FOSTEX Full Range Speakers

Sujit

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Hi Folks

Had an opportunity to hear a Fostex Full range speaker in a horn loaded transmission line arrangement! Was completely blown away !

Anyone with any experience with these fullrange speakers?
 
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Driver/Speaker - is there a difference?

There is a difference. Though the terms are interchangeable, there is an accepted norm in the industry.

A driver is a single component that has a diaphragm, a basket or frame, a coil, and a cylindrical magnet. This is also called a transducer which is a technical term for an item that converts an electrical signal to sound. The term 'drivers' are used to refer to transducers that generate low and mid frequencies. Transducers that generate high frequencies are generally called 'tweeters'.

A speaker, a loudspeaker, or, a speaker system, on the other hand, is a box or cabinet containing one or more drivers and tweeters. When there are more than one driver, the speaker cabinet also has a crossover that sends the right frequencies to the correct driver.

Generally drivers are manufactured by different companies such as Fostex or Feastrex, and loudspeakers are assembled by other companies such as Wharfedale, Audire, Misssion, etc. Though there are some speakers manufacturers who make their own drivers such as B&W.

Cheers.
 
Done - I stand educated! :)

I had a short audition session at the AUDIRE's demo room at Cbe yesterday. I was not carrying any of my CDs but what I heard clearly impressed me. There was this 3" driver that should be heard to be believed!

They were driving it with the 10watt Class A amp that you find on their website

welcome

They also had some exotic power conditioning equipment - however @ 25k/KV the experts will have to comment if its VFM.
 
Hi Folks

Had an opportunity to hear a Fostex Full range speaker in a horn loaded transmission line arrangement! Was completely blown away !

Anyone with any experience with these fullrange speakers?

Hi Sujit,

This DIY link may be useful to you.

Here is a link for DIY project using Fostex drivers

Regards,
Muthusami. S
 
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Fostex/Feastrex/Lowther are the more common drivers used for single driver applications. I guess the speaker that Sujit heard was from Audire.
 
Fostex/Feastrex/Lowther are the more common drivers used for single driver applications. I guess the speaker that Sujit heard was from Audire.

Yes RoC - They were from Audire - they were driving it with a Wavac tube amp and the sound was divine!

Hi Sujit,

This DIY link may be useful to you.

Here is a link for DIY project using Fostex drivers

Regards,
Muthusami. S

Thank you Muthusami.

What I like about Fostex is that they give enclosure designs FOR FREE . Its right there on their website! Recommended Enlosures - Speaker Components

If you have access to a good woodworker then this can be a very satisfying DIY project. Audire also sells the drivers separately.
 
Yes RoC - They were from Audire - they were driving it with a Wavac tube amp and the sound was divine!



Thank you Muthusami.

What I like about Fostex is that they give enclosure designs FOR FREE . Its right there on their website! Recommended Enlosures - Speaker Components

If you have access to a good woodworker then this can be a very satisfying DIY project. Audire also sells the drivers separately.

Thanks Sujit. I am most interested in 3-way floorstanders.
 
These are Full Range drivers. So most applications will see just this one driver -Don't let that fool you - I have have heard them drop to 28Hz efforlessly! (obviously the horn at work)

They play clean all the way till 20khz - If you are a 'high' person, you can then add on one of their tweeters and take that upto 40kHz - though I must say it sounded absolutely fine without them!
 
Sujit,

I agree with your points on the capabilities of full range drivers. But preferences will differ from person to person. Reasons for my preference to 3-way floorstanders: They have dedicated drivers and crossover network to handle the frequencies effectively.

Anyway whether it is full range or 3-way, sound quality depends on the driver units, construction of cabinet, damping materials used, crossover design in case of multiple drivers.

Regards,
Muthusami. S

These are Full Range drivers. So most applications will see just this one driver -Don't let that fool you - I have have heard them drop to 28Hz efforlessly! (obviously the horn at work)

They play clean all the way till 20khz - If you are a 'high' person, you can then add on one of their tweeters and take that upto 40kHz - though I must say it sounded absolutely fine without them!
 
Sujit,

I agree with your points on the capabilities of full range drivers. But preferences will differ from person to person. Reasons for my preference to 3-way floorstanders: They have dedicated drivers and crossover network to handle the frequencies effectively.

