Thinking about taking on a new speaker project, so its time to move these on. Very nice speaker, with a minimum of 96db sensitvity....lilkely closer to 98db. Works great with tube amplifiers, chip amps, and lower powered solid state. I have run them with as little as 1.5 wpc from a Type 45 based amp, but thats as low as you would want to go with these speakers.
These double horns are quite sturdy, they measure 72 inches tall, 19 inches deep, and 13 1/4 inches wide. Built from birch plywood with a clear finish. Weigh approx 125 lbs each, so this is going to be a pick up sale, unless you want to make arrangements to have them shipped. Located in Eastern Washington..just outside of the Tri Cities Pasco/Kennewick/Richland.....zip is 99320
Drivers are first generation Fostex 208 Sigma, this is an 8 inch full range with cast basket. This Sigma series were the preferred speaker for Terry Cain in his Single and Double horn speakers. When Fostex discontinued this speaker, Terry was forced to use a super tweeter to help out the 2nd generation speaker, and it never worked quite as well. These are an outstanding driver. The cabinet is drilled to accept the 208, or the Fostex 206E, which is a less expensive driver with some compromises. I had the 206 in the cabinet, but was far happier with the Sigma series.
Speakers are wired with a double run of Cardas SE15 wire, Cardas copper binding posts, and the compression chamber is lined with Parts Express Sonic Barrier.
Single driver speakers excel at imaging, which these do. The tonal balance more balanced than the Audio Nirvana Super 12 I used before these. The cabinets are tuned to 50 hertz, and the smaller Fostex driver does not have quite the impact that the 12 inch AN driver did. However, blending a sub to the Sachiko is far easier, and a smoother blend. I use an Infinity Cascade 15 with it.
I sourced the cabinets from a builder in California, who built a few of these as a trial. So in some respects this is a semi DIY project. The builder used a very small brad to clamp the joints on the internal horn panels, and then filled over them. Very difficult to see unless you are right next to the speaker, and know what you are looking for. Still one step off true cabinet grade workmanship. There is a mahogany baffle to raise each driver, one has a small crack on the edge. Was that way when I got it, and it does not affect performance. It could easily be filled and sanded, I just never got that excited about it. But for $750 that I paid for a complex cabinet, which includes several sheets of birch ply, its a hard price to beat.....
Parts to this project
$750 cabinets
$400 Fostex 208 Sigma drivers- 1 pair
$200 Cardas SE 15 speaker wire
$80 Cardas binding post-pair
$25 Sonic Barrier
Total $1455
Thats what I got into these, not including all shipping costs, which the cabinets cost me $250 or so to get here. I will sell these for $1200 but you have to pick them up. There used to be a Cain and Cain speaker called the Big Ben, which sold for $10K, so these have quite a bit of value for the money.
Sorry the pic is not the best, it has a bit of lean, but it should give you an idea of what the speakers look like.
