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Fane Sovereign 10-125 sealed driver

kringle77

kringle77

Supporting Member
Jul 30, 2004
8,880
4,291
49
Massena NY
#1
I've been looking at these for awhile. They are made specifically for sealed cabs and have a much nice frequency response than the eminence B810's. 5mm of x-max, very affordable, etc. I see that there were some floating around that had 3mm of x-max and since have been upgraded. Im thinking about getting two of them to try in my sealed project cab and then maybe doing a full size cab if they work out. If anyone knows anything about them, I'd love some insight. I did a mock up on winisd and the low end response looked WAY better than what it shows in the diagram.


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#2
judging by the appearance and frequency response, I'd say that the old version of this driver with 3.5mm xmax is basically whats in the ampeg AV210 sealed cab. The new version has a 5mm xmax maybe alittle more top end. I've got one on order and have high hopes for it.
 
#7
I'm pretty sure the 12" 200 would work well in a sealed cab too and it's extremely loud. Maybe it's worth a try for your next project! ;)
I'll order the 10" 125 and will let you know how it works on its own :smug:
 
#9
Good! I'm curious to know what you think about it. Are you going to use it alone or with a tweeter? How many liters is the cab you're going to put it into? I was considering 30lt and a piezo tweeter to keep things simple and cheap. I'd use it with an MB200 for the ultimate portability... I'm pretty sure I could make the cab pretty light, maybe 5kg all in!
 
#10
I would be running it in a roughly 24 liter sealed box with no tweet. It goes high enough for me not to need it based on the specs and the sound of the 3mm version. If it works well, it may be the basis of a sealed 8x10 cab with one vertical columb low passed to improve off axis response. I like the specs and they are affordable.
 
#11
Well, it's pretty loud (at least according to the specs) so I was considering it for a vertical or staggered 4x10" with tweeter. 8x10" must be nice. I guess you'd cross them over or simply high pass one column?
 
#12
Yeah, I'd low pass one columb and run the other fullrange. Thats exactly what Im doing with my NV610 cab. A vertical 410 would be nice and so would a regular 4x10 but do the low-pass trick on it to get the best performance. i have high hopes for this driver.
 
#14
If I built an 8x10 I would. I most likely wont as I own an nv610, have a barefaced 69'er on order and LDS is building me a ported 2x15 with a tweet. I most likely will end up keeping the LDS as it is basically a state of the art modern type cab and keep the 69'er since it should be the pinnacle of an old school sound. I just like to know what drivers sound good in a sealed cab in case I need a spare or want to build a smaller version for at home.
 
#15
This 5mm xmax version of the fane is fairly stiff so keep in mind that you will want to break it in with some low frequency noise for at least 5-10 hours to really understand what it sounds like. The eminence alpha sounds much smoother after a break in as well. So, only real contenders that I've seen for a sealed 10" loaded cab are the Eminence B810, alpha 10, Fane 10-125 and Faital pro 10fe200. Even though their specs are relatively similar, they all sound very different. The Fane is a good middle ground as it has a good low end and clarity. It also sounds like it would hold together good at higher volumes like the B810. The faital is actually the best sounding of the group and is probably what I would use at home for a 1x10 practise cab but, even though it has good low end, it is alittle smooth when you pair a few of them together. I find that the Alpha 10 is probably the one I would use it I could only have a cab loaded with one type of driver. It has enough low end, probably just fine in multiples, good mids and just enough highs. It's also very common, easy to find for a quick repair and cheap. The only drawback is that it won't handle as much power as some of the others, which probably wouldn't matter in a 6x10 or 810. It can have a harsh peak to the upper mids until it is broken in but then sounds about right. If I built an 8x10 I'd probably use 6 alphas and 2 faitals. Maybe 7-1. The fane is no sloutch though. Im just afraid that they may not be as easily available in the US. I don't really care for the B810's on their own. The low end is a bit flubby and even though it goes high, it's not reproduced as sweetly as the low power drivers. Very common. It also has the huge dip around 600hz. It would be good low passed at 500hz though. I tend to prefer drivers with a bit lower xmax. They produce just enough low end and respond quicker.
 
