t-shirts?
cafepress.com...or others.
I think we should set up an artists consortium to make t-shirt designs for Feastrex...
Manley labs and Ferrari have great t-shirts and acoutrement, why not Feastrex?
For those who cannot afford the drive units (like me), a T-shirt or a trinket of some kind would keep our souls warm in the otherwise absence of the gentle breeze accompanying a Feastrex nuclear fire...
"This is your brain on Feastrex." so many great ideas here...
Or my personal favourite: " Feastrex: a journey through space-time!" (from the website).
Wow! I am quivering with excitement at that one!
Space time?!?!
Picture a little boy standing on his tippytoes trying to trick people into thinking he is tall enough to go on a theme park ride named something like "A journey through space time."
Space time!?!?! what part of my body gets taken where? It must be the kind of legendary ride that makes geeky kids like me krap their pants or something.
THAT sounds COOOOOL!!!!
http://www.theknack.net/~rob/pictures/2007/image_sizes/large_2007.07.08-dominics_pee_pee_pants.jpg
Clark
cafepress.com...or others.
I think we should set up an artists consortium to make t-shirt designs for Feastrex...
Manley labs and Ferrari have great t-shirts and acoutrement, why not Feastrex?
For those who cannot afford the drive units (like me), a T-shirt or a trinket of some kind would keep our souls warm in the otherwise absence of the gentle breeze accompanying a Feastrex nuclear fire...
"This is your brain on Feastrex." so many great ideas here...
Or my personal favourite: " Feastrex: a journey through space-time!" (from the website).
Wow! I am quivering with excitement at that one!
Space time?!?!
Picture a little boy standing on his tippytoes trying to trick people into thinking he is tall enough to go on a theme park ride named something like "A journey through space time."
Space time!?!?! what part of my body gets taken where? It must be the kind of legendary ride that makes geeky kids like me krap their pants or something.
THAT sounds COOOOOL!!!!
http://www.theknack.net/~rob/pictures/2007/image_sizes/large_2007.07.08-dominics_pee_pee_pants.jpg
Clark
Okay, Clark, I take it that post was in retaliation for the tone of the opening of my last email to you? 😉
Pokin' fun at our Feastolatry, are we? Here's a t-shirt for you . . . "I went to Japan and all I got was a wedgie on Mt. Fuji!" . . . 'nuff said. 😀
-- Chris
Pokin' fun at our Feastolatry, are we? Here's a t-shirt for you . . . "I went to Japan and all I got was a wedgie on Mt. Fuji!" . . . 'nuff said. 😀
-- Chris
Nelson Pass said:
Those are Rich's... both are experiments in bracing. The 18mm side panels unbraced were not sufficient. Phil used oversize solid hardwood braces which loaded the sides (pushed the sides out)... from the reactions of both this was more effective than the internal + external braces made from ply -- i will probably specifiy double side walls + Phil's bracing once we get all the detail sorted out.
Also note the dragon spine down the back. Phil has closed his off and filled with sound. Rich has equal spacing. The original concept ones used fibonacci spacing.
There is no denying the cosmetic flair of Rich's Tiger Fish version, but it should be noted that these builds are based on a cosmetically simplified version of the box.
dave
oh noo...
Chris,
tonality and counterpoint aside, lets look at the harmony.
Having had my "audio metacontext" blown away (in the words of gizmo) at the Denver show, the picture of that unfortunate little child is the tip of the iceberg compared to the way I felt after the rollercoaster ride which was being dished out by those hauntingly understated cabinets.
Now whether or not Mt. Fuji gives YOU a wedgie is your deal. I will stick to peeing my pants. Its what all the cool kids do...
Clark
Chris,
tonality and counterpoint aside, lets look at the harmony.
Having had my "audio metacontext" blown away (in the words of gizmo) at the Denver show, the picture of that unfortunate little child is the tip of the iceberg compared to the way I felt after the rollercoaster ride which was being dished out by those hauntingly understated cabinets.
Now whether or not Mt. Fuji gives YOU a wedgie is your deal. I will stick to peeing my pants. Its what all the cool kids do...
Clark
Oh crap!
I just posted as Hal Teramoto -- what a dope! (Me, not him.)
He had been having trouble viewing some uploaded images so I registered him to allow him to be able to see those images. Then I forgot to log out as him and log in as myself before posting.
His posts are being moderated so hopefully my post as him will never see the light of day, although it's not the end of the world if it does.
And I'll tell him to change his password to something I don't know, now that I'm thinking of it.
-- Chris
I just posted as Hal Teramoto -- what a dope! (Me, not him.)
He had been having trouble viewing some uploaded images so I registered him to allow him to be able to see those images. Then I forgot to log out as him and log in as myself before posting.
