New Fostex Alnico Fullrangers!!

[mctavish]

Fostex FE103A 4" Alnico Full Range - Foster 70th Anniversary Limited Edition - Pair: Madisound Speaker Components

Wow! Thats a lotta scratch for a pair of Fe103's...

The frequency plots are not exactly world class either....

 

[chrisb]

OK, some of us FR aficionados have a soft spot in our hearts for the FE103 in its many variations - some dating back to before the Fostex name was minted, but I’ll go out on a limb by opining these will not see huge acceptance by actual builders. Indeed, they’ll probably be most popular with collectors who’ll never pull the drivers out of the box.

If I felt inclined to spend that kind of money on a pair of small FR drivers, it’d be on another pair of MAOP 7s, or perhaps 10s, and I’d certainly use them.

 

[Mancave62]

Exactly, that's why they come in a display box that cost more than most speaker pairs....I'm sure my ears can't tell the difference...

 

[freddi]

about $500+ too much.

 

[Scottmoose]

As usual, the value depends on perception. As noted, these are evidently aimed more at collectors, primarily I would assume in Japan. Their functional performance is to a point less significant than the symbolism. It looks like they've made a custom run of the original style baskets or something very close, which will have cost a packet in itself for the tooling & production setup. While it's probably not aimed at most people here, I'm glad it exists.

 

[mp9]

...not so fast gentelmen, it appears these are intended to be used:

The driver in box transfer function of the following link is looking better then that of the raw driver.
I can only imagine how much more @Scottmoose could do with the driver in one of his designs.

YK103A | FOSTEX(フォステクス)


フォスター電機創業70周年を記念して、往年のスピーカーユニットの復刻モデル「FE103A ［ FOSTER 70th Anniversary Model ］」を700セット、10月下旬に発売 - Stereo Sound ONLINE

Fostex 70th anniversary commemoration full range speaker “FE103A” designed bass reflex speaker box “YK103A” released in limited quantity
2019-11-07
Stereo Sound ONLINE @ Stereo Sound ONLINE
News audio FOSTEX enclosure bass reflex
Facebook Twitter LINE Hatebu

The Fostex Company will release a limited bass reflex speaker box “YK103A” for the full range speaker unit “FE103A”, which will be the 70th anniversary commemorative model, in mid-December. The price is ¥ 140,000 (pair, tax not included) and will be released in mid-December.

YK103A incorporates terminals, internal wiring, and sound-absorbing material for adjusting sound quality. Just connect the internal wiring to FE103A and attach it with the supplied bolts. Fine, pure sound and balanced quality are good. It seems that you can enjoy low-pitched music with a wide dynamic range.

The main features of YK103A are as follows.

● Achieving rich reverberation and natural reverberation by using solid Tamo wood in the duct material while using solid Tamo wood and China plywood for the enclosure material. ● Transparent smoke-colored acrylic board is used on the side, and the inside can be seen ● Gold-plated terminal compatible with banana plugs for the input terminal, and the company's SFC103 for internal wiring Reduce degradation
Main specifications of "YK103A"

● Model: Bass reflex type ● Dimensions / Weight: W200 × H320 × D250mm / 3.3 kg
● Internal volume: 6.2 L
● Applicable unit: FE103A
● Accessories: Washer x 8, M4 L20 cap bolt x 8, L wrench x 1, Instruction Manual

 

[ultrakaz]

And for all that, I still find it appealing..... (Sigh) Maybe at $500, swallow hard and buy it. What makes it easier to pass is the stamped (flimsy) frame. The fancy/expensive presentation box does not help either. Perhaps, Fostex will do a lower cost version sans box and stamped serial or with the Sigma frames.

The YK103A box looks interesting; ported (?), open baffle-ish where does the bass come from?

 

[planet10]

It looks like they've made a custom run of the original style baskets or something very close, which will have cost a packet in itself for the tooling & production setup. While it's probably not aimed at most people here, I'm glad it exists.

Or they had some stashed away, or the tools they had were just enuff to do this run. This basket was used from the 1960s to the release of new baskets in 2000.

