High Efficiency Speaker Asylum

• RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets - Big SET fan 05:55:24 01/15/15 (1)
  In Reply to: RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets posted by PhilJ on January 10, 2015 at 08:24:58

  Where do you live? I have a pair of recommended BLH for the 208 sigma for sale, I have read that the 206 would work in the enclosures rather well.
  

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  • I live in Kalamazoo Michigan half way between Detroit and Chicago - PhilJ 14:53:48 01/15/15 (0)
    In Reply to: RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets posted by Big SET fan on January 15, 2015 at 05:55:24

    the cabinets do look amazing however I am not exactly made of money right now...
    

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• Why not! - Rick R 22:15:33 01/13/15 (0)
  In Reply to: RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets posted by PhilJ on January 10, 2015 at 08:24:58

  If you have the capability to build your own speakers and would enjoy doing so, absolutely go for it. Something like the Fostex FE 206 En or the smoother sounding Fostex FE208EZ (you might want a super-tweeter, but can add it later), in the appropriate cabinet would be the best bang for your buck.

  I have owned several Fostex based speakers, and here is my experience.
  I bought a pair of Fostex FE 206 En drivers in Sachiko cabinets from a local guy who’s cabinets were strong but not pretty - runny epoxy finish and lots of small imperfections. I liked the sound of them in a large room at first but came to find the shouty nature of the drivers bothersome. I ended up getting better drivers, the FE 206ES –R and the FE 203EN-S, both limited edition drivers, several times as expensive as the FE 206 En. Both were much better on the highs, mids and bass. A significant improvement at a price. You can find the updated Kirishima cabinets online. You should also check out post by thetubeguy1954, who loves his Sachiko cabs and has experimented with many different drivers.

  A couple things about these – they are really big speakers, 72” tall. You need be able to live with them. Unless you do a really excellent job finishing them, they have a very low wife approval factor. Don't get me wrong, I have seen wonderful looking Sachiko's, that look like huge wood grained sculptures, but are not everyone's taste. You really need to experiment with in terms of set up. I ended up with them very toed in to the point of crossing in front of the listening position and also angled up with the drivers aiming at ear level. This makes them even stranger looking.

  I sold those and got a pair of beautifully made single back loaded horn cabinets with 4” Fostex FE126eN drivers. I was underwhelmed – lack of bass and less apparent detail. I sold those and got Fostex F200A drivers and ribbon tweeters in a large ported cabinet. Way better in all categories. But these are even more expensive drivers.

  The bottom line is you kind of get what you pay for. Better, more expensive drivers, better sound. You also need to right cabinet for the drivers, and of course, people vary in their opinions on this. Because your system, room acoustics and taste are your own unique audio world, the best way to know is to try in your system. Good luck on your quest.

  
  

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  Edits: 01/13/15
• Don't waste your time and money. - dee eye why 14:58:29 01/13/15 (3)
  In Reply to: RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets posted by PhilJ on January 10, 2015 at 08:24:58

  I did just what you are thinking about doing. For me it was a great disappointment. I find the Fostex to be "honky" even with a phase plug.
  The Fostex cabinet provides very little bass and involves a LOT of work for an experiment. I sold the drivers and shit canned the cabinets.
  If you like the sound of the Fostex I would go with a different cabinet design.
  
  .
  Freak out...Far out...In out....
  
  

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  • thanks I appreciate a candid response, actually I am now looking at Jordan or Markaudiodrivers - PhilJ 18:08:25 01/13/15 (2)
    In Reply to: RE: Don't waste your time and money. posted by dee eye why on January 13, 2015 at 14:58:29

    just feeling my way without listening first can be tough
    

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    • RE: thanks I appreciate a candid response, actually I am now looking at Jordan or Markaudiodrivers - thetubeguy1954 14:55:08 01/14/15 (1)
      In Reply to: RE: thanks I appreciate a candid response, actually I am now looking at Jordan or Markaudiodrivers posted by PhilJ on January 13, 2015 at 18:08:25

      
      
      

      
      
      Phil,
      
      I have been using Sachiko cabinets for almost 8 years now ---{ they replaced $5K, 2-way, Italian, Aliante Pininfarina Ones }--- and after trying Fostex FE206E, FE206ES-R and FE208ES-R drivers, as well as others by other manufacturers, but settled on Dayton PS220-8 drivers with a 7-step, proprietary, cone treatment applied.
      
