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dx3 and fostex (long)

Posted by njjohn (A) on December 14, 2003 at 12:26:45

In Reply to: So, What makes a Lowther DX3 better than a Fostex 206e posted by chopper87 on December 13, 2003 at 10:25:43:

i happened to get a pair of dx3's in small boxes, and i picked up a pair of nearfield abbys which have fostex drivers(ff165k).

made the swoop about 2 weeks ago. both were used although perhaps neither really broken in. i have them set-up in adjoining rooms and this makes it easy to hear the differences.

the difference between these speakers is like night and day, but they do share broadly a single driver sound: a certain type of immediacy, presence, certain type of mid emphasis?. i like the single drivers more than the conventional speakers, i'mn sure of that.

getting the speakers has kind of driven me crazy in trying to get them to sound good. my 300b amps do not sound good with them. i got a nice 45 for the lowthers (it tames the lowthers much better than the 300b), and a 6sn7/27/2a3 combo for the abbys.

i'm taken by both. love them both. i think people know the lowther sound, it's positives and minuses. the way it conveys the female voice, as an example, is artriculate to the point that maybe it's what you would hear if the singer was in your presence and you could hear the beauty and individuality of her voice.

does it voice voice the best? i would say no after hearing a pair of western electric speakers the other night. i was stunned and now i know the lowther as good as it does it, i know that the way it does it through it's articulation, is a far second to another approach when it comes to conveying human voice. with the western electrics driven by a korneff 45, an older model without electra-prints, the voices were there in the room. it wasn't like they were present; they were present.

but compared to lowther, all the other speakers i have sound like the voice is 'michrophoned' to the point where individaul characteristics of the singer are wiped out. the nuances aren't there.

the abbys and fostex are in a different league. voicing doesn't sound at all accurate. neither really does the music to me. also, is it the upper mids that are slightly overemphasized?

but i have to say i love the sound anyway. i'm using a sub with them and i have to say i can get the music to just sound good. i really enjoy heaing the music on the abbys with the right amp that i found, and it took alot of amp testing.

fostex drivers appear to rock. they like to play a lttle loud. maybe not too fast or not too slow, they have a good pacing and it's not too hard for a sub to keep up with them. even if not too accurate, you can get alot of emotionality too out of them. they won't cheat you that way either. almost like the best worst sounding speakers i have.

with the abbys, i happen to have altec valencias in the same room and i can do comparisons. the valencias themselves are just a good sounding speaker. but numerous a/bs with the abbys there, tells me give me the music on the abbys.

also last night, i spent some time hearing the proacs response 2. very nice sounding speaker. they are known to just be good sounding musical speakers and they are. but give me single drivers, lowther and fostex anyday.

anyway, i'm getting into speakers now and the search is on just to hear them.

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