nain nait 5i with Fostex single driver

mpw,

There is a Naim dealer in Washington that was selling custom made speakers using Fostex single drivers in ported plywood cabinets. I don't currently see the speakers on his site, but he's been a great guy to chat with and I'd encourage you to send him and email. Search on "gigharboraudio.com". Best wishes!

thanks joerand..

My friend here had build experience on all fostex drivers in the market including sigma type.. 

Am looking at a large horn type... something like this....this one is a Fostex Fe166En but i am looking at Fe126En... a smaller driver but supposed to be much smoother..

yesterday i tried music :-

Kari bremnes

explosions in the sky

Nina Simone

Some hindi stuff

i loved it.. the speaker were linked uo to a DAC + amp ( integrated ) Onkyo 30 Watter..

the speakers are 7 ft tall..

my room is about 360 sqft and these would be enjoyable i think. Yesterday the speakers in heard were in a smaller room but still sounding very nice..in fact... very homely...

Interesting MPW. Years ago, the brother of a friend, who works in a hi-fi manufacturing company in the UK and who's owned CB and olive Naims, said to me, 'Naim amps need speakers to push against'. I've never questioned his wisdom and experience and have ended up with SBLs.

You are clearly enjoying super efficient speakers, and I wish you the best with the approach. Please let us know how it goes.

Chris

Thanks Christopher..

maybe i am trying to take a shortcut to good sound and enjoy the music at a lower cost..

One approach is to use a very efficient driver and a good amp.

I realize that my home can never be an acoustically perfect place and i dont see ( currently ) the reasoning behind spending money on pricey hardware when my room is not upto scratch.

Besides - i really did enjoy it yesterday. 

I will - in the coming weeks - take my Naim nait 5i-2 amp and Naca5 speaker cables and try it out with the pictured speakers just to see where we end up with.

regards..

Check out Blumenstein Audio.  Clark Blumenstein comes from this school of thought but uses a cheaper driver that sounds great with the UnitiQute2b.  We have last years Thrasher model.   

How about Omega Speakers, anybody tried those with Naim?

thanks skip and iconoclast..

Blumenstein audio looks good - atleast the website does  - am sure the sound would be nice too !

I am looking this to be a DiY - me is selfish here - i want the music and the satisfaction of my own build..

:-)

Looks like the single driver pairing with Naim amps is unchartered waters and maybe understandably so :-

a. The single driver dont need too much power to drive and traditionally it is thought by many that - more power - the better.

Companies go to market with more and more powerful amps capable of driving demanding speaker loads.

b. Single drivers may not give you the slam and thump one looks for. Maybe its not for all types of music ( nothing ever is !! ) 

c. In the SS arena - only quality amps with 50W or LESS come into contention..and this ties in with point a above

d. It doesnt cost much to build a single driver full range speaker.. no crossover messing about

e. maybe not many of us have actually had a chance to hear these.

regards

mpw

There are some downsides to using a Naim amp with such sensitive speakers:

• Volume control. Naim amps have high gain so it is difficult to play quietly. This means that with very sensitive speakers you may find that the amp plays too loud to play it in the background during social evenings, or that you can't play it quietly enough for late evening without filling the room with sound. It depends how sensitive the speakers are, but anything > 94db is likely to have this issue.
• Volume pot imbalance near zero. You can lose a channel near the beginning of the volume pot track. This doesn't apply for most speakers since you need to be at least at 8 o'clock to get any volume, but on sensitive speakers you are more likely to hit this.

• Naim amps have a low residual hiss due to their quiescent current. Older Naim amps used to have it quite high and newer ones are lower. The Nait has lower still, but you may be aware of the hiss from the listening position when not playing music if your speakers are > 94db sensitive. I certainly was with my 94db sensitive speakers, and I had to mute the amp to stop the hiss. This is not as bad as it used to be in modern amps but it's still an issue. Obviously the hiss is not a problem when playing music.

The only single-driver speakers I have used with Naim were Tom Evans' Acoustic Precision EIKOS FR-1. This was a small polystyrene box with a single 4" aluminium Ted Jordan driver. Their sensitivity was around 90-92db and they were easy to drive. They were super fast and had no box colour actions, very engaging indeed. No bass or treble to speak of but fabulous, if flawed, speakers. The Naim had no trouble driving them of course and the grip was immense. Single driver speakers can be a bit delicate so you need to be careful when running them in, otherwise you may break them, but if you do run them in carefully, the combination can be quite something. It's not a normal match since you are so close to the beginning of the Naim performance envelope, but provided you are aware of the above restrictions, it should provide much enjoyment.

On the subject of the crossover messing about there are quite a few speakers around where the sockets are connected directly to the main drive unit and a single capacitor or very simple crossover goes to the tweeter, such as the Wilson benesch Arc. Although not technically a single driver system, it is much the same principle. The real difference is the sensitivity you get from a full-range driver like the fostex. Incidentally, I have read much about the quality of Fostex drivers. They are meant to be beautifully made and truly exemplary. Please let us know how you get on with your friend's speakers and your own project.

Frank.

Thank yo Frank Abela.

Your reply is illuminating.

a. It is for this very reason that i plan to take my naim nait 5i-2 across to my friends place and try it. His shoebox Onkyo SS ( All in One ) has no trouble driving the his fostex speakers ( Fe 166En pictured above ) and i think my room is better than his - acoustically.

b. Hiss - i am aware of it.

I get it too but its no problem with conventional speakers. But with Fostex - i may have to check practically.

c. More of a problem - i think - would be the famous naim thump on power ON. I am worried on this score with the lightweight fostex drivers.

Thank you.

Looking forward to knowing more such potential pitfalls.

I was thinking about this thread today and i feel i am in a minesweeper mode... sniffing out potential problems before that occur..

regards

Power-on thump should not be a significant issue. For one thing you rarely switch on/off the amplifier. I only switch mine off when on holiday. Secondly, the thump is noticeable but not dangerous typically. It might give you a bit of a shock but no more than that. Finally if you really want to avoid the thump, just disconnect the speakers from the amp before switching on. Then, ensuring it's muted or on zero volume, connect it. No problem should ensue by doing that.

Frank.