Frugel-Horn Lite for 3" drivers

frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
The 3rd in the series of small horns based on the Frugel-Horn Mk3 is the Frugel-Horn Lite aimed at supporting 3" drivers.

Designed to target the Fostex FF85wk, sims show that it should work with a wide range of 3" drivers (see drawings for those summed)

We built the original proto-type in early January with the FF85wKeN and have refined the design since then. As one would expect with 3" drivers bass extention is somewhat limited, but listening we were very impressed with bass reproduction. Comparing to more bass capable speakers, they produce the 1st harmonic very well, creating the illusion of deeper bass. This will satisfy many. Higher frequencies will depend on the driver used, with the F85wKeN they are very good.

FH-Lite-extents.gif


FH-Lite-protosS.jpg


With pressure on to get this out i worked on a basic set of drawings today (thanx David). Please contact me with any QC input.
http://www.frugal-horn.com/downloads/Frugel-Horn-Lite-0v9-290615.pdf

Link updated 29-june-2015

Now with its own pages on Frugal-Horn.com The Frugel-Horn

dave
 
Thank you very much for this new plans and especially for your efforts for this community. It's a pity that you guys are so far away for me.

Only thing that is curious to me, this build should run for the Aura NS3 as well as for an Fountek FE85. No criticism at this point, I got both drivers and will give this build a try :)

Need to leave work early today and buy some sheets of wood :D
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
Only thing that is curious to me, this build should run for the Aura NS3 as well as for an Fountek FE85.

Frugel-Horns have proven to be quite tolerent of faitly different drivers, adjustable damping is the key (reminds me i need to add a damping drawing).

3" drivers tend to cluster closer together spec wize so many should work.

dave
 
Thank you very much for both of your advice/plan.

This project needs some time. Tried to realize a first quick build, but the OSB-panels in 12mm didn't like to get cut and smaller parts broke from the edges.
Now i have 18mm oak boards for the side-panels and birch multiplex 12mm for all the other parts.
The contour of the back is now more or less finished; more sanding is needed!
Tomorrow i start with glueing all parts together.

The first speaker-type will be the Aura NS-3. Got a different pair in a very nice 2,5l BR-enclosure. They are playing very low for such small beasts, i hope they are losing the typibal boomy sound of the BR-chamber :)

Getting nervous!
 
Hello everyone,
Hope you had a nice Canada-Day :)

My FHLite-builds are finished and in the "warmplaying-phase".
As written before i started with the Aurasound NS3 and my first impression...WOW!
They need some time for breaking-in but what 'da hell a really well tempered bass!
A much better full deep sound compared to the BR enclosures i build for a different pair.

No Pic No Truth so attached two pictures of my more or less fast build.
FHLite_empty.jpg FHLite_Aura.jpg
My highend testing setup is a Topping TP30 Tripath-amp, a super expensive Philips AEA200/12 Bluetooth-Adapter
and the good old Moto G1 with a lot of *.flac, di.fm and youtube on it :D

The Topping is a bit sensitive to impedance chages so its not the best choice to use the Aura without compensation.
But for some easy listening its enough. I think for the upper frequency i will add a tweeter or a 1" Aurasound NSW1-205-8A.

I really had a lot of fun with this build. For the sides 18mm oak-panels and for all the other parts as suggested 12mm birch multiplex panels are used.

Dave and everyone behind planet10; thank you very much for all the work and especially the complete free offered plans and advices for this community.
If you were not so far located i would invite you guys to a small BBQ :D

The Doors - Riders On The Storm......in permanent loop!
 
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My very tolerant girlfriend likesthem too...the curve in the back seems to result in a high WAF :p At the moment we are enjoying a mix between Bob Marley and Massive Attack. They play much bigger than they are. Room is about 18m2 and listening distance nearly 4m...moderate Volumen that normal conversation gets painful, nearly no cone-movement! :cool:
 
Hi everyone,

My FHLite have played now each day several hours with different type of acoustical input.
My personal opinion about this build:

1.) The Aura NS3 are the correct speaker for everyone who tries to achieve a lot of bass out of a small enclosure.
I listened from classical - electronic - synth - rock - metal a lot of stuff and they played everything in a really nice manner.

The downside of this speaker are the missing heights, so an additional tweeter or small fullrange-speaker is recommended.
IMHO they are playing well below 3.5kHz.

2.) I also have two pairs of the Fountek FE85 on hand and they are suggested by P10 for usage.
The first songs had been a pain for my ears so they get a continuous run through the night.
I'm really amazed of the performance of these small fullrangers.
Vocals, 3-dimensional instruments in the room, the soundstage itself, all these typical nice terms used in glossy magazines are coming to my mind!

But also for this speaker there is a downside. They are lacking in everything below 300Hz.
I added an openbaffle 10" woofer per side and the resulting sound was astonishing good!

Conclusion
IMHO the no-boxing sound of the FHLite invites to play with OB solutions if someone is missing a type of frequency-range.
We are talking about very small fullrange-speakers, so there will be always a compromise due to the personal taste.
I hope more people will give these high WAF floorstanders a chance.
They are a good solution for smaller rooms [~20m²] and a low budget.
The sweetspot of 3" speakers is not as narrow as of the bigger siblings and they are playing much bigger then they are.

Regards, S4M
 
Great write up...thanks!!

I've only tried the Fostex 85's...the one thing I've noticed with those drivers are that they produce just enough bass (in both the Lance and the Lite's) that it's easy to blend in a sub to cover the bottom end...

For me...no tweeter is needed :)
 
Both drivers i had to hand are not really made for fullrange application in my opinion.
The Aura is a simple woofer who plays in a very wide range. A friend of mine likes the sound of the Aura without a tweeter.

The Fountek is a complete different type of driver and seems to be comparable (by TSP) with the Fostex 85.
If the bottom end is not needed this driver in combination with the FHLite is amazing.
Depends on your taste of music and expectations. By higher volume a little punch was missing on normal volume i enjoyed them without additional woofers.
I imagine the Fostex are playing in the same league.

I'm still amazed about the possibilities of these small speakers!
Need to make some experiments with the stuffing...