Higher end alternative to FE126En for FH3

[itsikhefez]

Hey all,

I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of the last FH3 flat-paks for Fostex from Dave.
Original plan was to use the FE126En but I find myself spending more on caps than on the driver, so was thinking that it may make more sense to allocate more budget to the speakers.

Amp is a 300B SET, so about 7W power.
Are there alternatives that are considered "upgrades" to the FE126En that are efficient enough for this case?

 

[planet10]

Most feel the Alpair 7.3 is better, i generally recommend 10w but my 5W ACAs work fine with them. And i have people happily using 2A3SE. You are giving up 4-5 dB of sensitivity, but you gain in the bass.

And of course there is the FE126eN2, where besides EnABL there are a number of steps aimed at taming the rough edges.

FE126En variants definitly want a high output impedance amp, which your 300B should be.

Your rebate will fit the FE126En or FF125wk — the latter the FExx5wk speaker with issues similar to FE126 (but a bit worse).

What are you buying caps for?

Pluvia 7 and Pluvia 7HD would fill the role as well and would likely be easier to mount.

All the mentioned drivers are nominal 4”, the FE126 4.5” so youneed to check the thru hole.

dave

 

[itsikhefez]

Thank Dave.

Your rebate will fit the FE126En or FF125wk — the latter the FExx5wk speaker with issues similar to FE126 (but a bit worse).

Which issues are these? I haven't actually heard either yet.

What are you buying caps for?

For my recently completed 45 SET amp, quite a few components cost me more than a FE126En driver. Things like a pair of 0.1uF coupling caps, a pair of WBT RCA jacks because I liked how they mounted, tubes, etc.
In this aspect, I assume spending more on the driver will be a more cost-effective "upgrade"

All the mentioned drivers are nominal 4”, the FE126 4.5” so youneed to check the thru hole.

Could you elaborate on what I would need to modify in order to use one of the mentioned drivers?

 

[astrojet]

I listened to FE126en in a pair of fh3 for a year before swapping for MA MAOP7. I tried PP EL34 and EL84 and SET 45 and 2A3. For my situation, the MA drivers sounded great with both SE amps -- I definitely preferred them to the FE126en. I've also made some simple BR boxes for FF105wk that I used with the same amps. Sounded fine and would no doubt sound better in a more sophisticated box. Few meters listening distance, boundary loaded and low volumes for me, so YMMV.

 

[planet10]

Which issues are these? I haven't actually heard either yet.

hey have some significant HF resonances which some find fatiguing.

[/quote]Could you elaborate on what I would need to modify in order to use one of the mentioned drivers?[/QUOTE]

I use the driver drawings to judge how easy it is to retrofit a driver that uses no or a different rebate.

The new Pluvia 7 basket does not require a rebate, you are looking to see if it adequately covers the 126 rebate (if not it will need filling in, but the cutout also needs to be a size that is close enuff.

Red is FE126, bue is P7.

Looks like the cutout migh need a touh of rasping, and the corners of the fE126 reabate would not be covered, so:

1/ fill in the rebate (messy if you use something like bondo
2/ get the router out and add sufficient rebate (at the FE126 depth) to accomodate the parts of the P7 that reach beyond the FE126 rebate
3/ nuclear option. Cut a much larger hole in the baffle and add a supra baffle

dave