Frugelhorn3 DIY Speaker

[M42]

Hi All,

I'm wondering if anyone has built a pair of Frugelhorns and what their listening impressions might be. I'm considering building a pair for my Stereomour...using the Fostex 126en full range driver.

Jeff

[Evan]

Funny, I literally finished building a pair of those this evening. I also have a Stereomour and used the FE126en drivers. I'm also trying some other new stuff tonight so I haven't tried out the Frugel Horns yet, but I should be able to tomorrow. You don't happen to live near Seattle do you?

Edit: I decided to toss them in for a quick listen. Keep in mind these have zero break in time. Right out of the box they are pretty "forward" sounding. Clarity and soundstage seems pretty good. The SPL levels should be fine for solo listening. They do produce decent bass, but even at the low volumes I'm keeping them the cones were moving a lot with a short trial of "modern" music. I'd say they are well suited to acoustic oriented music. After a few jazz tracks I'm starting to enjoy what they offer.

But full disclosure, I'm probably going to try to sell mine. They are really quite nice speakers and for acoustic music would pair very well with the Stereomour. But my musical tastes are quite eclectic and I have been really happy with my waveguide speakers using 12" woofers. WAF would be much higher with the Frugel Horns.

[Alonzo]

I have a set of them, with EnABL'd FI126en's.  Like them so much I'm looking to add a second pair for the movie room.  I've tried them with and without tweeters, with and without an added sub.  For all except large orchestra pieces they are great, some complex music can give them problems.  By problems I mean that they don't go as low or as high as I've heard in person but for 90% of the music I listen to and for 99% of the volume I need they are perfect. 
They are better near a wall (or use a deflector).  The sweet spot is large, I have them about 8 feet apart, slightly toed in and it's like I'm in the dancehall/studio/shower with the singer.  Experiment with the stuffing, there's added felt and wool in the package to allow you to tailor them to the room and sound you want. 
Also, remember they'll need a break in period, just like your stereomour (trust me you'll hate the sound and regret the buy).  But do remember they need some time to loosen up.
Search the forum for Zynsonix, he has a great looking pair with metal outriggers on his site.

[Grainger49]

Loosening up a driver can be done with minimal disturbance.  Face the speakers toward each other as close as possible.  Wire one speaker out of phase.  Now throw 3 blankets or comforts over them to kill the sound leaking out.

Play them at whatever volume you can stand for a week.  They will have loosened up.

[M42]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts about these speakers...I think I'll forge ahead and see how they work in my small music room.

Jeff