# Fi midbass



## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Always been intrigued by this company but never actually pulled the trigger on anything from em..

Looks like they released a midbass. Pretty decent price-point too.

Thoughts?

Fi N.7 Midrange | Fi Car Audio


Edit: no mention of any shorting ring etc.. (ps, I'm no speaker expert by any means)


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

looks like it could be a really nice driver! that xmax is quite high for a midbass and I'd think would limit the upper end response but cant see the frequency chart to know if it does.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Some info here

Fi N.7 - Ascendant Audio Subwoofers/Speakers - SMD Forum


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

Hmmmm..... split coil design. Supposedly inferior to XBL with a few tradeoffs that may not be worth losing with a mid. Higher moving mass, lower efficiency, and higher inductance are the usual cons. Don't see inductance listed. Efficiency seems good, but testing may prove differently. Would like to see a bit higher Qms but that could prove to be detrimental to design. Either way, the verdict will depend on actual use of course. 10mm of stroke one way and linear would be impressive, though with the rest it may prove to be more useful in a 3-way front stage. Still, if that price of $149 is for a pair (says sold in pairs?), may be worth giving a try. I've invested much more than that on other offerings and wound up not too impressed.


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## Onyx1136 (Mar 15, 2009)

What is a split cool design and how does it work? I'm not familiar with that concept at all.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

Basically it's XBL in reverse, rather than split gap (dual) with a single coil, it's dual coil with a single gap. It's old tech which I'm sure you can find more in depth info on. Perhaps they found it useful in design or the fact that there's no patent to deal with since it ran out years ago.


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## Onyx1136 (Mar 15, 2009)

Gotcha. Gracias.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Price is nice, getting the itch to try a new mb again. Maybe....


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL (Jan 31, 2011)

Basket looks identical to the HAT L6SE. Everything else looks like it's different. That could be good or bad.

The L6SE doesn't have a motor problem, it has a suspension problem. The motor is linear to 7.5mm, suspension linear to 3.2mm.

Unless FI has made SIGNIFICANT improvements to the suspension, I don't see this actually being linear to 10mm.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Guessing probably not likely, but figured I'd bump this again hoping someone who's used these will chime in.


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## chasinbass (Jul 23, 2014)

I think I am going to pick up two pair when I go over to Vegas first week of feb and try them in place of my anarchys and see what they are like. Any input on how they may compare?


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Cool, plz update if you do.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

No response or impedance graphs 

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## Onyx1136 (Mar 15, 2009)

SkizeR said:


> No response or impedance graphs
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


You didn't actually expect those, did you? You know how these companies do things.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

Heck, half the time you can't even trust t/s parameters to be spot on so if a graph isn't given.... welp.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Onyx1136 said:


> You didn't actually expect those, did you? You know how these companies do things.


Yeah, the couple times i tried to contact them for a Brahma Mk1 recone, i didn't get much for a response. Think 1 out of 3 times/questions got an answer....

One of the main reasons a lot of my stuffs is Arc


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## chasinbass (Jul 23, 2014)

I really don't even know enough about the parameters to tell difference between the two but since the FI s have a higher spl rating at 88 1w/1m vs the anarchys 84 1w1m , does that mean the Fi have the potential to play louder ? Or is there much more to it than that ?


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Louder with the same amount of power. Max spl probably another story..


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## chasinbass (Jul 23, 2014)

So your thinking I could expect less performance than I am getting from the anarchys?


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

No, unknown.

They'll get louder easier than the anarchy's based on sensitivity.. Xmax is impressive on the Fi if that is legitimate, and they're linear (which Bayboy commented on). I don't know enough about speaker design...

Suppose we could model them in winisd.


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL (Jan 31, 2011)

chasinbass said:


> So your thinking I could expect less performance than I am getting from the anarchys?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I wouldn't expect them to beat the anarchys. Like I said, another speaker uses the same basket. It falls on its face at 3.2mm of excursion. The anarchys have 7.7mm linear. The suspension of this speaker would have to be much improved over the other speaker that uses this basket to even match the anarchy, let alone beat it.


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## chasinbass (Jul 23, 2014)

Thanks 


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Bump, anybody give these a throw yet?


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## chasinbass (Jul 23, 2014)

Not me and I am still trying to decide as I am headed to Vegas on Wednesday and was going to swing by Fi and get a couple pair but still undecided


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Bump, anybody try these guys?