His posts are being moderated so hopefully my post as him will never see the light of day, although it's not the end of the world if it does.
And I'll tell him to change his password to something I don't know, now that I'm thinking of it.
-- Chris
Re: I did
So you took the red pill, Phil . . . care turn that "oh my!" into an "oh ours"? -- I'm dying to know how you and Rich like the final results of your truly amazing efforts on this build.
-- Chris
Phil Townsend said:
So you took the red pill, Phil . . . care turn that "oh my!" into an "oh ours"? -- I'm dying to know how you and Rich like the final results of your truly amazing efforts on this build.
-- Chris
Let's try that again, this time as my stupid self.
So when can we expect some more comments on how these new cabinets sound? I'm already saluting you gents for the sheer effort that must have been involved.
-- Chris
So when can we expect some more comments on how these new cabinets sound? I'm already saluting you gents for the sheer effort that must have been involved.
-- Chris
Re: oh noo...
Okay, if you prefer wetting yourself at Mt. Fuji, that can be arranged too:
http://www.kgn.co.jp/break/hitozuma/hitozuma_image_007.jpg
-- Chris
blumenco said:
Okay, if you prefer wetting yourself at Mt. Fuji, that can be arranged too:
http://www.kgn.co.jp/break/hitozuma/hitozuma_image_007.jpg
-- Chris
AHhhh, good to be back. Sorry being vapor poster for so long. I wanna catch up. Going back a bit....
I have used several amps on the Feastrex D5nf. Cary Audio SLI-80 tube integrated (60W PP, 6550) sounded TERRIBLE from 8 ohm tap. Very forward, shrieky, small, unbearable. This is a good example of what you guys were talking about wrt "damping factor.." I do have Speltz Zeroformers which could lower the speakers apparent impedance, but I never tried them with the cary before I sold the amp. So impedance is not the only consideration, some amps need a load to sound good. Into 4 ohms the Cary was exquisite. Then very good results with Manley 100W PP (EL34) Snapper monoblocks with 5 ohm tap (best), clear, powerful, plenty of bass, this is why I love tube amps. McIntosh MC402 SS stereo 500W autoformer output, 8 ohm tap. Sounds the same on single feastrex as on 5 way Legacy Focus. Total control, smooth pleasing sound, too boring, the autoformer eats all the Feastrex joy. The most interesting of all is the Altmann BYOB battery powered amp - a car stereo chip with a pot, direct coupled. It is a minimalist design, with design goal to remove all modes of distortion. It measures 5W>8R before clipping, and 10W>4R so I imagine it is ~3W at 14.5ohms of Feastrex. Sounded excellent, same sound as it has on other speakers. But it did start to clip at high volumes, despite the driver's 95dB sensitivity. Again it is happier with lower load impedance. The Altmann is the only SS amp I have ever heard to retain the harmonic integrity that tubes do. The Feastrex are so revealing of this aspect that it is difficult to listen to them without an amp of the same high caliber. I have not tried any of Nelson's designs yet.
I built the shark fin speakers pictured above. Thanks for posting Dave, and glad you like it Nelson. I only cut the wood and glued it on, Dave proposed the external fins as stiffening, drew the plans and deserves the credit for the "stimulating appearance." I just fabricated it. My wife saw them and said "Wow!" she liked it. A little paint might help too.
As for the sound, I was not originally pleased with it, but that was prior to adding any bracing, except that specified inside the coupling chamber. The sound of flopping baltic birch is terrible compared to pine. But once properly supported according to Dave's suggestions, it has improved a lot. I used **** plywood for the horn braces, instead of hardwood as Dave specified, and now those are the only thing left ringing. So I will sawzall those out and replace. Still need to paint the thing, that should damp things a little more.
I use Quad 2905, Usher Be20, Legacy Focus2020 as reference to compare. None have the harmonic beauty or even speed of the feastrex but they are far more neutral and balanced top to bottom. So we have some way to go in tuning/bracing or whatever. But it makes good bass, probably 50Hz with 12dB rolloff as predicted. Congrats to Scottmoose on the great design. Bass is very fast and clear, almost as good as the Quads. To get it even lower, I will be trying various sub scenarios, U Baffle, servo controlled, etc. I like Prokofiev and Shostakovich SYmphonies, both masters of low frequency power. Prokofiev is why I do hifi, simply gotta have perfect bass drum, <30Hz.
