Godfrey Wilkes wrote:

"Eeyore" wrote
Godfrey Wilkes wrote
"Eeyore" wrote
Godfrey Wilkes wrote:

Anyone familiar with Fostex full range drive units? Wilmslow Audio do
them along with cabinet kits starting from about £200 a pair but I
can't find much in the way of reviews as to how they actually perform
compared to other speakers of a similar price.

From basic priciples of physics it is easy to show that ANY 'full
range' loudspeaker is a terrible compromise. This involves analysis of
motor theory, suspension, resonances, cone break-up and plenty more
besides.

The 'average' speaker tends to perform best over about 3 octaves which
is why most decent speakers are 3 way.

The frequency coverage can be extended a little at the cost of
sensitivity, making some decent 2 way designs possible

p.s please don't post in HTML in future

Sorry about the HTML. In over 12 years of newsgroup posting I've always
tried to stick to the 'rules' but something went wrong this time! Must
have had a senior moment.

No prob.

I think you've confirmed my own thoughts on the disadvantages although
I'm led to believe that Lowthers are something special. The only advantage
I
can see is high efficiency, in the right enclosure, but with today's high
powered amplifiers efficiency is not a problem.

Something special compared to what ?

Fostex

Bose ? They have to be EQ'd to hell to
sound even half acceptable. You see, any cone speaker is simply a bandpass
device and the laws of physics can't change to do any better. Some people
do like the 'point source' concept but you really can't cover the audio band

adequately.

You obviously know a lot about speaker design.

Well, I did study it at Uni but I wouldn't claim to be a total expert. There's 2
sides to speaker design, the driver itself and the enclosure. The clever bit is
definiteltly the driver. Depending on your approach, a potential third and
equally vital one is crossover design. I prefer active (electronic) crossovers
myself, since they are vastly more accurate and result in an easier load being
presented to the amplifier (except you have to have at least twice as many) !


Could you recommend me something costing no more than £350 for a pair?

You might hit something acceptable from the likes of Richer Sounds but £350
isn't quality territory. I'm more a 'pro' guy you see where systems can costs
tens of thousands but someone else may be able to help better.

What kind of size speaker are you looking for and the listening SPL ?

Graham