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## Swaglife81 (Oct 15, 2016)

Personally, you probably can't go wrong if it's $150 a pair. What worries me about anything these days that's unproven is... Are they cutting corners like manufacters like Kicker, and so on do. Where they make pretty but cheap speakers. That's what worries me. Half the companies are trying to maximize profit and the other half are trying to make better and better drivers. I'm curious to the quality.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Swaglife81 said:


> Personally, you probably can't go wrong if it's $150 a pair. What worries me about anything these days that's unproven is... Are they cutting corners like manufacters like Kicker, and so on do. Where they make pretty but cheap speakers. That's what worries me. Half the companies are trying to maximize profit and the other half are trying to make better and better drivers. I'm curious to the quality.


I'm with you.. part of me wants to just throw 150 their way to find out, but part of me thinks, hmm why so cheap? Lol.

I'm kind of tired of my tm65s.. what they do, they do well. Lower midbass..

They almost have a buzzing "quality" to them, dont really care for it.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

I know the Fi subs are great for what they're designed to do. I wonder of the midbass is something they put research into or if it's just an off the shelf driver to add to their lineup as an impulse buy with a subwoofer purchase?


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Hmm... gotta scratch that itch to swap gear 

Would deff do illusion c6 if they weren't hidden in the doors, seems like a waste to hide all the purty..


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

bnae38 said:


> Hmm... gotta scratch that itch to swap gear
> 
> Would deff do illusion c6 if they weren't hidden in the doors, seems like a waste to hide all the purty..


What about having a pair of Illusion C6s in your doors that aren't even hooked up. 

It would be interesting to see if anyone ever got these Fi N.7s for testing to see what FR and T/S parameters looked like. Not to mention the question of the validity of the Xmax rating.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

rton20s said:


> What about having a pair of Illusion C6s in your doors that aren't even hooked up.


Know where I could find some? 

I coulllld fab them in to make them visible.. maybe.


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

rton20s said:


> What about having a pair of Illusion C6s in your doors that aren't even hooked up.
> 
> It would be interesting to see if anyone ever got these Fi N.7s for testing to see what FR and T/S parameters looked like. Not to mention the question of the validity of the Xmax rating.



Dang, not even hooked up?


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

bnae38 said:


> Know where I could find some?
> 
> I coulllld fab them in to make them visible.. maybe.


https://www.crutchfield.com/S-s91wJfOo7sc/p_840C6W/Illusion-Audio-Carbon-C6-W.html:laugh:



dcfis said:


> Dang, not even hooked up?


They were, prior to my latest system revisions. They'll likely end up in whatever car my wife gets next. Unless I need to upgrade to an 8.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

rton20s said:


> https://www.crutchfield.com/S-s91wJfOo7sc/p_840C6W/Illusion-Audio-Carbon-C6-W.html:laugh:
> 
> 
> 
> They were, prior to my latest system revisions. They'll likely end up in whatever car my wife gets next. Unless I need to upgrade to an 8.


And a bargain too.. 

Your amps suck..


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

bnae38 said:


> And a bargain too..


I'll let you know if I need to sell them to pick up some 8s. 



bnae38 said:


> Your amps suck..


Want to buy them? Add to your collection? They're for sale. Besides, if someone buys them, it will force me to get to work on my next phase.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Nah just comparing sig's. 

No need for more of the same lol. I have the 1000.1, 300.4, 300.2, and 500.1 besides the two I'm running .


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

bnae38 said:


> Nah just comparing sig's.
> 
> No need for more of the same lol. I have the 1000.1, 300.4, 300.2, and 500.1 besides the two I'm running .


I figured. 

But, just think... with a pair of 900.6s and 600.2s, you could bridge all the things! Complete stereo separation at the amps. :laugh:


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

I would like to, but I already have a lot of stuff i'll probably never use lol...


Question now is do i take the plunge on the Fi or the ssa's. Both are tempting at price points. 

Something tells me I'll have one or the other in the next few weeks.


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

What about the mcm audible physics drivers they are 8 ohm but, hey they are ap


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

bnae38 said:


> I would like to, but I already have a lot of stuff i'll probably never use lol...
> 
> 
> Question now is do i take the plunge on the Fi or the ssa's. Both are tempting at price points.
> ...


