RE: "tried a few Fostex speakers and was mildly happy but somewhat unimpressed"

Posted by 1973shovel (A) on July 13, 2015 at 18:36:23

In Reply to: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps posted by airtime on July 13, 2015 at 06:34:42:

What type of cabinets were the Fostex you tried mounted in?

I'm very happy with my single driver Horn Shoppe Horns, which use the Fostex Fe 126E driver. I listen mostly to Blues and Rock music, and drive them occasionally to "Louder than I should safely listen" levels with a 10 watt per channel First Watt F1J amp, or a 17 watt Dynaco 6BQ5 amp.

I used to own Quad ESL-57 speakers, and they had the most magical midrange of any speaker I've ever listened to. However they didn't suit the type of music I listened to very well. They weren't too dynamic, and couldn't be driven very hard.

When I eventually listened to the Horn Shoppe Horns, I heard a similar coherency from them that I hadn't experienced since my Quads were crushed by a moving company. No, the midrange didn't have the same magic, but then no other speaker I've heard does. Art Dudley draws some favorable comparisons between ESL-57s and the Horn Shoppe Horns in his Stereophile review.

Below is a link to the Horn's reviews page, and from the top of that page you can get to the Horn Shoppe Home page. They now also make a two way, with the Heil driver up top, which I recently heard. While it sounded great to me, I'm going to live with my single driver version for now. They are still available without the Heil, fall within your price range at $925 per pair, and you can send 'em back if you're not happy. That's not an option you'll have if you opt for a kit, or if you buy used.

Hornshoppe Horn Reviews (Open in New Window)

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - airtime 06:34:42 07/13/15 (19)

maate, try the De Capo i's. - Timbo in Oz 14:30:03 07/14/15 (0)

RE: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - colebearanimals 03:35:42 07/14/15 (2)

Oh yeah - airtime 06:11:45 07/14/15 (1)

RE: Oh yeah - Mick Wolfe 08:44:30 07/14/15 (0)

RE: "tried a few Fostex speakers and was mildly happy but somewhat unimpressed" - 1973shovel 18:36:23 07/13/15 (2)

RE: "tried a few Fostex speakers and was mildly happy but somewhat unimpressed" - airtime 06:16:15 07/14/15 (1)

RE: "I do want to keep the cabinet within WAF range" - 1973shovel 09:10:05 07/14/15 (0)

RE: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - Mossback 17:25:05 07/13/15 (1)

RE: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - Crazy Dave 13:42:16 07/14/15 (0)

Klipsch Forte II... Tractrix horn version~nT - Cleantimestream 16:09:32 07/13/15 (0)

RE: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - RSF 15:13:14 07/13/15 (0)

RE: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - Mick Wolfe 09:55:36 07/13/15 (4)

RE: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - Eli Duttman 10:17:25 07/13/15 (3)

RE: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - Mick Wolfe 10:58:02 07/13/15 (2)

RE: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - Eli Duttman 12:10:04 07/13/15 (1)

RE: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - Mick Wolfe 13:59:05 07/13/15 (0)

RE: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - SETdude 08:03:50 07/13/15 (0)

Might check out Eric Anderson's designs at Tekton. The Lore Reference, - Opus 33 1/3 07:57:22 07/13/15 (0)

RE: Speakers for 20 watt tube amps - Grinnell 06:48:37 07/13/15 (0)

Follow Ups

RE: "tried a few Fostex speakers and was mildly happy but somewhat unimpressed" - 1973shovel 18:36:23 07/13/15 (2)

RE: "tried a few Fostex speakers and was mildly happy but somewhat unimpressed" - airtime 06:16:15 07/14/15 (1)

RE: "I do want to keep the cabinet within WAF range" - 1973shovel 09:10:05 07/14/15 (0)

RE: "tried a few Fostex speakers and was mildly happy but somewhat unimpressed"

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