"Eeyore" wrote in message
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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


Unfortunately my funds don't run to 'pro' gear and in any case I'm rather
restricted on space for equipment. I'm looking for a pair of floor standing
speakers for a room of about 160 sq. ft. SPL isn't important as I can only
listen at modest levels otherwise I'll have the neighbours complaining!
Amplification is via a 30W/ch Denon.

I've shortlisted these available from Superfi:
Mordaunt Short Avant 914i
Q Acoustics 1050i
Acoustic Energy Aegis Neo 3

I'm leaning towards the Neo 3's and would welcome comments.

Regards,
Godfrey