• Disclaimer: This Vendor's Forum is a paid-for commercial area. Unlike the rest of diyAudio, the Vendor has complete control of what may or may not be posted in this forum. If you wish to discuss technical matters outside the bounds of what is permitted by the Vendor, please use the non-commercial areas of diyAudio to do so.

Exciting new line of fullrange drivers from Feastrex

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jump to Latest
#584
Nothing new about that. It's really just a matter of common sense. A loudspeaker system (i.e. cabinet & driver) is neither independant of the room it resides in, nor the amplifier that drives it, although this fact is often forgotten or ignored. Ideally, you would design it (the speaker system) with the room & intended amplifier specifically in mind, especially if the latter is one of a certain 'character' shall we say. OK, a line-source, focused array & certain types of horn do remove a degree of room influence, especially within the fresnel zone & you're listening to the speaker output rather than room reflections, but even then, that still leaves you with the amplifier

You can, to an extent, tailor amp to speaker if needed by playing around with, say, speaker wire (for e.g., using very thin / high resistance to artificially raise Qe, Bl & Re etc. And I want to stress at this point that I'm emphatically not advocating the theives who flog mega-price wire to the gullible), but really, certain speaker systems make a better natural match to certain amplifiers than others & this must be held in mind when deciding what to do / build / buy / whatever. For example, you don't want to match a 250mW spud amp to a very narrow baffle BR design on the basis that the latter will require a shed-load of BSC, which will either cripple the sensitivity, or demand more power for the LF which it can't provide without very high distortion and / or clipping.
 
#585
cdwitmer said:

It suggests that, at least with certain types of amplifiers, a certain amount of cut-and-try adjustments may be necessary even with a "proven" enclosure design.
Click to expand...

This is only true if you don't know what you're doing and why during the age of tubes you either adjusted the driver to a given cab design by changing the field coil's voltage and/or with an amp's adjustable output impedance (bass boost) and why wide BW HIFI systems used large cabs as they had to be generic enough to accommodate a range of driver and/or amp specs and the need to dial them in to have a somewhat flat response in a wide range of room conditions.

With today's vanishingly low output impedance SS amps though, the driver's Qts completely dominates cab design, making it a simple exercise for anyone not congenitally stupid thanks to T/S, leaving fine tuning to adjusting vent length and/or cab damping.

GM
 
#586
Very true Greg. Although something tells me that most of these Feastrex things are unlikely to see many SS amps, especially those with a very low output impedance. My money says 90% will end up being used with SET or interstage-transformer coupled designs, which could be a double-edged sword for the end user.
 
#587
Scottmoose said:
Although something tells me that most of these Feastrex things are unlikely to see many SS amps, especially those with a very low output impedance. My money says 90% will end up being used with SET or interstage-transformer coupled designs, which could be a double-edged sword for the end user.
Click to expand...

Since nobody else seems crazy enough to combine a Lowther with a 200 watt SS amp and since these things are way beyond my current budget that seems like a very safe bet. If full range drivers ever gained a following with SS amp users think of the numbers that they could sell. The full range driver manufactures and dealers are fighting over a very small market of primarily tube amp enthusiasts.
 
#589
Indeed they should. Ditto any of his Zen amps.

Yeah, you've got that right Martin. At present FR drivers still seem to have the reputation as being very fragile things suitable only for valve amps, giant horns, and very quiet jazz, so they're still very much a niche thing. The fact that much of the printed hifi press looks down on them hasn't helped their cause. Pity as they'd suit a lot of mainstream listeners rather well if ever they had the chance to hear a decently implemented pair. I certainly don't think it's crazy to use a big amp with them either, providing the quality is there. That latter is probably the hardest bit to achieve, but I suppose that also means we're right back to what people want & prefer.
 
#590
Scottmoose said:

I certainly don't think it's crazy to use a big amp with them either, providing the quality is there. That latter is probably the hardest bit to achieve, but I suppose that also means we're right back to what people want & prefer.
Click to expand...

Yes, it can done, I agree with you that most people have the impression that fullrangers are very fragile... Fwiw, I have tried a megabucks Vitus 100W pure class A monoblocks amps with the Feastrex before... no problems at all, in fact it sounded very good with excellent bass control.
 
#591
And I'm a happy camper with my 100W AB amplifier.

But as a general rule I would stay away from huge transistor amplifiers that are designed to be able to do double duty as an arc welder.

Those are generally better suited to speakers that need a defibrillator to get moving.

A 100W Class A amplifier in Singapore? I hope it is water-cooled . . .

-- Chris
 
#593
I have tried a megabucks Vitus 100W pure class A monoblocks amps with the Feastrex before... no problems at all, in fact it sounded very good with excellent bass control.
Click to expand...

I have used my humble Tannoy Autograph 2:3 downscaled replica with AN super 10 drivers fed by my UCD400 class D monoblocks with excellent results. Bass not only controlled but deeper and ampler than with other.
Not to mention the lower contribution to global warming 😀 that these make...

