I purchased the RM6K kit and built the enclosure according to spec. The bookshelves sounds nice with a subwoofer, but they dont perform well without it(sub). The Foutek 168 woofer sounds very thin on the low end. I built the Zaph ZMV5 and it had more low end than the RM6K. Do I need to build a bigger enclosure for the RM6K to get more lower end extension. I figured 2 more inches in height and keeping the depth and width the same.

I built another enclosure with a little more volume and lined the sides with acoustic foam and I got the same result(not good). The bottom line is the kit sucks(its probably the crossover). I wonder if Madisound will take a return on the kit and swap it for a recession buster reference or one of the zaph kits. I can pay for the restocking fee. I am just disappointed. I thought the ribbon would provide the airiness in tweeters I am looking for, instead I am getting headaches from extended listening. No wonder Zaph stays away from ribbons.

Just looking at the SPL curve for the woofer should tell you that bass is not going to be one of its good points.

While the spec claims a Fs resonance at 45 (impedance clearly show this), the SPL is almost 14 dB down from its measured 87.3 dB rolling off at 125 Hz.

Trying to tune the cabinet lower will not help the situation. Either you add a sub or go with another design.

Ribbon tweeters are either a like them or not. They tend to beam more than some other tweeters.

I built the complete kit last December and have been very pleased with the result. I made sure the supplied fiberfill was well-fluffed up in the cabinet interior, and I also lined the non-adjacent half of each sidewall with SoundBarrier 2-layer damping. Otherwise the kit is stock, was extremely easy to assemble and, to my mind, is very attractive esthetically.

I have placed the speakers on both Target HR60 (24") and Epos ST12-20 (20", open-frame) stands and have principally used both Naim and NAD amps with Ixos cabling. For my (medium-sized) room, placement with speaker backs 30cm from the wall behind -- and with the speakers aimed straight down the room -- produces too much mid-bass which takes on a thickened quality on upright bass and kick drum. A position 60cm from the wall produces a much better, more even result. Frequency sweep tests on Video Essentials shows strong bass down into the 30 Hz range, this through a budget Onkyo home theater receiver.

Musically, on Stanley Clarke's latest double-LP album, "Jazz in the Garden", his upright is very powerfully reproduced across its range; separation between his instrument and Hiromi's low-level, left hand piano passages is very cleanly represented. Nathan Riki Thomson's upright on his album, "Under Ubi's Tree", is clean and nimble, and when deep-bass is there, it is huge. I have been listening to these albums a lot lately, and they are strikingly dynamic when monitored on the Founteks.

The tweeter I find to be exceptionally clean in terms of high-frequency "grain". Studio ambience on recordings such as Eduardo Eguez's lute/theorbo recital, "Le maitre du roy" (Ma Recordings) or Kaori Muraji's SACD, "Transformations" is marvelously open and creates a large, very "live" acoustic space. I feel that the tweeter level could be padded down a little but I see that as being very much in the tradition of pro/studio monitors -- where frequency adjustments are not only commonplace but expected -- and dependent on application and postioning/environment. As it is, I find it adequate to simply listen off-axis, as I presume was the designer's intent.

Revealing these Founteks are, but they are also very musical and I am entirely content with my speakers in their current form. Though this pair was a gift, I think they are well worth the asking price. And I assembled them in a couple of hours sitting on the floor of our apartment!

I am glad you enjoy the Founteks. I guess it is true that ribbons are not for everyone.
I agree that the tweeter needs to be padded a little. They seem to work fine with a subwoofer but they don't seem to perform well in my environment when run in 2-channel full range.
I have ZMV5 that has a 5 inch driver and seems to sound much fuller. I may have to give them another try this weekend.

Hello,

I wouldn't judge the quality of a speaker by it's bass extension. Some systems have weak extension by design as part of the system trade-offs. The simple solution is to add a subwoofer. Even if it's just a cheap one, it will likely satisfy your prefered tonal balance.

The amount of "fullness" of a system often will just be how much baffle step compensation is built into the system, another design tradeoff.

Even though ribbons are not my thing, I consider the fountek kit pretty nice. My recommendations are to listen 5-10 degrees off axis and add a sub if the extension or tonal balance is not to your liking.

John Krutke
www.zaphaudio.com

While the above-mentioned Naim amp was being slightly modded -- and remembering that Fountek produce a tube/valve amp -- I recently pressed into service my Ming-Da EL84 (tube) amp to drive the Founteks. The result? Even better: sweeter treble and warmer bass. Listening first to a Patrick O'Hearn LP of synth music, both my wife and I were immediately startled by the deep bass on the record. With the speakers pointing straight ahead, spaced 9' apart, and with listening position at the point of an equlateral triangle, there is great depth to the soundstage, without any hole-in-the-middle effect.

So, not to sound overly much like a Madisound rooter, I really am satisfied with this kit purchase (actually gift) and, in the context of my matching electronics at least, wouldn't change a thing.