The Isetta lives again!

[Paul Carmody]

Fountek discontinued the FE85, which seemed to leave a lot of builders in a quandary. I found a suitable replacement in the HiVi B3N. Upside is that the B3N is a few bucks cheaper, and is a really handsome driver. Downside is that the B3N is not as well-behaved, and required a few more parts in the filter. So it's probably break-even.

https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/portable-and-tabletop-speakers/isetta

Also, in the process of revising the speaker I tested a few 2.1 amps. I found I REALLY liked the Kinter K3118. So that was cool.

Enjoy!

[MattInWA]

Fountek discontinued the FE85, which seemed to leave a lot of builders in a quandary. I found a suitable replacement in the HiVi B3N. Upside is that the B3N is a few bucks cheaper, and is a really handsome driver. Downside is that the B3N is not as well-behaved, and required a few more parts in the filter. So it's probably break-even.

https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/portable-and-tabletop-speakers/isetta

Also, in the process of revising the speaker I tested a few 2.1 amps. I found I REALLY liked the Kinter K3118. So that was cool.

Enjoy!

Paul, thanks for the update. After building a PE boombox I found your Isetta design and ordered everything, including the Founteks from somewhere else. They should arrive this week. I see you have the filter for the old design still linked.

I'll be posting here with the builds - I ordered 2 sets because I know I'm going to love it.

I built your Classix II as a first project and sometimes still can't believe how much better music sounds. Thanks for sharing all of your knowledge!

-Matt

[randyohoh]

Could the cabinet be made slightly less tall and the resulting volume change compensated for by increasing the width or depth? The "M" company has the FE85 for $20.30.

[Paul Carmody]

Yes you can definitely make those adjustments. Make sure not to lose any volume on the sub cabinet. (The full rangers I'm not as concerned about)

[Paul Carmody]

The "M" company has the FE85 for $20.30.

Oh my God you're right! I honestly don't know what to think here. I was under the impression that the FE85 was truly gone and never coming back. I guess the question is, are they really back, or did M just find a box in a back shelf of the warehouse?

This was actually a lot of work getting the B3N filter just right. Don't get me wrong; it's just as good-sounding in the end. Choosing which one to build could be decided by a coin flip as far as I'm concerned. But I can't help but wonder if I just spent a lot of unnecessary time here.

[Steve Lee]

Paul, your work and contributions are never wasted.

[marvin]

Paul, great update and nice thorough write up. These may be another option for my grand kids.

Thanks for sharing it.

Marvin

[thekorvers]

So, ErichH replied that he "heard" the buyout FE85s that PE sold and were used for the Quark are different than the new ones. Not trying to spread misinformation. That's what he told me.

Worth investigating?

The initial buyouts which gave birth to the Quarks were not Fountek FE85's, but model FE83. They were far superior with twice the excursion (3mm vs. 1.5mm).

[djg]

I knew that, somewhere in my head. Ooops, sorry. My posts were so dumb I deleted, but the quote lives on.