[macrojack]

Who listens to them? Who doesn't? Why? Why not?

[doug s.]

i do.  why?  cuz, years ago, i heard jadis eurythmies at a s'phile show, & the 1st series of avantgarde duo's at a local stereo shop, & was blown away by the immediacy of the sound.  "some day", i thought....  well, that day arrived not too long ago, when someone relatively local put up f/s a pair of fostex-loaded oris 150 horns, setting atop custom fostex-loaded klipsch lascala bass-bins.  it didn't cost me a penny, as i traded my coincident wictory's, which had become redundant as they were so similar to my recently acquired piega's.  i also received a hypex ucd180 amp in the deal.  (anyone wanna buy it?    )

anyway, i have been tickled w/the sound, so much so that i haven't bothered to reconnect the fantastic piega's, or a pair of gemme audio tanto's that i got about the same time...     i have a decent sized space for the horns - ~18x38, but since it's a one-room apartment, the listening arrangement isn't ideal.  it's about an 8' equilateral triangle, horn faces are ~5' from the rear wall.  while it sounds fantastic, imo, i know it would sound even better if i could get them about 10'-12' apart, & sit 10-15' away.  there is no horn coloration that some folks complain about, but i dunno if it's the fostex fe206e/oris combination that is free of this, or if it's cuz i use a deqx pdc 2.6 as dsp/x-over, which would eliminate any frequency anomalies...  imaging & soundstaging are wery good, but when you get further back, you can tell how good it could really get...   someday...   




doug s.

[macrojack]

If the picture should actually appear, this is a shot of the horns Bill Woods built for me. They are still at his place in Canada awaiting the completion of matching crossover networks.

I'm pretty excited about these and, since I love the picture, I thought I'd share it. It's the first time I've ever posted a picture on AC and I must say that I needed the help of my teenagers. It is a cumbersome process.

[macrojack]

Well it appears that I failed at posting the picture. If anyone is interested in seeing the horns, PM me.

[macrojack]

If the picture should actually appear, this is a shot of the horns Bill Woods built for me. They are still at his place in Canada awaiting the completion of matching crossover networks.

I'm pretty excited about these and, since I love the picture, I thought I'd share it. It's the first time I've ever posted a picture on AC and I must say that I needed the help of my teenagers. It is a cumbersome process. http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery;area=browse;album=1592&pos=0

[ebag4]

Very nice, here yu go.

[doug s.]

If the picture should actually appear, this is a shot of the horns Bill Woods built for me. They are still at his place in Canada awaiting the completion of matching crossover networks.

I'm pretty excited about these and, since I love the picture, I thought I'd share it. It's the first time I've ever posted a picture on AC and I must say that I needed the help of my teenagers. It is a cumbersome process. http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery;area=browse;album=1592&pos=0

when you wanna post a pic in the thread, paste the pic inside this - - which can be chosen by clicking on it, (yust below the "italic" I icon)

doug s.

[macrojack]

ebag4 - Thanks for posting my picture for me.

Doug s - I did choose that icon and I did get the brackets. When I inserted the url between them I got nothing the first time and the address the second time. Everybody says its easy but considering the fact that whole threads have been devoted to explaining the technique, I am doubtful. My own experience indicates that it is not so easy after all.

Apparently a certain level of computer savvy is necessary for this process to come easily. And apparently I don't have it.

[DanTheMan]

Wow Jack, those are awesome!

[doug s.]

ebag4 - Thanks for posting my picture for me.

Doug s - I did choose that icon and I did get the brackets. When I inserted the url between them I got nothing the first time and the address the second time. Everybody says its easy but considering the fact that whole threads have been devoted to explaining the technique, I am doubtful. My own experience indicates that it is not so easy after all.

Apparently a certain level of computer savvy is necessary for this process to come easily. And apparently I don't have it.

before you post, try "prewiew", & you will ewentually get it right!     i looked at your post, when i was replying, and you need to be sure that "img" (in brackets): [...] is on the front side of the foto link, and that "/img"  (in brackets): [...] is on the back side...

doug s.

[macrojack]

Thanks, Dan.

If horns are something you care about, this is an avenue you should certainly explore. I haven't ever actually heard these so I can't offer a testimonial as yet but the credentials are certainly there. If Cogent chose these same horns for their $15,000/pair field coil drivers, they must be pretty good.

Check out Bill's website and see if you feel tempted. He's quite accessible if you have any questions.

http://www.acoustichorn.com/index.php

I've always been interested in the idea of horns but I thought the state of the art hi-fi type were way out of reach. While these are not cheap, I found them to be affordable enough.

In the end I expect to have incredible presence and dynamics and a somewhat truncated frequency response. 45 Hz. to 16 Khz. Bill talks about voice quality as if it is the primary goal and I guess that thinking is what drew me in.

[doug s.]

Thanks, Dan.

If horns are something you care about, this is an avenue you should certainly explore. I haven't ever actually heard these so I can't offer a testimonial as yet but the credentials are certainly there. If Cogent chose these same horns for their $15,000/pair field coil drivers, they must be pretty good.

