# Audio Nirvana vs. Fostex full range speakers



## Underdog (Mar 24, 2010)

Hello everybody, I have a question for all you audioheads out there, all things being equal, which one of these full range speakers sounds better, by "Better" I mean higher highs and lower (better punch) lows. Since Fostex does not make a 10 inch driver as AN does, lets say a 8 inch Fostex 206 or 207 vs. the AN 8. inch stamped or even the 8 inch cast frame driver. If possible, please try try to answer this question in non-technical terms as a lot of techno babble goes over my head, just someone who has A-B ed them and can give there opinions in lay terms. Thank you.


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

I can't answer the question without having specific driver models along with what is known as their T/S parameters. Even then it would require a significant investment to verify.

The best Fullrange drivers are historically the Jordan Watts. Remember you only need 80hz for a proper sub crossover.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Moved to Home Audio Speakers


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## Nuance (Nov 2, 2008)

Underdog said:


> Hello everybody, I have a question for all you audioheads out there, all things being equal, which one of these full range speakers sounds better, by "Better" I mean higher highs and lower (better punch) lows. Since Fostex does not make a 10 inch driver as AN does, lets say a 8 inch Fostex 206 or 207 vs. the AN 8. inch stamped or even the 8 inch cast frame driver. If possible, please try try to answer this question in non-technical terms as a lot of techno babble goes over my head, just someone who has A-B ed them and can give there opinions in lay terms. Thank you.


Only you can answer that one bud. I am sure that's not the response you wanted to hear, but what I like might differ from what you like. Its best to hear it for yourself, if nothing else to be sure.


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

Nuance said:


> Only you can answer that one bud. I am sure that's not the response you wanted to hear, but what I like might differ from what you like. Its best to hear it for yourself, if nothing else to be sure.


Problem is you can't evaluate a speaker unless you have an special room to listen to it in.

Your best bet is to buy from reputable companies like Harman Audio(great contributors to our knowledge), SVS(excellent internet direct company), and others. Listening to speakers is fun, but any good salesman will put the speakers he wants to move in the favorable spot. This is actually one of the Bose techniques. 

Plus if you evaluate with recordings then you are entering the circle of confusion. Recordings are mixed on loudspeakers in their room, you then evaluate loudspeakers with those recordings. And the vicious cycle continues. This is why as consumers we should request scientific standards for loudspeaker evaluation. 

http://www.harman.com/EN-US/OurComp...ages/WhitePapers.aspx?CategoryID=White papers

checkout the Harman white papers and you will see what I'm talking about. Cars have standards so should Audio.


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## Nuance (Nov 2, 2008)

lsiberian said:


> Problem is you can't evaluate a speaker unless you have an special room to listen to it in.
> 
> Your best bet is to buy from reputable companies like Harman Audio(great contributors to our knowledge), SVS(excellent internet direct company), and others. Listening to speakers is fun, but any good salesman will put the speakers he wants to move in the favorable spot. This is actually one of the Bose techniques.
> 
> ...


Sean Olive mentioned this over at AVS Forum:

"There is currently a working group on loudspeakers within CEA and CEDIA whose aim is to standardize loudspeaker performance based on the comprehensive anechoic measurements discussed in Floyd's book."

*Here* is the link. 

I don't agree that you cannot evaluate a speaker. You can use measurements to weed out the junk, then implement in-home auditions to make the final choice. You don't need "special rooms." If we did, no one would buy speakers, because no one else has a setup like Harman does.

There are five key factors in finding a good louderspeaker, which are explained in Kal Rubinson's review of Floyd Toole's book, Sound Reproduction. Those 5 properties are:

_1) On-axis Frequency Response (FR)
2) Listening Window: a spatial average of FRs in the ±10° vertical and ±30° horizontal windows
3) Early Reflections: a spatial average of the FRs of the early reflections from the four walls, ceiling, and floor
4) Sound Power: a weighted average of all of the above to assess the total acoustic energy radiating from the source
5) Directivity Index: the difference between the on-axis response and sound power_

Studying those measurements in combination with listening to speakers can certainly make the decision easy. And while no recording OR loudspeaker standards have been implemented, buying a speaker is not nearly as hard as you implied.


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