uFonkens with Fostex FF85WK

Dedicated to those large boxes at one end of the room
User avatar
Toppsy
Shed dweller
Posts: 2400
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:10 pm
Location: red rose country

#1 uFonkens with Fostex FF85WK

Post by Toppsy »

Scott left these with me a while ago and last Saturday I found the time to build them.

Image
Image
Image

These come as a flat pack kit complete with fully enabled drivers by DaveD of Planet10. They are in solid Red Cedar which is quite a rustic looking wood and used mainly in USA and Canada for roofing shingles. Though beware if you buy in this wood. Though it takes oil and varnish finishes the oil will darken the natural timber quite some. These are oiled as that is what Scott wanted, thinking the penetration of the oil would help prevent any warping the natural wood due to humidity changes with the UK climate. The other thing to be aware with Red cedar is it is a quite soft timber and marks and damages very easily so be aware when putting your kit together.

I believe Bernie (surname unknown) makes up the kits and sells them through the Planet10 web pages. They are available in other timbers, I understand and I think prices are from $400 complete + shipping to UK. Customs and Post Office charges will add another £60 UK to the overall bill!

I must say they are very pretty boxes and Bernie does a super job of the kit panels. Everything fits perfectly though the final assembled speakers will require sanding before applying any finish. It took me just a day to have both speakers ready for oiling. 2-coats in the case of these examples.

These are really very small desk top computer speakers 160mm wide x 180mm deep x 245mm high.

As very near field monitors they are very good but try and listen to them from any distance and they don't really cut the mustard. To my ears used like this they sound like listening to a good portable radio.

Being small 3" Fostex Wide band speakers DTB will love these and I believe DaveD offers these as Plans for the DIY builders. So go on Dave you know you want a pair :lol:

I shall be bring these to Owston where Scott shall take delivery. But nice one DaveD / Bernie but for me I'd prefer something like solid Cherry not a roofing timber, hey. :wink:
User avatar
pre65
Amstrad Tower of Power
Posts: 21367
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: North Essex/Suffolk border.

#2

Post by pre65 »

Look nice Colin.

I made some computer speakers ages ago and as I'm only 24" away from them they needed to be small. Total cost was about £25, mainly for the Sony car speakers. They work much better than any readymade computer speaker I've heard.

Image
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Edmund Burke

G-Popz THE easy listening connoisseur. (Philip)
User avatar
Toppsy
Shed dweller
Posts: 2400
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:10 pm
Location: red rose country

#3

Post by Toppsy »

pre65 wrote
I made some computer speakers ages ago and as I'm only 24" away from them they needed to be small. Total cost was about £25, mainly for the Sony car speakers.
That may be so Phil, BUT the drivers alone in these uFonken speakers cost around £90 /pair in the UK and that doesn't include the cost of Planet10 treatment.
They work much better than any readymade computer speaker I've heard.
I would be very surprised if any DIY made desk top speakers didn't sound better than any the ready off the shelf commercial offerings. These little uFonkens though are rather special if you want a detailed dynamic sound and a finished looking product that would easily match that of any commercial standmount/small speakers. Not cheap but if you make the boxes yourself you'll be rewarded with a great sound whilst typing away on your PC.

I'm sure Scott is going to enjoy these immensely.
User avatar
Mike H
Amstrad Tower of Power
Posts: 20156
Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2008 5:38 pm
Location: The Fens
Contact:

#4

Post by Mike H »

Very interesting!
 
"No matter how fast light travels it finds that the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
chris661
Shed dweller
Posts: 2556
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 7:29 am
Location: Sheffield

#5

Post by chris661 »

I do rather like the looks of those.


Given your comments about the sound, I suppose its understandable why people often pair the little Fostexes with some bass drivers.

Perhaps the little drivers would put more oomph out in a FH3?

- something to investigate in the future methinks.

Chris
User avatar
Scottmoose
Needs to get out more
Posts: 1802
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2007 11:03 am
Contact:

#6

Post by Scottmoose »

Not really, what they'd do is put out a shed-load of harmonic distortion.

Like its predecessor, the FF85wk is a large tweeter.* You can extract a degree of LF out of it, but it's not worth the effort. Same applies to the majority of 3in wideband drivers. Forget tuning them low; they won't thank you for it. When you use them as big wideband tweeters, or computer monitors accepting they have zero LF, then they come into their own. That's what the uFonkens are: micromonitors for use with computers and other nearfield monitoring systems where LF is not required. You wouldn't use them farfield or in larger spaces without LF support -that's what their dedicated bass-helpers (which double as stands) are for. Within their own operating remit though, the 85 is a very good driver.

Colin's done a great job on the kits. When I dropped the Rossendales back last week I saw them in a semi-finished state, with a single coat of oil. They look even better now in the pictures. :) I'm looking forward to hearing them, and how they compare to my old uFonkens with the previous FF85K. Their main use will be as computer monitors, as intended. With any luck, at some point over the next few months, I'll finally sort out a set of larger main speakers. Already have a good idea what it'll be...


