[Wind Chaser]

I haven't benched it but I do know in that in the right enclosure, the Jordan will go surprisingly low and is extremely coherent regardless, so much so that it makes the Fostex 108 and 126 sound weak and insipid.  If the EnABL thing is legit, perhaps that might help close the performance gap between the Fostex and the Jordan, but as it stands, the Fostex drivers I have owned and heard, as good as they are, are not in the same league as the Jordan.

[planet10]

Have you bench tested a Jordan 92?  I ask because I've read of several compliants of E. J. Jordan specifications for the dirver as being very "generous".  And last I checked, they've gotten rather pricey, no thanks to the weak U.S. dollar.  The concept of an alumimum foil driver is interesting though.

Zaph has tested a pair.

http://www.zaphaudio.com/blog.html

It is less efficient that the FE127/126 so isn't going to be suited to 2.5 w/channel. Horn-loaded FE126 at 92-93 dB would be low as practical with this size amp, and that in a smallish room. Depending on the horn the FE126 will reach 40 Hz -- with lots of finesse, but not with the autority that a dedicated woofer can provide.

dave

dave

[t-head]

FWIW,

I have the Jordans in a narrow TL. Running 7w 300B monos and an active 6SN7 pre to the Jordans leaves a bit to be desired ie they run out of headroom at 'live' SPLs. I question the wisdom of running them with 2.5w, but YMMV. Using 100w digital HT amp is another story...

t

[planet10]

If the EnABL thing is legit, perhaps that might help close the performance gap between the Fostex and the Jordan, but as it stands, the Fostex drivers I have owned and heard, as good as they are, are not in the same league as the Jordan.

I'll let you know. I bought my JX92s with the sole purpose of seeing how well they hold up against the FE127eN/126eN. Given the current pricing of the Jordan, the driver that it will really stand comparison too is an EnABLed FX120.

With the new Swedish owner, and the bifurcation that caused should have us seeing 2 sources for "Jordan" drivers -- hopefully competition will push the prices down.

dave

[planet10]

Larger drivers are more efficient and go lower.  Folks acclimate (delude themselves) to accepting lack of bass, but to me sub 5 inch drivers truly need a sub.  And these smaller drivers are too inefficient to provide realistic live music spls with 2.5 wpc.  The Tekton suggestion with FE167 (6 inch) drivers for $350/pair is good idea (to go as big as you can for the money).  I've heard the FE167 in other cabinets and it'll do jazz (won't do justice to bass heavy rock or deep organ).

The trade-off is that with the FE167 you give up midrange to get bass... with most of the music in the midrange, it is not something i could live with long term. IMHO better to get the smaller driver and add a woofer(s). The new CSS SDX7 produces quite astonishing bottom in a relaatively tiny box so one doesn't have to live with monster woofer cabs. Add a pair of woofers and you can push the XO up higher and get more level out of the little FR.

dave

[jrebman]

Tubes4 evver,

Lots of good advice and suggestions here.  If you haven't made up your mind yet, drop me a PM and I'll tell you about some Tekton TQWTs (mini Abby-types) with a pair of Planet10 modified and EnABLed FE-127 drivers that I am getting ready to sell.

-- Jim

[toot123]

see my entry in the AC Trading Post for the merrill dca 5.5 bookshelves - even with the free stands it meets your budget requirements.  i had several fostex based designs and these smoke em in coherency, range and tone.  i am in ny area - but will ship.