#17
kringle77 said:
This 5mm xmax version of the fane is fairly stiff so keep in mind that you will want to break it in with some low frequency noise for at least 5-10 hours to really understand what it sounds like. The eminence alpha sounds much smoother after a break in as well. So, only real contenders that I've seen for a sealed 10" loaded cab are the Eminence B810, alpha 10, Fane 10-125 and Faital pro 10fe200. Even though their specs are relatively similar, they all sound very different. The Fane is a good middle ground as it has a good low end and clarity. It also sounds like it would hold together good at higher volumes like the B810. The faital is actually the best sounding of the group and is probably what I would use at home for a 1x10 practice cab but, even though it has good low end, it is a little smooth when you pair a few of them together. I find that the Alpha 10 is probably the one I would use it I could only have a cab loaded with one type of driver. It has enough low end, probably just fine in multiples, good mids and just enough highs. It's also very common, easy to find for a quick repair and cheap. The only drawback is that it won't handle as much power as some of the others, which probably wouldn't matter in a 6x10 or 810. It can have a harsh peak to the upper mids until it is broken in but then sounds about right. If I built an 8x10 I'd probably use 6 alphas and 2 faitals. Maybe 7-1. The fane is no sloutch though. Im just afraid that they may not be as easily available in the US. I don't really care for the B810's on their own. The low end is a bit flubby and even though it goes high, it's not reproduced as sweetly as the low power drivers. Very common. It also has the huge dip around 600hz. It would be good low passed at 500hz though. I tend to prefer drivers with a bit lower xmax. They produce just enough low end and respond quicker.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the summary. It's quite helpful. I don't have the benefit of hearing these first hand but I'd be concerned about the anemic power handling of the Alpha 10 below 120 Hz. Even though the Barefaced 69er will probably be the gold standard when it comes out I'm still interested in a DIY sealed 610 under 70 lbs. If availability of replacements is not a primary concern but tone and power handling is, what is your take on a 610 with 4 Fanes (a column of 3 on side with switchable 500 Hz lo-pass, the 4th full range at bottom position on the other side) and 2 Faitals (mid and top positions above the full range Fane)? I think the GB Streamliner 900 would be nice with a sealed 610 for that fat-but-tight vintage sound.
 
#18
I think that would work very well. The thing is, it's hard to tell what kind of sound you are going to get once you get all those drivers mated up together in a cab. The sound does change. I never would have guessed that the faitals would sound smoother once 6 of them were mounted in my nv610 cab but, thats what happened and I found myself missing some 1khz grind. With the other drivers I miss the faitals clarity and feel. 5 fanes and one faital would probably be great. I think that I do like the fanes better than the B810's because there are more mids.
 
#19
Wow, that much clarity in the Faital that only one in a 610 would make that much difference? 4 Fanes and 2 Faitals are quite a bit different than 6 Faitals but if that's the case, it sounds like that lone Faital would take the place of that vintage guitar speaker in position 6 of the 69er. The Fanes seem to have very good low end but a dip around 800 Hz (which I often cut anyway) and nothing after 4000. I thought without 2 Faitals that perhaps you might hear that mid dip and not have enough brightness at the top. Perhaps having two of the Fanes full range gives it a bit more grind in the mids and one Faital is enough for that top end?
Also, what do you have for that 500 Hz low pass on one side? 1st or 2nd order, off the shelf or custom made? Thx...
 
#20
Using the fanes for the mid grit is what Im thinking. You really are going to miss that if it's not there. Also, getting the Faital up at the top of the cab makes the highs seem louder. I would maybe even make the faital it's own chamber as it needs more stuffing to lessen the bigger low mid bump that it has. Much more so than the fane's. Later tonight I may try my sealed pair of 1x10
s. One fatail and one fane loaded.
 

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