I have been experimenting with stuffing inside the cabinets. I tried 4 things so far. No stuffing gives the glorious Feastrex mind bending detail and penetrating musical drug, but too forward, and resonant with the sound of unmitigated baltic birch YUK! I filled the rear of the chamber full with poly wool all the way up to the rear of the driver like a big reflex design - horniness and birch sound curtailed, but way too dead (I am learning this from scratch by experimenting...) Then I took out 80% of that, just covering the whole rear wall (and throat openings) about 2" deep, much better. Detail is reduced by 30% from no stuffing, but much improved over previous experiment. Lastly, I moved this same wool from rear to front, touching the baffle. YUK! There is a very serious ring in there, it is a like a metal bell that is struck most noticably with trumpet whacking a note in the 650Hz range - unlistenable. This last was the most interesting to me, demonstrating just how important placement of tuning materials is.
Phil suspended a curtain of silk wool on the center brace in the middle of the box, seems to like that...
I plan to build variation of the design again in other materials. The effort required to tame BB doesn't appeal to me. The pine Freddie sounded utterly delicious with no stuffing and no bracing. Just a little woof at 200Hz, and plenty of pine color, but good Feastrex ecstacy and no bass. One Maiko experiment will definitely be pine, but not plain boards.
Thanks Dave, Phil, Chris, Mike, tallawalla, Hal and others for help and moral support on this project.
Rich
I have used several amps on the Feastrex D5nf. Cary Audio SLI-80 tube integrated (60W PP, 6550) sounded TERRIBLE from 8 ohm tap. Very forward, shrieky, small, unbearable. This is a good example of what you guys were talking about wrt "damping factor.." I do have Speltz Zeroformers which could lower the speakers apparent impedance, but I never tried them with the cary before I sold the amp. So impedance is not the only consideration, some amps need a load to sound good. Into 4 ohms the Cary was exquisite. Then very good results with Manley 100W PP (EL34) Snapper monoblocks with 5 ohm tap (best), clear, powerful, plenty of bass, this is why I love tube amps. McIntosh MC402 SS stereo 500W autoformer output, 8 ohm tap. Sounds the same on single feastrex as on 5 way Legacy Focus. Total control, smooth pleasing sound, too boring, the autoformer eats all the Feastrex joy. The most interesting of all is the Altmann BYOB battery powered amp - a car stereo chip with a pot, direct coupled. It is a minimalist design, with design goal to remove all modes of distortion. It measures 5W>8R before clipping, and 10W>4R so I imagine it is ~3W at 14.5ohms of Feastrex. Sounded excellent, same sound as it has on other speakers. But it did start to clip at high volumes, despite the driver's 95dB sensitivity. Again it is happier with lower load impedance. The Altmann is the only SS amp I have ever heard to retain the harmonic integrity that tubes do. The Feastrex are so revealing of this aspect that it is difficult to listen to them without an amp of the same high caliber. I have not tried any of Nelson's designs yet.
I built the shark fin speakers pictured above. Thanks for posting Dave, and glad you like it Nelson. I only cut the wood and glued it on, Dave proposed the external fins as stiffening, drew the plans and deserves the credit for the "stimulating appearance." I just fabricated it. My wife saw them and said "Wow!" she liked it. A little paint might help too.
As for the sound, I was not originally pleased with it, but that was prior to adding any bracing, except that specified inside the coupling chamber. The sound of flopping baltic birch is terrible compared to pine. But once properly supported according to Dave's suggestions, it has improved a lot. I used **** plywood for the horn braces, instead of hardwood as Dave specified, and now those are the only thing left ringing. So I will sawzall those out and replace. Still need to paint the thing, that should damp things a little more.
I use Quad 2905, Usher Be20, Legacy Focus2020 as reference to compare. None have the harmonic beauty or even speed of the feastrex but they are far more neutral and balanced top to bottom. So we have some way to go in tuning/bracing or whatever. But it makes good bass, probably 50Hz with 12dB rolloff as predicted. Congrats to Scottmoose on the great design. Bass is very fast and clear, almost as good as the Quads. To get it even lower, I will be trying various sub scenarios, U Baffle, servo controlled, etc. I like Prokofiev and Shostakovich SYmphonies, both masters of low frequency power. Prokofiev is why I do hifi, simply gotta have perfect bass drum, <30Hz.
I have been experimenting with stuffing inside the cabinets. I tried 4 things so far. No stuffing gives the glorious Feastrex mind bending detail and penetrating musical drug, but too forward, and resonant with the sound of unmitigated baltic birch YUK! I filled the rear of the chamber full with poly wool all the way up to the rear of the driver like a big reflex design - horniness and birch sound curtailed, but way too dead (I am learning this from scratch by experimenting...) Then I took out 80% of that, just covering the whole rear wall (and throat openings) about 2" deep, much better. Detail is reduced by 30% from no stuffing, but much improved over previous experiment. Lastly, I moved this same wool from rear to front, touching the baffle. YUK! There is a very serious ring in there, it is a like a metal bell that is struck most noticably with trumpet whacking a note in the 650Hz range - unlistenable. This last was the most interesting to me, demonstrating just how important placement of tuning materials is.
