Cain&Cain Abby

I just spoke with Terry Cain about his Abby speaker. He has incorporated the new FE166E / 95db1w with bass below 40hz. He feels the latest Fostex drivers are superior to the NEW Lowthers. He actually has two Abby models, one for nearfield listening and another for larger spaces. They use different model drivers but otherwise alike. I've got a demo pair coming for audition.

That is good news for you. If the new Fostex are even close to the new Lowthers, then you are in for a treat. I'd be very interested in an audition report. Remember, the Fostex and Lowther both require quite a long break-in period, so don't be too judgmental early on. My Fostex units took well over 100 hours to get close to being broken-in. Fostex can be quite enjoyable. Keep us posted.

Thanks again for replying to my system's post. I just added pixs so check it out. Regarding your DIY Voight pipe project what type of wood did you use for the cabinets, MDF or solid wood? I've never built anything but I'm thinking about building a pair of these speakers. I know you like the new Lowther drivers but I've heard the new Fostex drivers are more efficient / improved over the versions you're familiar.

You said that the photo of the speakers in your system post are similar to your speakers, how are they different? Look at the link provided, is this pretty much what you have? If I do built a pair I'd like to use some usually patterned wood for the front panal and attach them to a heavy base. Something like a granite platform so the kids couldn't knock them over.

http://indigo.ie/~walton/voigt.html

TIA

Mwalsdor, these are a variation on the same theme, but this was not what I built(regarding the mouth mods). I used the same box dimensions, but used the standard 20mm x 11 mm mouth opening, with no reflector. I don't think the mouth mod in the "joke" is a good idea. My Voigt Pipe is the standard Lowther club of Norway design, with a slightly wider front panel(12"), and a pair of "wings" or "swinging doors" on full length hinges that flank the sides of the Pipes. Each of these swinging panels is also 12" wide, and the full 6' height of the pipe. They have a 3-panel dressing screen look, except both side panels angle backward. These allow me to adjust the rearward angle of the swinging panels to adjust the reinforcement of the bass frequencies that is lost to "baffle step" behavior, below about 380Hz, on the standard narrow voigt pipe design. This is really the only difference in my pipes. It makes a nice difference in the authority of the bottom end, and it can be "tailored" to each recording if desired, just like you might adjust VTA for each record. It's not required, but you can do it if you want.

I used solid 3/4" oak for the face panel and the swinging panels, and 3/4" MDF for the rear "wedge" section. I think that on the higher listening levels, the bottom end can get a bit "hollow" sounding at certain frequencies. Not bad, but you can notice it at times. I may try adding a brace in the wider section of the wedge, to reduce this effect, as I believe it to be a cabinet resonance.As for the base, I have mine on spikes, but heavy bases would be ok.

I am sure the Fostex are improved and very nice sounding. I will happily stick with my Lowther EX3, though.

Nice system pix!