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.

May I take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.

Godfrey

In article ,
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.

IMHO they have a decent enough pedigree. I have a couple of very small
'full range' Fostex self powered speaker units for film location use.
But I'm not sure about using full range units where size isn't at a
premium.

--
*If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

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

Graham

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

"Eeyore" wrote in message
...


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

Graham

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.

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.

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 ? 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.

Graham

"Eeyore" wrote in message
...


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.

Graham



You obviously know a lot about speaker design. Could you recommend me
something costing no more than £350 for a pair?

Regards
Godfrey

In article ,
Godfrey Wilkes wrote:
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.

It arrived here as plain text - so I'm not quite sure what Graham is on
about.

I think you've confirmed my own thoughts on the disadvantages although
I'm led to believe that Lowthers are something special.

They're one of those classic designs which were good in their day - but
have been well and truly bettered. A bit like a Morris Minor. That's not
to say they wouldn't make a good driver as part of a multi driver unit -
but cheaper alternatives are available.

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.

High efficiency usually means horn loading - and horns tend to have a
sound all of their own. Fine if you like that - but not an accurate one.

--
*Be more or less specific *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

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

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:

Godfrey Wilkes wrote:
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.

It arrived here as plain text - so I'm not quite sure what Graham is on
about.

That. But maybe your newsreader ignores html tags.

Graham

In article ,
Eeyore wrote:
Godfrey Wilkes wrote:
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.

It arrived here as plain text - so I'm not quite sure what Graham is on
about.

That.

?

But maybe your newsreader ignores html tags.

There weren't any. Could be my news feed converts HTML to text and removes
any attachments.

--
*Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.