Fostex Lab series

[26oz]

Ive had these given to me when I was probly 15yo, in my uneducated youth I melted the voice coil on the woofer L560. I remember looking for a replacement years ago and after long search ended up talking to someone in Japan and they told me they only had a couple recone kits left and they were all 32ohm. I said meh and left it at that. Cant find anything on these anymore but I loved the way they sounded. Would love to know if anyone has any info or point me in the right direction of maybe finding a kit for the woofer or repair place.....

 

[6L6X4]

Got any pics? Was the original driver 32 ohm?

Fleabay might be a source for a replacement...

 

[26oz]

sorry im not a spammer but I want to post my link to speaker pic, need 5 posts

 

[26oz]

fostex ls3

 

[26oz]

fostex LS3 3 piece

 

[26oz]

heres the sales brochure i found online, mine are the LS3 but I have the optional 3rd piece which is the 18" woofer in box...

http://www.gray.mb.ca/fostex/RWO-FOSTEX LABORATORY SERIES MONITORS.pdf


this would be a good post for the above thread does size matter

 

[TLS Guy]

heres the sales brochure i found online, mine are the LS3 but I have the optional 3rd piece which is the 18" woofer in box...

http://www.gray.mb.ca/fostex/RWO-FOSTEX LABORATORY SERIES MONITORS.pdf


this would be a good post for the above thread does size matter

I'm confused. What do you mean by you have the third piece? The LS3 is a three way with a 40 cm woofer which is just under 16 inches.

I suspect you are out of luck, as if there no more re coning parts, those speakers are boat anchors.

Those speakers are very high sensitivity so using some type of professional woofer might work. However the Thiel Small parameters and acoustic response would have to match exactly.

Do you have one working woofer, so the T/S parameters and acoustic response could be measured?

It is possible that JBL might have a woofer in their range that would match if the above information could be obtained. May Be Fostex can provide it?

I suspect that we will be looking for a vintage driver from JBL, Altec Lansing or Electrovoice. This will be a tough one as this is a high efficiency driver that tunes down to 30 Hz and can be crossed over at 800 Hz. This is going to be like looking for the needle in the proverbial hay stack.

However if you want to put a lot of time money and patience into it you might get lucky. However you need to be prepared to waste your time and money. This will be a gamble.

I have been on the Fostex site and their current 16" driver, W400A-HR, is nowhere near sensitive enough and only tunes to 40 Hz not 30 Hz.

I can't find the specs for your woofer on the NET. See if Madisound know or if Fostex have records. If there is a new driver with those sort of specs you likely need it likely will run over 2K. The driver I referenced above is 2.5 K. Good vintage drivers of the type I suspect we are looking for usually start at $350 at least and many I have seen go on eBay at around 2K a pop. Bidding is always fierce for the good ones.

 

[6L6X4]

Wow! Those look spectacular! If the cabinets are in good shape I would contact Fostex again just to see if they can help you, either with a re-cone or a replacement driver suggestion.

A working pair of those, in good condition would probably fetch a pretty penny from a SET tube amp lover.

 

[26oz]

I'm confused. What do you mean by you have the third piece? The LS3 is a three way with a 40 cm woofer which is just under 16 inches.

What I mean is I have the 2 fronts ie the 2 3way speakers and they work awesome but I had a third matching box that was just a woofer. same size as an 18" I havent measured but i have a pair of RCF 18's and one is blown and ontop of each other they are the same size. The woofer PN is L569, now this is the "bass bin" as to say not the 3way box.

 

[26oz]

Wow! Those look spectacular! If the cabinets are in good shape I would contact Fostex again just to see if they can help you, either with a re-cone or a replacement driver suggestion.

A working pair of those, in good condition would probably fetch a pretty penny from a SET tube amp lover.

I have seen them for 3k-6k on other audio classifieds. Have never seen them with the matching third woofer though.

Im just using a bryston 4b for the 3ways and was using a single 7b for the 3rd woofer

 

[26oz]

been trying to find info on them.

just got lil exerps

"LS/3 where used in high end recording studios such as,Criteria Recording in Miami (BeeGees, Streisand), John Cougar Mellencamp, Rhumba Recording (The Captain & Tenille), the JVC Cutting Centre (direct to disc), etc. etc. The smallest model (LS/2) became standard in most Mobile Trucks."

 

[TLS Guy]

What I mean is I have the 2 fronts ie the 2 3way speakers and they work awesome but I had a third matching box that was just a woofer. same size as an 18" I havent measured but i have a pair of RCF 18's and one is blown and ontop of each other they are the same size. The woofer PN is L569, now this is the "bass bin" as to say not the 3way box.

How is that box crossed over to the main speakers? I can't find details of that RCF 18. However I now have the T/S parameters of the Fostex L569 woofer located.

You will never match a drivers T/S specs. However I have found an 18" JBL driver that is only 2 db less sensitive then you current drivers, and can be crossed over at 800 Hz where the woofers in the three way Box crossover. It is also 8 ohm. It is the JBL 2241H. They sell for +/- $500 a unit.

That I think is your best bet. If you are serious about this restoration I can see if we can report your current boxes. I'm not going to do this unless you are serious about going ahead. This will be a significant project.

