Kofi Annan in: "The Full-Ranger and Swan-to"

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Kofi Annan

Kofi Annan

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Joined 2004
homepage.mac.com/jasonandpatti/PhotoAlbum1.html
#1
So the story goes, Mrs. Annan and I are relaxing on the couch. She knits, I surf the DIYAudio boards on the new Mac laptop. I'm cooler, right?!?

Anyway, she looks over my shoulder and spies the Nagaoaka Swan design and says, "Ooh!". Well, I don't know what goes in your crib, but in the Annan household that's considered a blank check. Ska-BANG!!!

So, right now I'm listening to some Fostex 206Es (in the 208EZ enclosure) using Martin King's BSC circuit through a pair of SET 2A3 monoblocks and I like what I hear. I really just want a new speaker project, but I'd like to see if I can use a driver bigger than the Fostex FE-103E for the Swan. I've seen references to Swan designs that can handle a bigger Fostex driver, but I can't seem to find the plans. Help here would be appreciated, of course.

Beyond the plans, though, I would like to know what your impressions of the enclosure are and how well it might perform with the 3.5W of output I've got.

I don't have a lot of time before Mrs. A sobers up, so I need to start buying some non-refundable parts really, really soon.

As always, your advice is directly proportional to my happiness and inversely proportional to marital bliss. Plus its really appreciated.

Kofi
 
#5
Kofi,
while things are slow at the U.N. and before the wife realizes what she has done, buy some decent 15mm (5/8th) plywood and start cutting it on the D-101a plan then call Madisound and order a pair of FE108EZ's. Don't worry about the size (thats what my wife always tells me)🙄

Andrew
 
#6
swan drivers

:smash: The D101s "Super Swan" drivers (FE108ES-II) are available @ http://www.eifl.co.jp
Good people to deal with, but it took nearly three weeks for them to get from Japan to US.

I'm really amazed at just how good these little 4" guys sound, just breaking in. They're still open baffles, hopefully I'll have time to finish the swan cabs soon...

robert
 
#8
For those who do not yet have book series, "Nagaoka Tetsuo's Special Technique To Design The Original Speakers," it is a wonderful set of books. Do not be put off by the fact that they are in Japanese. All of the pertinent info is decipherable.

You will be completely consumed by the the first week that you get them. (madisound.com)
 
#9
Re: Re: swan drivers

planet10 said:
3 weeks isn't bad at all...
dave
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Agreed!
Didn’t mean to sound condescending, just informative. :xeye:
I was impressed with their service.
My credit card waffled back and forth on accepting charges because it was out of the ordinary for me to charge that much money, and to a company out of the country.
Koji at EIFL stayed in touch via eMail throughout the transaction and was very helpful. :angel:
I highly recommend the drivers AND doing business with EIFL corporation.
Robert
 
#10
Re: Re: Re: swan drivers

Originally posted by serenechaos
I was impressed with their service.

Koji at EIFL
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My 1 direct experience with EIFL was very efficient and very enlightening. One of my early e-bay auctions -- 1 10" Rola Field Coil, that someone had put their foot thru (a very clean & repairable tear). I didn't know if it was worth anything, but Koji & another Japanese fellow bid it up to close to $200 and within 15 minutes of auction end i had a MasterCard number & a FedEx account to send it on...

dave
 
#11
If you scroll though this page you will find a swan design for 6" drivers the d-168. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks!

buy some decent 15mm (5/8th) plywood and start cutting it on the D-101a plan then call Madisound and order a pair of FE108EZ's. Don't worry about the size
Click to expand...

The D101a is becoming a very real consideration, but I'm a bit concerned with the sensitivity of the 108EZ (90dB). Remember, I'm only putting out 3.5W and you know tha K-Dogg likes to rock da haouwse once in a while!

Actually, rockin' da haouwse isn't that big of a consideration these days. I also like the smaller drivers that I've heard-- they seem to image better. But then, my experience has been limited.

Any impressions of the sound of the D-101a? I'd like to use a nice grade baltic birch for this one. How about bass response and damping? How low can it go and where's the best place to damp-i-fy? Is it just a "play around and see" deal or does anyone have specific advice?

The D101s "Super Swan" drivers (FE108ES-II) are available
Click to expand...

If that $170 is really $170US or more, you can forget this one. Unless I get the softer half hooked on pain pills and white wine spritzers. Of course, I've already eaten all the pain pills. And as far as the wine goes, well, you gotta have somthing to wash it down with...

OK-- let's make with the advice, here. Need to know if the D-101 will suffice in the WOW department or if the upgrade to the D-168 is worth it for the average UN Secretary General on tube watts.

Thanks!
Kofi
 
#12
I built a pair of Swan 101a's for my brother and he is using them with fe103's. Bass is suprisingly good (probably better with the 108sigma), however I'm sure a 6" would be better in the bass deptment. No real dampening needed just felt inside the filter chamber. I does need to be a little ways away from the rear wall though in my experience.
Joe
 
#13
Josephjcole said:
I built a pair of Swan 101a's for my brother and he is using them with fe103's. Bass is suprisingly good (probably better with the 108sigma), however I'm sure a 6" would be better in the bass deptment.
Click to expand...