Phil suspended a curtain of silk wool on the center brace in the middle of the box, seems to like that...
I plan to build variation of the design again in other materials. The effort required to tame BB doesn't appeal to me. The pine Freddie sounded utterly delicious with no stuffing and no bracing. Just a little woof at 200Hz, and plenty of pine color, but good Feastrex ecstacy and no bass. One Maiko experiment will definitely be pine, but not plain boards.
Thanks Dave, Phil, Chris, Mike, tallawalla, Hal and others for help and moral support on this project.
Rich
Richidoo said:
Hi Rich,
Sounds like you need some Tozawas... IMO the Tozawas should do the trick.. Email me, I'll send you some...... 😉
I think we should assume...
...approximately 91 db sensitivity, which is what we came up with each time we measured. We measured the D5nf once and the D5e Type II three times. That will better explain the clipping with the Altmann amp, and also why my Serious Stereo 2A3s will not drive the D5nf at full range without clipping on certain material. They will drive Cain & Cain Abbys' Fostex F166e's without a problem.
...approximately 91 db sensitivity, which is what we came up with each time we measured. We measured the D5nf once and the D5e Type II three times. That will better explain the clipping with the Altmann amp, and also why my Serious Stereo 2A3s will not drive the D5nf at full range without clipping on certain material. They will drive Cain & Cain Abbys' Fostex F166e's without a problem.
91dB for the D5nf sounds about right, considering the driver that Dick Olsher paired it with in his OB. It sounds like you are also saying that the D5e-II has a similar sensitivity but that does not make sense to me at all, unless the coil voltage is set fairly low.
On a separate note, doesn't that urushi lacquer look yummy?
-- Chris
On a separate note, doesn't that urushi lacquer look yummy?
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
-- Chris
91DB
Most single ended amps are really to light to push these drivers. 45s and 2A3 are going to suffer. The 845's and 811's MIGHT make you happy.
I have been using a 45 and it will work but it runs out of steam.
When I first heard about the Feastrex...numbers around 97db per watt were first rumored. Then that number was reduced to 95 or so...
At 95 db the 45 and 2A3 would just squeak by.
But at 91...no deal
To me this is a deal breaker.
So that leaves me in a rather bad position. Sell the Feastrex or build a new amp.
Building a 845 certainly is not hard to do its just that I don't like having to mess about with B+ voltages in the 1k volt range. One slip and you have just let the smoke out of yourself. Not good. Music listening/ building is not a sport. Death should not be any part of the equation.
So,anybody out here got a decent 845 with some fine Magnequest iron?
So what to do?
I'll sleep on it.
BTW the Driver in question here, is NOT in question. It is simply stunning. My amp is not. The driver needs balls. Big balls!
Phil
Santa Fe
Most single ended amps are really to light to push these drivers. 45s and 2A3 are going to suffer. The 845's and 811's MIGHT make you happy.
I have been using a 45 and it will work but it runs out of steam.
When I first heard about the Feastrex...numbers around 97db per watt were first rumored. Then that number was reduced to 95 or so...
At 95 db the 45 and 2A3 would just squeak by.
But at 91...no deal
To me this is a deal breaker.
So that leaves me in a rather bad position. Sell the Feastrex or build a new amp.
Building a 845 certainly is not hard to do its just that I don't like having to mess about with B+ voltages in the 1k volt range. One slip and you have just let the smoke out of yourself. Not good. Music listening/ building is not a sport. Death should not be any part of the equation.
So,anybody out here got a decent 845 with some fine Magnequest iron?
So what to do?
I'll sleep on it.
BTW the Driver in question here, is NOT in question. It is simply stunning. My amp is not. The driver needs balls. Big balls!
Phil
Santa Fe
Chris,
We tested the D5e Type II three times. SPL levels shifted ever so slightly each time. At the lowest voltage SPL=90.4, at the second position SPL= 90.9 at the highest setting, SPL=91.3. The D5nf would bottom out on my 2A3 amps on certain passages. There is no problem with them at 18 watts. I did not try to drive the Type IIs with the 2A3s, but I suspect the same would apply.
Phil, you have no choice. You are doomed by Feastrex. Please surrender peacefully.
Joe
We tested the D5e Type II three times. SPL levels shifted ever so slightly each time. At the lowest voltage SPL=90.4, at the second position SPL= 90.9 at the highest setting, SPL=91.3. The D5nf would bottom out on my 2A3 amps on certain passages. There is no problem with them at 18 watts. I did not try to drive the Type IIs with the 2A3s, but I suspect the same would apply.
Phil, you have no choice. You are doomed by Feastrex. Please surrender peacefully.
Joe
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