I have 2 pair of the originals awaiting treatment.

dave

 

[planet10]

I can only imagine how much more @Scottmoose could do with the driver in one of his designs.

you don’t have to wonder. Aiko & Vampyr-V fit the bill.

dave

 

[mp9]

And for all that, I still find it appealing..... (Sigh) Maybe at $500, swallow hard and buy it. What makes it easier to pass is the stamped (flimsy) frame.
-

That's what I'm thinking.
Do I gamble on Madisound bringing in many more than the number of pre-orders that don't sell and subsequently get marked down?
I'd likely bite at $500, agree $700 is too high.
Also, I'm not as concerned about the stamped frame (my 166EsR drivers have a stamped frame and those drivers aren't half bad), as I am about the foam surround. I'm guessing foam, based on pix and the reproduction aspect???

you don’t have to wonder. Aiko & Vampyr-V fit the bill.

dave

Nice!
How different could we expect the results to be between the two designs?

 

[Cal Weldon]

I'm guessing foam, based on pix and the reproduction aspect???

Correct me if I'm wrong Dave or Chris but I would guess not. Even before the infamous Fostex 103, there was the Foster 10F3 (which I happen to have a set] and every one I've seen since then has been cloth, no?

Besides, the foam of today is treated differently than in years of yore. They last a long time now.

 

[planet10]

The original FE103A has a cloth surround.

dave

 

[planet10]

10F3 is one of many variants of the FE103A — number dependent on who they were OEMing for. 10F3 was their own.

dave

 

[plasnu]

Alnico magnet is still very expensive? I would guess the difference in total manufacturing cost between alnico and ferrite is less than 10%.

 

[Cal Weldon]

It was labelled Foster 10F3 and I thought that came before the Fostex F103? No?

 

[Scottmoose]

Depends on what grade and what you're comparing it to (along with your supply chain & buying power). By and large, AlNiCo magnets tend to be more expensive than ferrite, but in the case of a driver this size & of this type, not hundreds of dollars more so. That isn't the reason for the price. Most of that is due to them being a collector's piece: limited numbers, nice box, recreated basket (or close, whether using old tooling or having to have new tooling made) and likely needing to have set up a dedicated production area for however many they've made. They won't have been cheap to produce, relatively speaking, so the price reflects that & the target audience.

 

[planet10]

It was labelled Foster 10F3 and I thought that came before the Fostex F103? No?

The 10F3 predates those named FE103, and are the same generation as 78D261-1 & 10RD11.

dave

 

[planet10]

That isn't the reason for the price.

One of the reasons is that to mag them you need a magcharger of considerably larger size and cubic dollars.

dave

 

[GUNFU]

Alnico has no advantages in sound, and also in characteristics over other magnets. And especially Alnico loses to the neodymium. My friend, a speaker manufacturer from Hungary, told me that he only produces them because of marketing. By ear, he also does not hear any advantages of Alniko even before ferrite.
But it is well known that in just 5 years, the Alniko magnet loses its magnetization by 20%.
Neodymium does not lose at all.

 

[mp9]

One of the reasons is that to mag them you need a magcharger of considerably larger size and cubic dollars.

dave

But this is not the first only or latest driver from Fostex to feature an Alnico magnet and I would think Fostex already has considerably large magnet chargers, no?

ex:
Fostex Premium Craft W160A

★ Newly developed HR diaphragm Fostex's original HR diaphragm has evolved with the latest speaker technology. For the diaphragm material, papermaking that forms a three-dimensional structure with a combination of materials mainly composed of fibers has been newly optimized for 16cm woofers. Utilizing the characteristics of the HR shape (* 1) that distributes divided vibrations while ensuring rigidity, it achieves rich, high-resolution premium bass playback that combines high rigidity with internal loss retention.
★ Alnico magnet type magnetic circuit Alnico magnet is adopted for the magnetic circuit. Furthermore, by placing a copper cap on the pole piece, current distortion is reduced and high-pitched bass reproduction is realized.
★ Adopting a proprietary foam driver on the edge We have adopted an original foam driver jointly developed with a material manufacturer as the edge material. Combines the texture of a solid rubber edge with the lightness of a cloth edge, and realizes resonance suppression along with the UDRT shape (* 2).
★ Newly designed push-pull double damper A newly-designed push-pull double damper with a wave shape design is installed. By installing two so that the wave direction is vertically symmetric, Cms linearity and amplitude can be secured.

[Premium 16cm woofer with alnico magnet]
Impedance: 8Ω
Minimum resonance frequency (F0): 42.9Hz
Playback frequency band: F0 to kHz
Output sound pressure level: 88dB
Fs: 42.9 Hz
Rated input: 35W
Maximum input: 100W
Baffle opening diameter: Φ151㎜
Mms (M0): 18.4 g
Vas: 13.5 L, Qms: 3.65,
Qes: 0.34, Qts (Q0): 0.31
Weight: 4kg