Anyway whether it is full range or 3-way, sound quality depends on the driver units, construction of cabinet, damping materials used, crossover design in case of multiple drivers.

Regards,
Muthusami. S

I used to have the same view - Logically yes - The purists however, continue to argue on that!

To my mind, with sound being hugely personal, the crossover is the most difficult thing to get right - if ever!

Please don't get me wrong here .. I have a three-way + sub arrangement in my car (with a 3" dome midrange) , and a two-way 6" tall quarter-wave tube with Peerless drivers at home. No commercial brand this side of a lac comes anywhere close to it. So much so everyone who auditioned it has always asked me where the sub was! I admit I am partial to wide 'open' sound stages. So bookshelves are clearly out for me! I like to get the 'live' feeling.

So the only thing left to experiment with was a full range! And based on my auditions (- yes I went back and took another one! ) - I felt that these speakers did everything better than most three/four/many-ways I have heard. The lack of a crossover means the signal is untouched - the way it was recorded (arguable?). I felt these speakers gave the biggest bang for the buck - way bigger than anything even three times the price!

May I recommend that you give these speakers a listen the next time you are in Cbe - and maybe you'll find value in it! They do have speakers with separate woofers as well!
 
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I used to have the same view - Logically yes - The purists however, continue to argue on that!

To my mind, with sound being hugely personal, the crossover is the most difficult thing to get right - if ever!

Please don't get me wrong here .. I have a three-way + sub arrangement in my car (with a 3" dome midrange) , and a two-way 6" tall quarter-wave tube with Peerless drivers at home. No commercial brand this side of a lac comes anywhere close to it. So much so everyone who auditioned it has always asked me where the sub was! I admit I am partial to wide 'open' sound stages. So bookshelves are clearly out for me! I like to get the 'live' feeling.

So the only thing left to experiment with was a full range! And based on my auditions (- yes I went back and took another one! ) - I felt that these speakers did everything better than most three/four/many-ways I have heard. The lack of a crossover means the signal is untouched - the way it was recorded (arguable?). I felt these speakers gave the biggest bang for the buck - way bigger than anything even three times the price!

May I recommend that you give these speakers a listen the next time you are in Cbe - and maybe you'll find value in it! They do have speakers with separate woofers as well!

Sujit,

I respect your views. I didn't say anywhere that full range speakers are inferior to multi-way speakers. Since you have auditioned both full range and three-way systems, your opinion could be true. So if you go for a full range system, I suggest you to go the DIY way; you will save a lot of money. Compare the prices of the full range units you have auditioned and work out the estimate for doing it yourself. That is why I have provided you the useful links in my earlier post. Maybe after audition a full range driver system, I might change my preference:)
 
Sujit,

I respect your views. I didn't say anywhere that full range speakers are inferior to multi-way speakers. Since you have auditioned both full range and three-way systems, your opinion could be true. So if you go for a full range system, I suggest you to go the DIY way; you will save a lot of money. Compare the prices of the full range units you have auditioned and work out the estimate for doing it yourself. That is why I have provided you the useful links in my earlier post. Maybe after audition a full range driver system, I might change my preference:)

I never meant to question your preferences Muthusami- I am truly sorry if it seemed that way. I only meant to highlight where I was coming from.

I have access to what I think is one of the best woodworking factories in India. What I lack is the motivation to go all that might need to be done. I don't mind paying for the convenience of getting a ready made one so long as the difference is not glaring!

Lets see...
 
I never meant to question your preferences Muthusami- I am truly sorry if it seemed that way. I only meant to highlight where I was coming from.

I have access to what I think is one of the best woodworking factories in India. What I lack is the motivation to go all that might need to be done. I don't mind paying for the convenience of getting a ready made one so long as the difference is not glaring!

Lets see...

Sujit,

No problem at all. I have not auditioned any full range systems. If I do one and sounds good to me, I will also prefer the full range systems. In this regard, your observations are true, because you have auditioned both the 3-way and full range systems and found the differences in the sound delivery. If I have a chance to audition to the full range speakers, I will let you know my observations.

Thanks,
Muthusami. S
 
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