*Technically that's what all wideband drivers are, but you get the idea.
User avatar
planet10
Old Hand
Posts: 484
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 4:32 pm
Location: The Colonies
Contact:

#7

Post by planet10 »

Damn, i just lost a long post explaining what these are because i got logged out (right after logging in) :(

So let's try again (i'm going to do this in chunks this time)

Nice to see those done Colin... the terminals are upside down thou.

These are called µFonkenSET (Special Edition Trapezoid)

Scott's are one of 2 pair of alpha prototypes (we are now on a 3rd revison)

These are the other (Bernie made the flat-pak, Chris did the assembly)

Image

Cedar is soft, but sounds good. It is also light (& stiff) which saves on shipping. They are soft and can be dented easily, the material is 15mm thicker to give room for sanding out marring as they age.

We are also playing with penetrating epoxies, which have the potential of making them as tough as a West System canoe.

Price has not been fixed yet, we need to do a larger run and figure costs.

Plans are $25, matched/treated drivers (plans included) are $160/pr (extra for custom colour), Madisound sells stock ones for $35 each.

dave
Last edited by planet10 on Sat Oct 27, 2012 10:08 am, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
planet10
Old Hand
Posts: 484
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 4:32 pm
Location: The Colonies
Contact:

#8 Re: uFonkens with Fostex FF85WK

Post by planet10 »

Toppsy wrote: As very near field monitors they are very good but try and listen to them from any distance and they don't really cut the mustard.
These are designed to be very good computer speakers. With carefully choosen material (ie bass shy) they can cause jaws to drop farfield in a large vent (anyone remember Scott's older uFonken -- at your event held at the place with the big concrete vases -- these are better).

Add some woofer support and they do just fine as mains. Combined with the prototype woofTs (ML-TL by Scott) they caused a stir at last diyFEST.

Here a picture of the 1st finished/dedicated set (plywood, built by Chris).

Image

dave
Last edited by planet10 on Sat Oct 27, 2012 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
planet10
Old Hand
Posts: 484
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 4:32 pm
Location: The Colonies
Contact:

#9 Re: uFonkens with Fostex FF85WK

Post by planet10 »

Toppsy wrote: They are available in other timbers
We will be doing bespoke solid builds, each unique, as art-pieces (with cooresponding pricing)

Bernie's solid Locust:

Image

Locust reacts under a black light so the drivers were done glow-in-the-dark

Image

My personal in Yew, Chris' in Black Walnut (Bernie's work again)

Image

Image

A set made by Nich Syman in solid Oak

Image

dave
User avatar
The Stratmangler
Shed dweller
Posts: 2889
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:50 pm
Location: Rossendale, Lancashire

#10

Post by The Stratmangler »

planet10 wrote: the terminals are upside down thou.
I'd beg to differ - cables would be more likely to fall out with the plates the other way round.
Just look at commercial speakers ;)

Nice looking speakers btw :)
Chris :happy3:
simon
Thermionic Monk Status
Posts: 5592
Joined: Thu May 24, 2007 11:22 am
Location: People's Republic of South Yorkshire

#11

Post by simon »

planet10 wrote:Cedar is soft, but sounds good. It is also light (& stiff) which saves on shipping. They are soft and can be dented easily, the material is 15mm thicker to give room for sanding out marring as they age.
Blimey that's a LOT of sanding. They all look stunningly good, very aspirational. And if they're better than Scott's baby uFonkens they must be quite extraordinary.
User avatar
Scottmoose
Needs to get out more
Posts: 1802
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2007 11:03 am
Contact:

#12

Post by Scottmoose »

Dave probably meant 1.5mm...

I see the oak pair are sitting on some of my favourite 1970s speakers (love Sansui gear).
User avatar
planet10
Old Hand
Posts: 484
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 4:32 pm
Location: The Colonies
Contact:

#13

Post by planet10 »

simon wrote: Blimey that's a LOT of sanding. They all look stunningly good, very aspirational. And if they're better than Scott's baby uFonkens they must be quite extraordinary.
It is a lot, even given how easy cedar is to sand. You don't have to use up the full 3mm at once. But if you use up a 1/2mm each time you refinish them, that gives you 5-6 refinishes before you start falling under 12mm.

dave
User avatar
planet10
Old Hand
Posts: 484
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2007 4:32 pm
Location: The Colonies
Contact:

#14

Post by planet10 »

The Stratmangler wrote:
planet10 wrote: the terminals are upside down thou.
I'd beg to differ - cables would be more likely to fall out with the plates the other way round.
Just look at commercial speakers ;)
If you binding posts are going to fall out due to gravity time to get a new set.

dave
User avatar
The Stratmangler
Shed dweller
Posts: 2889
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2007 1:50 pm
Location: Rossendale, Lancashire

#15

Post by The Stratmangler »

planet10 wrote:If you binding posts are going to fall out due to gravity time to get a new set.

dave
I quite agree.
However, a cat or dog or child could easily tread on a cable, and if the stands are metal, or if the plugs on the cable short out then there could be quite a serious kaboom moment.
Chris :happy3:
Post Reply