      With these PS220-8 drivers in the Sachikos I can play a small ensemble such as chamber music or a small acoustic guitar group and get all the delicacy, clarity, harmonic purity and correct timbre tone color one uses a single broadband driver for and yet on the very next recording I can play YES, EL&P, Triumvirate or any other Prog-Rock group and play the music at level where the SPLs will chase you from the room without a hint of distortion!
      
      
      Please don't hesitate to ask any other questions you may have...
      
      
      Thetubeguy1954 (Tom Scata)
      
      Central Florida Audio Society -- SETriodes Group -- Space Coast Audio Society
      Full-range/Wide-range Drivers --- Front & Back-Loaded Horns --- High Sensitivity Speakers
      
      
      
      

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      • I remember Triumvirate! I will look into the Dayton PS220-8 driver, awesome cabinets but too ambitious for me - PhilJ 19:20:10 01/14/15 (0)
        In Reply to: RE: thanks I appreciate a candid response, actually I am now looking at Jordan or Markaudiodrivers posted by thetubeguy1954 on January 14, 2015 at 14:55:08

        at this time.
        
        I may call you Tom
        
        thanks for the offer
        
        best Phil
        

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• RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets - zobsky 15:51:54 01/10/15 (2)
  In Reply to: RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets posted by PhilJ on January 10, 2015 at 08:24:58

  They really want to be in a back loaded horn .. which are not that hard to build once you set your mind on it. Look for the sachiko horn
  
  Pick the 206 is bass is your main requirement
  Pick the 166 or one of the 4" fostex drivers (126 etc ) if midrange (and decent bass but not as much slam as the 8" driver) is more important
  

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  • nothing is easy is it? I should mention the room is about 16 x 28 - PhilJ 18:17:18 01/10/15 (1)
    In Reply to: RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets posted by zobsky on January 10, 2015 at 15:51:54

    and I have 8 watts of SET power or maybe a Dyna stereo 70
    
    the sachiko horn looks fairly easy to build
    
    thankyou I know I am just getting my feet wet here but will remain diligent
    

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    • RE: nothing is easy is it? I should mention the room is about 16 x 28 - zobsky 11:52:08 01/12/15 (0)
      In Reply to: RE: nothing is easy is it? I should mention the room is about 16 x 28 posted by PhilJ on January 10, 2015 at 18:17:18

      Okay,

      BTW, .. whatever you do,
      don't build the fostex recommended horn for the 206 (some folks have tried it and have been disappointed). OTOH, folks have had better luck with the fostex 208 recommended horn. I'm merely mentioning this fact to make the distinction. I have't built either of these designs.

      Lastly, the updated "sachiko" plan for the 206En is called the "Kirishima" .
      Plans here http://p10hifi.net/FH/downloads/SpawnHorn-v2-planset-070412.pdf
      

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      Edits: 01/12/15
• RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets - BofService 09:35:34 01/10/15 (2)
  In Reply to: RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets posted by PhilJ on January 10, 2015 at 08:24:58

  I built BR cabs using the fe206. The 206 offers surprisingly good bass and pretty good high FR response, but is a little peaky in the lower treble. Imaging is of course fantastic. I did not find them to be quite efficient enough for a low powered SET though, so I use them in the family room on the AV system. I think I bought the drivers from commonsenseaudio.com. Commonsense now has their own brand they say is better and cheaper than Fostex. Might be worth checking out.

  • http://commonsenseaudio.com   (Open in New Window)

  
  

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  • RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets - Mick Wolfe 08:42:59 01/22/15 (0)
    In Reply to: RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets posted by BofService on January 10, 2015 at 09:35:34

    Yeah....he ( Commonsense) was at RMAF a few months back. The big 15" driver in the DIY ( he provides the plans) cabinet was quite decent to my ear. If I had a large room, I'd give this a serious look. Probably total investment under $1500. The efficiency quoted was around 100 db.
    

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  • thankyou for the thoughtful info - PhilJ 13:17:00 01/10/15 (0)
    In Reply to: RE: thinking of buying a pair of Fostex FE206En speakers and building a pair of their floor standing cabinets posted by BofService on January 10, 2015 at 09:35:34

    ...
    

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