Hi, I knocked up a couple of test cabinets yesterday for 4x Faital 3FE25 that I have had laying around for ages and I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised! They need a little EQ but after that they sound lovely and to my ears they don't need a tweeter. Detail and imaging are fantastic!
So my question is, has anyone had the opportunity to compare the 3FE25 to the 3FE22? Apart from being lighter, are there any differences? Is distortion lower on one or the other? Response looks a little smoother in the HF on the neo version..
So my question is, has anyone had the opportunity to compare the 3FE25 to the 3FE22? Apart from being lighter, are there any differences? Is distortion lower on one or the other? Response looks a little smoother in the HF on the neo version..
I have used both and in 3FE22 I have 4, 8, and 16ohms. The 3FE22 sounds more refined on the high end both have great mids. Distortion is about the same. The 3FE25 works very well in a 0.4x Karlsonator. I use the 3FE22 mostly for FAST or as a horn loaded mid/tweet in a tractrix (Trynergy). The 3FE22 4ohm has a ringing at about 12kHz that is apparent as a little sibillance. Sound quality of the 3FE22 16ohm and 8ohm is better without sibillance. 3FE25 has no sibillance. In general they are excellent sounding drivers and you will not find a higher sensitivity full range 3.5in driver with this power rating at this price point.
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For a line array, the 3FE25 is probably the better choice as the others have a stronger motor really for ported or horn loaded use. As a sealed rear chamber, the higher Qts of the 3FE25 will have naturally lower bass extension. The 3FE22 does have a slightly smoother frequency response through the 10k to 15k region though, but the added price is substnatial if buying 50 of them - is it worth it? Indeed buying a few samples to test and listen for yourself makes sense.
I have the 3fe25 and 4fe25 and LOVE them. haven't heard the 22's. Planning on doing a 4 line array myself with sub support top and bottom. Since they both do about the same thing I've let them play together and that also sounds great. The Hilding Horn pictured is wonderful, very little dispersion so I found stacking 4 helped the head in the vice feeling you can kinda get. There is a thread on here with a youtube clip if you want to hear the 3fe25 in the horn.
I guess this is true of most 3" drivers with small x-max? I have subs and in a large enough line array I'm hoping to get usable output to 100Hz or so in room. Hopefully with lots of drivers working together distortion below 200Hz won't be so much of a problem?
I have some 3FE22 on the way for comparison to 3FE25.
I have some 3FE22 on the way for comparison to 3FE25.
mpa, look here for distortion graphs, as well at zaph's page
they do all distort below 200 hz
Timothy Feleppa's Pages
its up to you to decide if you tolerate it or not
distortion presents as upper harmonics and muddies the sound, at least to me, I can't stand it
it ruins what could otherwise be a nice midrange
do not take me wrong, I like small midranges, they sound more magical to me than big midrange
so why f@#$ it up by pushing that little thing below what it was designed for
just my experience from line array with 16 3" drivers and other builds
they do all distort below 200 hz
Timothy Feleppa's Pages
its up to you to decide if you tolerate it or not
distortion presents as upper harmonics and muddies the sound, at least to me, I can't stand it
it ruins what could otherwise be a nice midrange
do not take me wrong, I like small midranges, they sound more magical to me than big midrange
so why f@#$ it up by pushing that little thing below what it was designed for
just my experience from line array with 16 3" drivers and other builds
When I finally get something put together I hope to optimize it with DSP and the proper amps. For right now I'm relegated to a plate amp so I don't have the flexibility. I'm a little intimidated by DSP since it sounds like programming of speakers to me and I'm better at turning nobs than programming, but I do want to go there eventually. I don't even have the patience to learn how to program my coffee maker!
I recently received my order of 24 3fe22 for which I have planned two 12 driver line arrays, boxes should be finished by the end of this month, I'm really looking forward to hearing them.
Three groups of four drivers paralleled connected in series, each set of paralleled four drivers group are sharing the same volume, making three sealed enclosures inside each line array, the average volume per driver is ~1,3dm3.
Each group will have it's own connector on the back, the thought here is to be able to process them either as one line array (all groups) or to individually process each four driver group in Lo, Mid, Hi, or other variations using a DBX driverack 260 and three LABip450's.
The choice of going with a sealed enclosure is mainly dimensions driven, each 12 driver line array enclosure will be 1040mm high, 120mm wide and 160mm deep, making it possible to take one line array in each hand.
For professional/out door use I would combine them with a THAM tapped horn, THAM10, 12, 15 or 18, but I guess that would be an odd occurrence
Three groups of four drivers paralleled connected in series, each set of paralleled four drivers group are sharing the same volume, making three sealed enclosures inside each line array, the average volume per driver is ~1,3dm3.
Each group will have it's own connector on the back, the thought here is to be able to process them either as one line array (all groups) or to individually process each four driver group in Lo, Mid, Hi, or other variations using a DBX driverack 260 and three LABip450's.
The choice of going with a sealed enclosure is mainly dimensions driven, each 12 driver line array enclosure will be 1040mm high, 120mm wide and 160mm deep, making it possible to take one line array in each hand.
For professional/out door use I would combine them with a THAM tapped horn, THAM10, 12, 15 or 18, but I guess that would be an odd occurrence
I just had a bizarre thought (what, another???)
Wanted to put a simple diffraction slot baffle in
front of 3FE22 to widen dispersion.
Was also torn to perhaps make a paraline of it,
but not wanting another time eating project.
What if I just put a parabolic eye shaped cavity
between cone and slot, and not worry about
trying to prevent an early direct exit? Omit the
wall inside. In this case, do we really need it?
Would this be a point source, in parallel with
a line source with a slight reverb? And what
might be the worst disaster if I allowed that?
Wanted to put a simple diffraction slot baffle in
front of 3FE22 to widen dispersion.
Was also torn to perhaps make a paraline of it,
but not wanting another time eating project.
What if I just put a parabolic eye shaped cavity
between cone and slot, and not worry about
trying to prevent an early direct exit? Omit the
wall inside. In this case, do we really need it?
Would this be a point source, in parallel with
a line source with a slight reverb? And what
might be the worst disaster if I allowed that?
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I put a 3FE25 behind a Karlson aperture in a 0.40x Karlsonator. One of the best sounding speakers with a wide dispersion.
three's always the time-honored "R-J" method of squeezing including its lemon aperture
http://i.imgur.com/6QFbGJ9.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6QFbGJ9.jpg
The new VIVACE mini ? Finale Audio Canada
Well received by the press.
I had the 8 ohm version in the Tabaq, at the moment I also had a pair of quad esl57. The faital equiped Tabaqs where not to far of the performance of the esl57s. I miss those Tabaqs.
But 2500usd is a bit steep for a pair of 30 euro driver in a blh.
Well received by the press.
I had the 8 ohm version in the Tabaq, at the moment I also had a pair of quad esl57. The faital equiped Tabaqs where not to far of the performance of the esl57s. I miss those Tabaqs.
But 2500usd is a bit steep for a pair of 30 euro driver in a blh.
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