 times better!

My work optimising boxes with SB Acoustic 8 inch drivers tells me that the right box can take a driver from average to amazing!

So to answer this thread’s original question, which driver/ box design will take you beyond the Sibelius clone?

Unless you are prepared to spend a lot of time and money developing a new design, ( perhaps many boxes) find an Existing commercial speaker that you think sounds better than the Sibelius and build a clone of it.
Examples, Cube Audio, Songer Audio, Closer Acoustics etc.
 
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