Sounds good. I think I'll go with the 108EZ in the D-101a design instead of the larger driver. Besides, if I like it, its not like I won't build the larger one at some point!

No real dampening needed just felt inside the filter chamber. I does need to be a little ways away from the rear wall though in my experience.
Joe
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Moving it away from the rear wall won't be a problem. I have, however, seen this speaker mounted on a stand. Is this adviseable? Is it to raise the driver to ear level or for something else?

Also, for the average dumbass, please define what "the filter chamber" is. Is it the back bass port?

Also, are there any other drivers I could consider for the D-101a besides the FE-103 and the FE-108EZ?

Thanks as always for the responses. This project should be significantly easier than stopping Iranian nuclear proliferation... and MORE FUN!!!

Kofi
 
#14
Kofi Annan said:
Moving it away from the rear wall won't be a problem. I have, however, seen this speaker mounted on a stand. Is this adviseable? Is it to raise the driver to ear level or for something else?

Also, for the average dumbass, please define what "the filter chamber" is. Is it the back bass port?

Also, are there any other drivers I could consider for the D-101a besides the FE-103 and the FE-108EZ?

Thanks as always for the responses. This project should be significantly easier than stopping Iranian nuclear proliferation... and MORE FUN!!!

Kofi [/B]
Click to expand...

I would think that the 108EZ would be your best bet. I'm not sure I've seen them on stands, but I'm sure it would be to raise the driver to ear level, as it is it sits slightly below ear level. The filter chamber is the "head" of the swan, what the driver mounts to. I think my brother and I ended up covering the whole inside of this chamber if memory serves me (which it does on ocassion
). I hope it goes well, I also hope you can manage to keep your son out of too much legal trouble, tough break there.
Joe
 
#15
Josephjcole said:


I would think that the 108EZ would be your best bet.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a winner!

I'm not sure I've seen them on stands, but I'm sure it would be to raise the driver to ear level, as it is it sits slightly below ear level. The filter chamber is the "head" of the swan, what the driver mounts to. I think my brother and I ended up covering the whole inside of this chamber if memory serves me (which it does on ocassion
).
Click to expand...

Yeah. I'll probably wait to build the stands. I'll also cover the head, as you mentioned. What did you use for damping material?

I hope it goes well, I also hope you can manage to keep your son out of too much legal trouble, tough break there.
Joe
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Kids. What are you gonna do? You spend time with 'em, try to raise 'em right, then they go and ally with an oppressive dictatorship to try and screw the poor out of food in search of an easy payday.

He's totally grounded.

Kofi
 
#17
Re: standing swans

serenechaos said:
Does anyone have any other info or pictures of these stands?

I was under the impression that the swans needed to be on the floor near the back wall for bass support?

thanx,
robert
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Here's a link to some photos of the Swan with a stand. Its in Japanese, so if you want the details and you aren't familiar with congi, you could use the fish.

Now... anyone with any ideas on what I should use for damping in the filter chamber?

Kofi
 
#19
The only dampening material we found nessesary was a little felt to cover the walls of the filter chamber, you can leave everything else bare wood. We experimented some with dampening the mouth in the rear, but ended up leaving it bare wood as well. Pretty straight foward, though maybe someone else (Andrewbee?) came up with something different.
Joe
 
#20
Kofi Annan said:

where's the best place to damp-i-fy? Is it just a "play around and see" deal or does anyone have specific advice?
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Experiment! Isn't that what DIY speaker building is all about? 😀 Seriously, different rooms have different acoustics. And people have different tastes in what sounds good. As Joe mentioned, most people use felt in the chamber. Experiment with just felt on the back wall and felt on all the walls of the chamber. Since the mouth is rear firing, your room can probably absorb most of the undesirable resonances of the horn before the sound reaches your ears. So, you might not need any sound absorbing material in the mouth. However, I'd suggest experimenting with acoustic foam in the mouth anyway. The mouth of the Swan presents a great opportunity to shape the sound because of the 90 degree bends. For an analogy, consider a car wreck. A head on collision will cause a lot more damage than being sideswiped. So, the sound of the Swans can be shaped more than horn designs that use gradual tapers in the mouth. If you use a thick, soft foam, (especially at the 90 degree bends) you can really shape the sound.

I just built the D-168 for the 166esr driver. (BTW, I didn't comment on the sound of these speakers for several reasons. One is that I haven't heard other Fostex speakers so I don't have anything to compare it to. Another is that I'm still tuning my speakers. And finally, I didn't comment because the 166esr driver is no longer available -- I suspect that it sounds much different than the 168 sigma.) Anyway, my room is very dead. So, I'm not using any sound absorbing material in the chamber. (My Swans are lined with river rock, though.) I haven't tried using felt yet but I'll be trying it soon. (Acoustic foam doesn't work in the chamber! Well, at least in my room.) For the mouth, I'm using 1 inch thick Sonic Barrier from Parts Express. It really tightens up the bass and gives the illusion of more bass and a fuller sound. Plus, the Sonic Barrier allows me to place the mouth closer to the wall for deeper bass. Without the Sonic Barrier I have to place the Swans much further away from the wall to avoid a hollow sound. Well, that's my 2 cents worth!

Sincerely,
Rich
 
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