Cheers,
M
 
#594
Scottmoose said:

Although something tells me that most of these Feastrex things are unlikely to see many SS amps, especially those with a very low output impedance.
Click to expand...

Understood, I was merely giving a brief overview of the different design criteria required WRT tube Vs SS amplification lest anyone use only T/S to DIY a cab for a tube based system, potentially winding up with a very expensive ~one note 'fart' box.

GM
 
#595
MJK said:

If full range drivers ever gained a following with SS amp users think of the numbers that they could sell.
Click to expand...

Indeed, I recently upgraded some RS driver MLTLs I did for my buddy Buzz with CSS 125S (both) driven with a 100 W rms receiver even though the RS drivers are only rated 15 W and the CSS 30 W IIRC and while the mostly young folks thought the RS impressive within its modest (though plenty loud enough for apt. living output), its lack of highs left them wanting. Since Buzz is severely hearing impaired above ~ 8 kHz, there was no point in adding a super tweeter to fill in above the RS's ~12.5 kHz roll-off.

The CSS OTOH 'sounds' much more dynamic overall due to going lower, louder since there's plenty of clean power to keep it from clipping and combined with its extended highs has duly impressed his younger neighbors and any friends they've mentioned them to, so while they aren't interested in DIYing large main speakers (at least while living in an apt.), the 'hook' appears to have been 'set' for DIYing small computer/HTPC speaker systems if/when their current ones need repair/replacing and presumably for larger systems when space/time/budget permits.

While B@$3 has been 'paving the way' with their 'FR' cube systems for some time now, I believe it's up to us DIYers to 'plant the seed' if we want high SQ 'FR' based systems to return to their former acceptance now that the materials/manufacturing technology exists to make them more competitive with the higher power handling two ways.

Anyway, regardless of driver size/power rating, there's no such thing as too much available low distortion power, only a point of rapidly diminishing returns based on how wide a BW/dynamic the source material, peak average SPL desired referenced to the driver's low distortion mechanical limits.

GM
 
#596
5nf Gold "one-off" drivers in veneered "magico" enclosures

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


Tops are made from granite; legs are filled with lead shot. I'm not 100% certain but I think the top is parallel with the floor, even though it appears to be sloping in the photo. Yes, those are passive radiators down below, not woofers. These are used in a large room and the soundstage is reportedly huge. The only shouting is from the listeners -- shouts of applause at the end of each piece.

I'd sure like to have a chance to hear these someday!

-- Chris Witmer
 
#598
i am typing from a touch-screen kbd that is a bit of a pain to use ... i have not heard the urushi phase plugs. the consensus seems to b that the standard plastic plugs do a very good job, esp. w/the d5nf. i asked mr. teramoto to describe the urushi plugs and he says it is hard to put into words, esp. 4 someone like him who lacks the eloquence that many others have. but what he did say is revealing. he said he would hesitate 2 recommend them 4 the d5nf because it takes a higher res. driver to really make the difference apparent. w/higher res. drivers the change of phase plugs can b clearly heard ... the co$t of the urushi plugs will b high (as plugs go) but somebody will try a pair and report on them i'm sure ... eventually i will also have a chance to try them out, so as i hear more i'll try to follow up w/more info.
 
#599
I'm back at my regular computer and have a few follow-up comments from Mr. Teramoto concerning the urushi phase plugs.

*************

"Generally speaking, each material has unique sound characteristics. Among the phase plug materials we have tried are epoxy resin, copper, titanium, bronze, a local Japanese wood called 'Aomori Hiba,' and Alder. Surface preparations for metal have included deliberately leaving the striations from milling, and also polishing. Surface finishes have included bare (unfinished), gold plating, tin plating, painting with lacquer, and urushi (also, urushi is further broken down into various types and methods of application, etc.) Through listening tests on the various combinations that are possible we came up with the phase plugs that we feel are best for each model of driver. However we also continue to test whenever we get a new idea that seems like it might be worth exploring, and it is possible that we might want to offer a particular phase plug as an optional item or have it for use in a special version of one of our driver models.

"In general, we feel the urushi phase plugs that we are currently developing are a good match with our D5e-I/-II/-III field coil drivers.

"Phase plugs are just one element among many that influence the sound of a driver, along with the materials and configuration of the magnetic circuit, the way we build and finish the cone assembly, etc. The overall balance among all the parts needs to be considered as an integral whole. Although they are still under development, the distinct impression we have is that the urushi phase plugs are most interesting when used with the above-mentioned D5e family of drivers. Especially in view of the fact that they are likely to be expensive, we are hesitant to recommend their use with the 5nf drivers, where they did not seem to offer much of an advantage over the much less expensive phase plugs that we currently ship with these drivers. In any case the urushi phase plugs are still under development and regardless of what model(s) we might end up recommending them for, we would only offer them if we thought there was a meaningful benefit to be realized."

*************

-- Chris Witmer
 
#600
I'm telling you, recently these guys are killing me with their over-the-top enclosures. Here is another one to drool over -- this one a D5e field coil driver + passive radiator. Note the wave guide.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


Boy, I'd love to be able to hear these!

-- Chris
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom