Good afternoon everyone. I just saw the new 206nv speaker at madisound. $151.50 a peice and the Fe 206en is $126.00 each. So it went up $25.50 per. Speaker. Here is the link to fostex international about the NV series.FE-NV Series : Speaker Components : Fostex
I wonder if they are worth it? I wonder if they sound better then the en Series? Cheers Jeff
I wonder if they are worth it? I wonder if they sound better then the en Series? Cheers Jeff
Freddi, we're talking about the new FE206NV, not the FE206eN. Looks like it's still got a bit of a peak at 2K5 or so though.
I used the FE206E in the Sachiko before putting in the FE206ESr and never looked back. Enjoyed the heck out of them though for many years. It proved the axiom - "make sure you make the speakers pretty before you listen to them" they still look great from twenty feet away, close up, not so much. One of these days I'll get them looking proper.
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Awesome Dave. Now that's what am talking about. Thanks for the great information Dave. Jeff
206 looks the same to me (other than inflated price) including the 2K6 peak
The New FE206nv are all redesigned drivers. The Basket is more open in the back and a round shape away from the drivers back cone. I am looking forward to the new drivers to see what they bring to the table. FE126en is one of my favorite Drivers in the Fe series. Cheers Jeff
The NV series units have some notable differences, particularly the 166 and 206 where the published Qt is significantly higher than the previous En and 6E series units. Whether it is in practice or not may depend on how the earlier units were measured, but that's a subject that has been discussed ad infinitum and there is little point in repeating it all here. They look to be continuing their established general theme to my eyes, maintaining many of the characteristics their target audience tend to want while possibly reflecting a shift in approach by increasing Q a bit so a SET or equivalent amplifier / compensation is no longer as necessary as it used to be.
Essentially because they sell. That's not meant to be facetious BTW. Fostex's main market is Japan. The rest of the world is a bit-player in terms of units sold, so their focus has tended to be on their home-market. If we take the Fexx6xx series, the FF series, FExx8ESigma and special edition units, then:
FE83xx = 3in drivers are very popular in Japan.
FE103xx = a classic unit that sells well in Japan and has decades of history behind it
FE126xx = less popular historically in Japan but a little more so elsewhere than the 103, and finds favour for buyers wanting a little more cone area.
FE166xx = classic whizzer cone 6 1/2in so suits the mid-sized market
FE206xx = classic whizzer cone 8in unit; aimed at those wanting a large-size wideband
FFxx5wk series: more or less the same remarks apply, but generally have a higher Q than their FExx6En contemporaries, so slightly different uses / intents. They replaced the old shielded FExx7E series when CRT sets bowed out & shielding was no longer necessary, but the higher Q was still favoured.
FExx8ESigma series: taken as their higher end equivalents of the FExx6E/En series drivers; no whizzers, higher quality baskets, surrounds etc. They only bothered with 3 rather than the full series; slightly more limited market given the pricing.
Special Editions -Japan likes special edition drivers as there's a big collector market there, & it gives the designers something to play with. Usually some of the experiments feed back into future main models, directly or otherwise.
FE83xx = 3in drivers are very popular in Japan.
FE103xx = a classic unit that sells well in Japan and has decades of history behind it
FE126xx = less popular historically in Japan but a little more so elsewhere than the 103, and finds favour for buyers wanting a little more cone area.
FE166xx = classic whizzer cone 6 1/2in so suits the mid-sized market
FE206xx = classic whizzer cone 8in unit; aimed at those wanting a large-size wideband
FFxx5wk series: more or less the same remarks apply, but generally have a higher Q than their FExx6En contemporaries, so slightly different uses / intents. They replaced the old shielded FExx7E series when CRT sets bowed out & shielding was no longer necessary, but the higher Q was still favoured.
FExx8ESigma series: taken as their higher end equivalents of the FExx6E/En series drivers; no whizzers, higher quality baskets, surrounds etc. They only bothered with 3 rather than the full series; slightly more limited market given the pricing.
Special Editions -Japan likes special edition drivers as there's a big collector market there, & it gives the designers something to play with. Usually some of the experiments feed back into future main models, directly or otherwise.
Probably because they (or parent Foster to be more specifically) are one of the very largest speaker manufacturers in the world. And they have been making FRs for a long time.
dave
At least back into the mid 60s when the 1st FE103 derivatives (that i have seen) came out. There is still a demand for those.
ie they work better in boxes that aren’t horns, and fit into things likr the Frugel-Horns better than the FExx6xx drivers. The precurser FF series needed horn loading just as the FExx6 did.
Like the vertically creased metal dustcap in the FFxx5wk. 1st seen in an SE FE208 and FE138 (the latter had incredible bass in FH3, but put the “screech" in "Fostex shout”). A tiny bit of damping snd those caps do a really good job of being a tweeter,
dave
I've used the whizzer cone drivers with phase plugs and I have no idea if they tame all the problems but I can say that when I've sat down "serious" audiophiles in front of my Sachikos with FE206ESr drivers driven by 45 single ended amplifiers they to a one have walked away scratching their heads at what would seem "impossible".
I came to the whole concept with an open mind and found that it's where I want to be, where (to me) it makes sense. Some people just can't get past the distortion figures and the peaky measurements but I just hear music. I keep trying new things and I'm going to try the new Mark Audio drivers and the Pass solid state single ended amps but other things that I've tried (like my 101db 1W/1M 7.5' BiB horns with JBL drivers) don't sound as enjoyable as my Sachikos (though my wife loves them).
Swings and roundabouts I guess.
I haven't heard the newer drivers. I was lucky enough to get a pair of the FE208 Sol drivers and will look to put them in a cabinet like the Woden Design Vulcan. I've also recently purchased a used pair of Oris 150 horns and will be trying them with the FE206ES-R drivers. I think they're more suited to the Oris horns than the Sachikos because of their limited Xmax and rising top end whereas I think the FE208 Sol drivers will do well in a back loaded horn. I won't use any of the 8" full range drivers that have whizzer cones without phase plugs. It makes a huge difference in dispersion and extension of the high frequencies. I also think that the dust cap inside the whizzer contributes a bit to the breakup of the driver in the high end and removal smooths that out somewhat.
Lots of things to try, so little time.
Lots of things to try, so little time.
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Hi, bit of an old post, but didnt feel like starting a new thread.
Im building a Bottlehead S.E.X. amp and need som pretty sensitive speakers. Im looking at Fostex FE126NV and building a backloaded horn enclosure. I found FE126EN kinda cheap on ebay and was wondering if I could build the backloaded horn here: Fostex BK-12m Folded Horn Kit - Pair
And jam in the FE126EN or are they very different?
Thanks!
Im building a Bottlehead S.E.X. amp and need som pretty sensitive speakers. Im looking at Fostex FE126NV and building a backloaded horn enclosure. I found FE126EN kinda cheap on ebay and was wondering if I could build the backloaded horn here: Fostex BK-12m Folded Horn Kit - Pair
And jam in the FE126EN or are they very different?
Thanks!