Check out Bill's website and see if you feel tempted. He's quite accessible if you have any questions.

http://www.acoustichorn.com/index.php

I've always been interested in the idea of horns but I thought the state of the art hi-fi type were way out of reach. While these are not cheap, I found them to be affordable enough.

In the end I expect to have incredible presence and dynamics and a somewhat truncated frequency response. 45 Hz. to 16 Khz. Bill talks about voice quality as if it is the primary goal and I guess that thinking is what drew me in.

horns are awesome!!!     macrojack, you're gonna have fun!     and, they do not have to be expensive.  i have ~$2k into mine, & tho the oris 150/fostex fe206e's arecrossed over to the bass-bins at ~250 presently, they run flat to 22khz.  (w/the aid of the deqx...    ).  the bass bins are crossed at 70hz to my vmps larger subs...

keep us posted w/your findings!

doug s.

[macrojack]

Doug - Horns seem to be catching on. A lot of people are getting a toe in the water with waveguides and the OB crowd appears to have a goal of abandoning the box. Full range drivers are being offered more and more. All of this points toward a dissatisfaction with the boring and restricted sound delivered by your typical dome tweeter, multiple crossover point, ringing box.

I've read that the major complaint people have had about horns in the past has to do with a tendency to shout. This is due to cheap horn flares and curvatures in the horn throat. I think horns have been overlooked and condemned for the same reason that DD turntables were abandoned. The low end stuff, while best known, just wasn't representative of the breed.

[Mariusz]

There is definitely something special about the single driver horns .
I have worked in my basement/workshop and the office for endless hours evaluating, experimenting and tweaking bunch of allready great designs as well as few of my  own ideas. At the end, I have finally found the design/formula that works for my ear and taste. In short - I am selling(more like trying to...Agon drives me nuts)
my all time favorits, Vandersteen Quatro in order to financed my project as a ready product.......not just  the prototypes. I am hooked. I just bought Melody M300b monos just for that purpose......I can not wait.

 JohnK sends me some vintage drivers to play around on long winter nights.
Thanks John.

Well design and though out horns are plain magical.
And I  do  agree that horns are making a come back.

Mariusz

[richidoo]

planet10 designed a BVR horn called "Maiko" for the Feastrex D5nf full range drivers. Maiko really unleashes this incredible driver and lets the music flow. FR is 50Hz to 20k+.  aa  It is very enjoyable with tubes.
 Rich

[miklorsmith]

Is this your best Feastrex implementation yet Rich?

[macrojack]

Feastrex - I don't have any personal experience. I have heard they are fragile, expensive and very good sounding. Is any of that true?

[richidoo]

Not fragile at all. The driver builder, Mr. Teramoto in Japan, says go ahead beat the shit out of them, they are really tough. They are 91dB/W (more with horns) with 5mm total excursion, so bottoming out is hard to do before they get too loud. I use 100W monoblocks on them.

I have the cheapest model, D5nf, sells in US for $2600/pr last I checked. Other models cost more They sound very very good. I am saving up for the 9" field coil version.  Any AC member is welcome to come hear my Feastrexes in NC. The feastrex family is a very tight group, sharing the discovery of what they are capable of.

Mike, I have built the maiko a few times with different materials as well as a smaller design from planet10 called Freddie BVR. I'm building the Maiko again now in solid pine, laminated strips to make 2" thick walls. I hope it will allow the beautiful pine tone but resonate quieter and at higher freq than 1x boards alone, to reduce distortion from the vibrating cabinet. It's a great design, to be expected from Dave and Scott at planet10.com. They have achieved unbelievable bass response from a 4" driver.
Rich

[DaveC113]

Feastrex - I don't have any personal experience. I have heard they are fragile, expensive and very good sounding. Is any of that true?

Not fragile... it is claimed it is nearly impossible to destroy them.  The cone material is almost impossible to tear by hand. I had to work hard to make a little tiny tear and I have been an auto mechanic for many years. No one else has been able to tear the paper that has visited my friends house. And, it is very light.

They are one of the best single drivers I've heard. Make sure you check out the Maxxhorns at RMAF, they were redesigned to use the 5" Monster Alnico driver. I heard them last year with the d5nf and was impressed. The new ones are supposed to be a major improvement.

Expensive? I think about $2.5k for the d5nf to tens of  $ks for the 9" field coil drivers. Maxxhorns probably around $20k


Also... it looks like excursion is a lot more than 5mm to me on sharp transients.

[macrojack]

Rich - The horns I'm buying are made of 1 inch solid cherry planks and are said not to resonate.

http://www.acoustichorn.com/products/300/300gallery/index.html

I've enclosed a slide show above. Bill Woods doesn't actually make these horns himself. It is his design but he uses a master craftsman somewhere up there in the Canadian woods to build them. Perhaps an adaptation could be fabricated for your Feastrex. Cogent goes down to 250 Hz. with their field coils through this horn.