You will have to replace both drivers and at the least report the enclosures, and could well have to build new bass boxes.

First I need exact internal dimensions of your current boxes and dimensions of the port. You need to remove a driver and give me an estimate of the volume of any bracing.

This driver I think is your best shot. Good large drivers that are that sensitive, 8 ohm and can go up that high are now an endangered species.

 

[26oz]

thanks for the research on your end. The L569 was just a single woofer ie a third piece to the 3 way monitors. It had no crossover. I used a paradigm crossover i think X30 between pre amp and 7b. This was years ago, Im just in the process of getting these out of my parents house as I have not had a place big enough to set these up till now. Anyways the RCF subs are just L18S800's I built two bins and ran a cheap QSC2450 to them more so for home theatre set up to rumble the crap out of the house. Never used them for music really.

As far as the L569's box it is buried right now I will be digging it up shortly and would really like to do this. These speakers have more our less been a big part of my life, I had them given to me by my uncle when I was around 13 and 20 some years later i still have them. Being a young teenager with these monitors and bryston amps filling your parents basement I attracted quite a listening crowd...

 

[26oz]

You will have to replace both drivers and at the least report the enclosures, and could well have to build new bass boxes.

.

what do you mean i will have to replace both drivers?

 

[TLS Guy]

what do you mean i will have to replace both drivers?

I'm really confused about your set up. How many of those L569 drivers do you have and in what cabinets? If you have more than one they will all need replacing.

Before we go any further you need to draw out your set up exactly, with what drivers are where and where the connections are and where the passive crossovers are and where the active ones are.

I'm getting the feeling you think this is an easy project. It most certainly is not, unless you can find the exact driver on eBay. That will be a very long shot. I do not have nearly enough detail to proceed at present and properly advise you.

I need a thorough accurate post, with good diagrams before proceeding further.

 

[26oz]

I'm really confused about your set up. How many of those L569 drivers do you have and in what cabinets? If you have more than one they will all need replacing.

Before we go any further you need to draw out your set up exactly, with what drivers are where and where the connections are and where the passive crossovers are and where the active ones are.

I'm getting the feeling you think this is an easy project. It most certainly is not, unless you can find the exact driver on eBay. That will be a very long shot. I do not have nearly enough detail to proceed at present and properly advise you.

I need a thorough accurate post, with good diagrams before proceeding further.

I by no means think this is going to be a simple task, but from reading responses I am not maing myself clear. Here it goes


I have a PAIR OF LS/3's so my old setup was

PREAMP----->CROSSOVER-------->4B------->BOTH LS3 monitors (stereo)
....................... |
....................... |-------->7B---------->L569 Woofer in matching encloser




I have a SINGLE L569, The LS/3 setup I have has a total of 3 SPEAKER ENCLOSERS 2 are the main monitors and the third was an encloser with a single L569 in it. That is the woofer that is blown.

 

[TLS Guy]

I by no means think this is going to be a simple task, but from reading responses I am not maing myself clear. Here it goes


I have a PAIR OF LS/3's so my old setup was

PREAMP----->CROSSOVER-------->4B------->BOTH LS3 monitors (stereo)
....................... |
....................... |-------->7B---------->L569 Woofer in matching encloser




I have a SINGLE L569, The LS/3 setup I have has a total of 3 SPEAKER ENCLOSERS 2 are the main monitors and the third was an encloser with a single L569 in it. That is the woofer that is blown.

If only we had that diagram at the beginning of this! The F3 of the LS3 monitors is 30 Hz. You will actually be much better of using a modern sub either DIY (best) or purchased. As what you really want is a sub, I would not recommend an old fashioned driver like the Fostex or the JBL.

You will be much better off with one of the good DIY designs on these forums or purchasing a good sub.

 

[26oz]

So i have 2 of these

And this the L569 was in a mathing encloser on its own as a third piece to the set.

 

[26oz]

If only we had that diagram at the beginning of this! The F3 of the LS3 monitors is 30 Hz. You will actually be much better of using a modern sub either DIY (best) or purchased. As what you really want is a sub, I would not recommend an old fashioned driver like the Fostex or the JBL.

You will be much better off with one of the good DIY designs on these forums or purchasing a good sub.

the RCFs i have would not work

http://www.usspeaker.com/rcf - L18S800-1.htm

 

[TLS Guy]

the RCFs i have would not work

http://www.usspeaker.com/rcf - L18S800-1.htm

No, that driver does not even go as low as your LM3s, so that is right out.

You will be much further ahead building new boxes with modern drivers. There are now 8" sub drivers that will beat the pants off those old fashioned type of drivers.

Well made long throw drivers are now the order of the day for subs. You blew the last driver and you will blow the next driver unless you use drivers specifically designed for sub use.

The other thing, I bet your enclosure, and the word is enclosure, not encloser by the way, are not properly braced. Modern drivers have to be in a very well braced enclosure or they ring like barrels!

If you want to go DIY, to match the quality of what you have, you need to be looking at driver offerings from outfits like JL audio.

You can get ideas from page 25 of my website. The designs are not in any particular order. They have been put together largely from requests on this forum.

You will need to choose a design with an F3 around 20 Hz other wise you will gain nothing over just running your LM3s without a sub.