[doctorcilantro]

Hi all,

I'm planning on downsizing my system and going to go with some full range drivers, possibly the Tekton 8.1. I'd love to buy something like the SEAS Exotic Alnico drivers and have cabs built for them, but I don't have the time.

I'm going to be using a Decware Mini-Torii amp and the Tekton will mate nicely, but I thought I'd ask if there are any builders doing something will more exotic drivers. The particular Fostek in the 8.1 is no slouch from what I have read and they are at the top of my list right now. I have looked at Fritz Speaker and the Hornshoppe (but I really need a bookshelf). I plan to add a sub later if needed and supertweeters, or just try another type of full range driver in a larger cab.

I see interesting stuff in this vein on Audiogon now and again. I will miss my modded RF7s for sure and the Cyber 211s.

best
DC

 

[Uncle Erik]

If yu want bookshelves, I don't know if there are that many options commercially. Most tend to be TQWT towers and that sort of thing.

I'd look at the Jordan drivers - I think their smallest one has plans for a compact/bookshelf cabinet.

Though you can always have Madisound design a cabinet for you (they'll do that and design crossovers, too) and have a cabinetmaker build them. That would minimize your time investment and you'd get exactly what you're looking for.

 

[burgunder]

I would take a look at the "Fonken" family if I were you Meet the Fonkens

 

[jellojoe]

Another option is something from Omega Speaker Systems.

 

[doctorcilantro]

Decware has one but the Tektons are hot. I want full range; I'll look into these mentions here.

thanks
DC

 

[Bones13]

I have a set of desktop Tekton 4.5s. He makes great stuff.

 

[Donald North]

You should also consider the Brines Acoustics speaker systems. I've exchanged a few e-mails with him: Very friendly and knowledgeable.
Brines Acoustics

 

[Clarkmc2]

While hardly small and requiring cabinet construction, I can from experience highly recommend the Hammer Dynamics Super 12. The sound is superb. They are quite different from most single driver speakers, being augmented from 10K hz up with an Audex soft dome tweeter. The cone is twelve inches and has a whizzer. I truly believe if today's tweeters had been available in the golden age of single drivers, the tweeters would have been embraced and the compromises of attempting to make a cone reproduce high frequencies avoided as hifi advanced from 60-9000 cps to 20-20000 hz.

The designer, John Wyckoff, has passed away but his wife still assembles and sells the driver kits from her cabin in the wilds of New Mexico. She has upgraded many parts but has not raised the price in many years. It is not a business but a labor of love.

John had a great ear - he was a violinist - and spent five years developing the speakers. It shows. At 97-98dB/watt/meter tiny triode amps do fine. They sound so satisfying. Hard to describe, but they do.

Compared to other full range systems? No comparison at all, really. The big cone makes for much greater dynamics than other full range speakers. A wider range of music can be enjoyed and at higher volume levels. Efficiency is greater, increasing the variety of smaller amps that can be used. One watt is fine, two watts blows me out of the room, and seventy watts can be handled without damage; very versatile. Despite being an augmented system, nothing is given away to single driver speakers. There is a notch filter but no crossover. The cone rolls off naturally. The tweeter is fed by a high pass filter. One driver handles 45hz to 9700hz, so the heart of the music has no phase issues or crossover distortion. The tweeter is nearly concentric so the sound seems to emanate from a single source.

Hammer Dynamics
Single Driver Website

Clark

 

[drc73rp]

I say go for the Seas Exotic, not many builds yet but early feedback seem ok. It is said to be not as picky with cabinet as most Fostex and other full rangers, so BR and sealed boxes (60L, hardly a bookshelf) are ok. Its not as efficient though (low 90s db), so best to check what this exactly means in terms of watts and amp type requirements. Some discussion at diyaudio.com. Aside from Tekton, i know Kalinowski speakers also does them. Hope this helps.

 

[doctorcilantro]

I ended up with a pair of the new Omega 3i. 5" driver in a new box. There are a few pictures of my setup here.

I have since added a TimberNation platform under the sub and I still don't have my sound card back from getting some mods.

DC

 

[Larry I]

The link to the Fonken site looked interesting. I happen to like the sound of speakers utilizing Jensen-Onken bass reflex cabinets, though I have never seen it used with small cabinets.

The importer of 47 labs gear use to also distribute a very compact, tall speaker using a single driver. I am guessing it was some sort of transmission line enclosure. The tall thin speaker looked like a Roomtune acoustic treatment device. The sound was quite nice, exhibiting little of the kind of coloration I associate with single driver speakers, and it was also relatively cheap.

A friend just purchased a used pair of Feastrex field coil speakers. I haven't seen them yet. The first experiment will involve buying a pair of solid core doors and just cutting out a hole in each for the drivers (open baffle). I hope these things work out because the drivers are extremely expensive.

 

[Donald North]

Has anyone heard the AER drivers?
aer english