Fostex FE126 EN, in Madisound BK-12M kit

[Noskipallwd]

Have not checked in on this thread in a while. Ralph, I like the way you finished those, mine are still naked. Yes, these speakers require alot of attention to placement, and are best suited to a small listening space. They do take a long time to settle in. Chris, and Jim, I put some steel sandblast media in the bottom space of the cabinet. Although very subtle it seemed to improve the clarity of the bass and mids. All an all they are great little speakers, I'm driving them with the first amp I ever built, a S5 electronics K16l push pull integrated. Considering they sound good driven by this amp, I can't wait to see how they perform driven by a Stereomour or some Paramounts!

Cheers,
Shawn P.

[ralph]

Thanks for the compliment on the finish. I got a little bit of glue on the "end grain" of the plywood that is visible from the front - will tape off some areas on my next build. After almost 2 weeks with the BK 12s I really love them for most of my music. They excel at jazz, folk and acoustic blues. Not as good with the "old" rock I listen to on occasion. Very curious to see what difference adding the Foreplay III to the system makes.
Then maybe another system for the times I feel like rocking out.  Hmmmmm.... NP's BA3, or a PP tube amp

The possibilities are endless...

Ralph

[porcupunctis]

I would agree with Catp.Z, the Fostex drivers seem to need a lot of break-in.  I'm using the FE-166's in the BK-16 cabinets.  Basically, the same thing just a scoonch larger all around.  I have a pretty small listening room, as well.

I built mine two years ago and broke them in for 50 hours thinking that would do it.  They sounded pretty good after 50 but just kept getting better.  Every now and then, I'd play an album that I hadn't played and I was taken aback by some detail I hadn't noticed the time before.  I'm currently driving them with a Foreplay III (stock) and a highly modded SEX amp.

They are part of my Heaven.

Someday, I may just have to build some horns for the 8" 206e's.

Looks like you did a great job on your build.  You will get a lot of positive comments on those.  Mine certainly start a lot of conversations.   

[Clark B.]

I have to say that the existence of this kit really pleases me, serving a clear need to the community.  It'd be nice to hear some some time, if anyone in the PNW area has them done.

Cheers,

Clark

[tdogzthmn]

I've been seeking out an easy first speaker build project and the BK-12M looks like a nice starting point.  I currently use Blumenstein Orca's so I'm familiar with the fostex fullrange drivers and how lovely they can sound.  My other thought is jumping up to the BK-16 if there is a significant benefit in frequency response.

I would assume the bass on these are good enough for acoustic genres of music like folk, jazz and classical but would benefit from an active sub?  I like the idea of having separate speaker systems which focus on specific genres of music.  Something I learned during my years of buying and trying headphones is there is no one can that can do it all perfectly.

I plan to drive them with either my Bottlehead SEX 2.1 or Stereomour feed by my Hagerman Bugle2 phono and Rega RP1.

Thanks!

[Clark B.]

No, they are still sitting in their shipping boxes. Two are LE8Ts, two are reconed as 2115s, plus I have a pair of D-208s - all 8-inch fullrange JBLs. Never had a suitable box. Needs to be, oh, about the size of the Thrasher, actually...  :^)  Seriously, I think I'll get a pair of those.

Paul, LOL.  lets do it (!)

-Clark