FE 208 Sigma

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I have been running a Pair of FE206's in the 208 BLH cab for nearly a year now and really like them. I am considering the 208 Sigma ( as an upgrade ?) Would I need a tweeter with them as they do not go as high as the 206's

Can anyone let me know what differences I would hear and how they may differ from the 206's
 
The one and only
Joined 2001
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I assume you know the distinction between the FE208 Sigma
and the FE208E Sigma (the FE208 Sigma has the whizzer)

IMHO the FE208E Sigma is better, and I would suggest you
look at the FE168E Sigma which sounds better yet and has
a higher Xmax than the FE208E Sigma, which helps a bit, given
the smaller cone area.

With the FE208E Sigma I think you want a tweeter, but with
the FE168E Sigma you might find yourself happy without one.

I certainly wish they would label these drivers with shorter, more
distinctive names.

:cool:
 
Nelson. Thanks for your interest. What I am after really is an idea as to whether the extra expense will be worth it. In the U.K the 206E's are £80 each($160US) and the 208Sigmas £140 each($280US)

I am interested in the 208 withouth the whizzer.

Do they have the same sonic signature as the 206's ? Are they a step up and if so in what way ? Clarity, Depth, etc
 
Completely different & IMO are certainly worth the extra (which comes to a lot extra when you factor the tweeters in). The 208ESigma has a much better midband IMO, and the bass end is also cleaner, with superior dynamics & detail to my ears. The 206 is great for the money, the 208ESigma is one of the top FR (well, WR in its case) drivers available, with only a select few matching or bettering it.
 
Nasty speaker and tonally dead . Save your money for Lowther or maybe Hemp driver. However if you go for it , it really needs a tweeter .Jensen's vintage horn tweeters are really nice sounding and I heard opinions that they better any accessible
fostex tweeter. No need for a flames here ,just my very subjective opinion .Regards, L
 
What were you running them in & with? That's the first time I've ever heard anyone say a bad word about the FE208ESigma. It's an inherently smooth driver & tonality is far superior to any driver with a whizzer cone, nor do they suffer from the same phase issues. Fostex deliberately made them a WR unit to get the midrange right & leave the HF to drivers better able to handle such frequencies. However, they need a very long break-in period & a cabinet properly optimised for them or you'll never hear them at anything like their full potential.
 
Hi
I was using them (over a year) in 204 Hz Azura (LeCleach) front horn crossed at 250 Hz up with
Flesh & Blood" 300b DIY amp , AN Quest (300b ) Yamamoto based 45 amp with electraprint OPTs. After a year I went broke and bought a used Lowther DX4 (yeah with wizzer and all that) I know the difference in price but in comparison fostex is dull,lifeless , has no transient and tonal discrimination .If you buy a very good tweeter the price will be very close to the value of used Lowthers .I don't see the point. So my 5 cent advice to original poster would be just keep FE 206 and save money for better driver than fostex or at least to try audition , comparison . Regards
 
Nice amps. I like the horns too. :) Out of interest, which HF driver & XO point / cap value were you using with the drivers?

Why would I prefer tweeters + 208ESigmas over a pair of 2nd hand Lowthers? No whizzer with all the problems they bring, smoother FR, superior linear excursion do it for me. And with all due respect to my native product, much better build quality. I would be very wary about buying used Lowthers. Robust is not the word that springs to mind, excellent though they are in many ways.
 
Other way around -used Lowther over Fostex + tweeter . While I agree that fostex build quality appears to be much higher than Lowther but sound wise there is simply no contest to me. Tweeters I used with Fostex were Jensen RP-103s and later (much much better ) EV 350T. Yes , I read all those comments on the web where people prefer Fostex +tweeter to Lowther or are saying that the difference is not worth the price or is insignificant ,sorry it is not my experience .To bad those "greedy " British manufactures charge so much for their services and weird engineering :0)
Regards, L
 
Given the economies of scale involved, and the rotton economic conditions for UK manufacturing, the Lowthers aren't bad value, relatively speaking, though there's no exotic engineering in them at all AFAIK. Quite the reverse -compared to a lot, they're highly traditional devices. You'd need to rework the horn & tweeters to suit the Sigmas though. They certainly don't have the subjective detail of the Lowther units in the lower treble regions, but they also lack the sharp ~10db lift at around 8KHz most of the latter suffer from. YMMV.
 
Scott. Long time no speak. So the 208's are what Santa should be bringing down the chimney? Are you able to say how the 208 blends with (the right) cabinet as opposed to the 206 for which it was not designed ?

I am really happy with the voicing of the 206 (with dave's plugs and my own beauhornalike spot bulbs), even with it's weaknesses.
 
If you're feeling flush, then yes. They're less attention grabbing at first than the 206, but you'll quickly discover even out the box that they give a much more sophisticated sound. I have a feeling the plugged 206 with basket damping, chassis grounded, and EnABLed might get close in some areas like detailing; so as you own them, I'd be applying these mods first and see how you feel.
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
Scottmoose said:
you'll quickly discover even out the box that they give a much more sophisticated sound. I have a feeling the plugged 206 with basket damping, chassis grounded, and EnABLed might get close in some areas like detailing; so as you own them, I'd be applying these mods first and see how you feel.

Scott promised he would arrange a compare of EnABLed 206 or 207 against stock 208 sometime in the near future. The 1st EnABLed drivers in the UK are in the hands of Parcel Force and i'm expecting them to spur some home brewing. It would not surprise me at all if the 208 comes in 2nd to the tweaked up 206s or 207s.

dave
 
I've just found the EnABL thread. it all seems a bit technical. I am a "just tell me what it sounds like" man. Is the pattern as shown in the template the definitive pattern. Is there a specified product for doing these mods or just ink ? What will I hear as a result ? Cos there aint no going back once you start. However the 126 varnish & modpodge trick worked !
 
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