Hi Janos, you make some good points here. With modern HiFi we want to eat our cake and have it. We want small enclosures High SPL and deep base. The end result is called progress by an army of reviewers. The only thing is that they disregard the physics behind it. So if you buy such speakers, you end up chasing your tail in an attempt to overcome the flaws. And to make things worse, all main stream speakers make the same mistakes. The answer is really simple, small enclosure size, SPL and base performance are three parameters of which you can only have two. So once you have acknowledged that, you can select to which extend to prioritize/compromise on each of the three parameters to your needs and be happy with the outcome. That means that if la Grande is not cutting it for you acoustically, the answer will be an 80 to 150 liter enclose with a bigger driver and that will give you a step up from la Grande. If that is acceptable in your living room (in terms of the space it robs and how it looks) then go for it. A little PS: To me it seems that if you increase the driver size, it becomes exponentially more difficult to build a driver that scales up the sound without compromising in tonality. So if you want to build something bigger than the FF125WK then be prepared to spend a lot (like multiples) more on the driver. So at 8" you end up with something like a Cube driver (like you have) but at that point you are deeply committed. Therefore the FF125WK is probably the sweet spot for people who want to try out this direction of HiFi in a financially manageable way (disregarding the one per-centers).
Hugo, such a fantastic summary! This year I missed making an end of the year video. However, If I had made one, you have summed up what I would have wanted to share more concisely than I would have done. I might share your comment as a belated new year's video... ; ) Thank you, Janos
Thank you so much for your kind answer to my question! I really appreciate the time you took in your explanation and all of tbe accompanying detail - with kind regards, Jonathan
Thank You for this analysis János! The FF125WK driver can control the bass much nicer then the FE103NV, but when comparing the sound (both in the Petit Cabinet) the 103 showed slightely brighter sound and more dynamics/attack. I think the room is really the biggest issue to the performance of the game in regards of the sound!
Thank you Jürgen for the feedback! I think that is probably because the 103 is slightly more efficient (hence the better attack & dynamics & lively sound), and the FF125WK has the bigger surface area and lower self resonance, hence its better control over bass. In the La Grande I was quite astonished that it can even reproduce a clear 25Hz sine wave as it is breaking in more. But indeed, the 103 has a noticeable advantage in efficiency. I'm compensating the loss of efficiency with the maximized liveness of the cabinet. I think it's a major success, the cabinet does not feel like the 89dB sensitive Mirage, it's much more as if it was 92-93dB/Wm.
@@realworldaudio I´m really fascinated with 🤩 La Grande! Its a pity Im too busy recently, no time for anything, and I´m too late with updates 😔 The votes on my modern Petit did come to an end with Bumbel Bee... 😊
Wow, thank you for the recommendation! Only heard the first few minutes, I already love it ;) I'm curious to hear it on La Grande, can't wait to get home tonight. ;
Hi Howard, a close audio buddy of mine uses them, and had excellent results with them - he reported superb quietness. I have not tried them yet. I have a ton (maybe not a ton, but several hundreds of kg) of vintage transformers and chokes, and I'm trying to use them if possible. ;
Hi Janos, you make some good points here. With modern HiFi we want to eat our cake and have it. We want small enclosures High SPL and deep base. The end result is called progress by an army of reviewers. The only thing is that they disregard the physics behind it. So if you buy such speakers, you end up chasing your tail in an attempt to overcome the flaws. And to make things worse, all main stream speakers make the same mistakes. The answer is really simple, small enclosure size, SPL and base performance are three parameters of which you can only have two. So once you have acknowledged that, you can select to which extend to prioritize/compromise on each of the three parameters to your needs and be happy with the outcome. That means that if la Grande is not cutting it for you acoustically, the answer will be an 80 to 150 liter enclose with a bigger driver and that will give you a step up from la Grande. If that is acceptable in your living room (in terms of the space it robs and how it looks) then go for it.
A little PS: To me it seems that if you increase the driver size, it becomes exponentially more difficult to build a driver that scales up the sound without compromising in tonality. So if you want to build something bigger than the FF125WK then be prepared to spend a lot (like multiples) more on the driver. So at 8" you end up with something like a Cube driver (like you have) but at that point you are deeply committed. Therefore the FF125WK is probably the sweet spot for people who want to try out this direction of HiFi in a financially manageable way (disregarding the one per-centers).
Hugo, such a fantastic summary! This year I missed making an end of the year video. However, If I had made one, you have summed up what I would have wanted to share more concisely than I would have done. I might share your comment as a belated new year's video... ; ) Thank you, Janos
@@realworldaudio Thank you :)
Thank you so much for your kind answer to my question! I really appreciate the time you took in your explanation and all of tbe accompanying detail - with kind regards, Jonathan
You are welcome Jonathan!! ✨✨👍János
Thank You for this analysis János!
The FF125WK driver can control the bass much nicer then the FE103NV, but when comparing the sound (both in the Petit Cabinet) the 103 showed slightely brighter sound and more dynamics/attack.
I think the room is really the biggest issue to the performance of the game in regards of the sound!
Thank you Jürgen for the feedback! I think that is probably because the 103 is slightly more efficient (hence the better attack & dynamics & lively sound), and the FF125WK has the bigger surface area and lower self resonance, hence its better control over bass. In the La Grande I was quite astonished that it can even reproduce a clear 25Hz sine wave as it is breaking in more. But indeed, the 103 has a noticeable advantage in efficiency. I'm compensating the loss of efficiency with the maximized liveness of the cabinet. I think it's a major success, the cabinet does not feel like the 89dB sensitive Mirage, it's much more as if it was 92-93dB/Wm.
@@realworldaudio I´m really fascinated with 🤩 La Grande! Its a pity Im too busy recently, no time for anything, and I´m too late with updates 😔 The votes on my modern Petit did come to an end with Bumbel Bee... 😊
@@iam_mad Now that you are so busy, building it will be the Flight of the Bumble Bee!!! :)) 👏👏✨
I'm listening to "more data" an album by Moderat while watching your video... Think you would enjoy this album as well...
Wow, thank you for the recommendation! Only heard the first few minutes, I already love it ;) I'm curious to hear it on La Grande, can't wait to get home tonight. ;
Hi Janos. Did you ever consider using R-Core transformers for any of your amplifiers? They are supposed to be very quiet and efficient.
Hi Howard, a close audio buddy of mine uses them, and had excellent results with them - he reported superb quietness. I have not tried them yet. I have a ton (maybe not a ton, but several hundreds of kg) of vintage transformers and chokes, and I'm trying to use them if possible. ;