Tough call. The SSA are cheaper, especially with the current sale. And there are a lot of unknowns with both drivers. Both have carbon fiber cones, phase plugs, shorting sleeves/rings and similar mounting requirements. IF the figures are correct, the additional Xmax of the N.7 could be an advantage, but as we saw that has been called into question. 

If carbon fiber is your thing, you may consider the SB Acoustics SB17CRC35-4
for a few bucks more.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

rton20s said:


> Tough call. The SSA are cheaper, especially with the current sale. And there are a lot of unknowns with both drivers. Both have carbon fiber cones, phase plugs, shorting sleeves/rings and similar mounting requirements. IF the figures are correct, the additional Xmax of the N.7 could be an advantage, but as we saw that has been called into question.
> 
> If carbon fiber is your thing, you may consider the SB Acoustics SB17CRC35-4
> for a few bucks more.


Thanks, that one is also on my short list. As you've figured out, i like carbon fiber lol.

Unfortunately it's also lacking in thorough reviews, plus costs a bit more.

Decisions, decisions..


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Alright got em.. Took almost 3 weeks from date of order. Even the speakers are made to order. :surprised:

First impression is good, build quality is very good.. Terminals are very nice, spacing is .... oh well.

I'll get em in this weekend.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

First listening impressions are quite good, more musical than the Si. Gain had to come up a touch with higher impedance.

Havent beat on em too hard yet.. Gonna give em a week to break in a bit before measuring etc.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

bnae38 said:


> I'm kind of tired of my tm65s.. what they do, they do well. Lower midbass..
> 
> They almost have a buzzing "quality" to them, dont really care for it.


Would like to rescind this statement... After running the Fi midbass and finding the same intermittent buzz/garbled **** when running an 80hz tone up to volume, i realized it was my amp.


Was the terminal block connection to pcb in the ks900.6. I've tried to resolder it before to make it dead nuts solid, ended up removing it this time and running wires out. She's solid now.....  Amazed i cant find any record of other people with that problem, kind of **** design. Terminal block has machine screws in it that are soldered to the pcb, but the screws dont always make dead solid connection to the block.


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## chasinbass (Jul 23, 2014)

So what do ya think about Fi s ? mid bass wise ? Will they replace my Anarchys or stay with them for mid bass 
and add Fi as mids and step up to 3 way setup ?


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

chasinbass said:


> So what do ya think about Fi s ? mid bass wise ? Will they replace my Anarchys or stay with them for mid bass
> and add Fi as mids and step up to 3 way setup ?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


So far so good. I need to take a closer look at where i'm at this weekend with the mic. I found things are more cohesive the way they should be with TA/phase.. did a bit of measuring to look. I wonder if the terminals were mislabeled on the damn SI, sigh who knows..

Planned to run them in this week a bit before doing that.

Physically they dont appear any bigger than a 6.5 really (duh.. its a half inch). Output is good, had to bring gains up a bit switching from 2 ohm to 4 ohm. Lower midbass authority may be down a bit from the SI, but as i said, i still need to re-tune. 

I really am enjoying the sound of them though, very clear and lively.

Fwiw, I'm crossed at 70 and 400. LR 24

I'll have more information once i get things proper


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

I'd be interested in how these do running up to 2500.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> I'd be interested in how these do running up to 2500.


When i do initial no-xo measurements, i'll try to remember to post them up.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Has anyone seen T/S parameters posted anywhere that don't match what Fi has posted on their site? I ask because when I plug the information into WinISD, the numbers don't jive. I can guess at which might be accurate and which aren't, but I'd rather not waste the time.


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Okey dokey here you are gentlemen..

Keep in mind room modes.. pic includes SI midbass no xo measurements from December , can draw comparative info from that.

Hanatsu method avg of 8 sweeps then var smoothed.

Fixed pic 11/29/20.....


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

I likes them a lot .

No significant measured lower midbass deficiency compared to SI, but left midbass is such a pita to get good results that low in my car.. crossed at 85 now. Re-tuned, sounds great


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Take it I'm not a trend-setter lol.

Anyone else give these a try?


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## I800C0LLECT (Jan 26, 2009)

I don't have them but those similarities in response are uncanny


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

I800C0LLECT said:


> I don't have them but those similarities in response are uncanny


Lol agreed, shows you how much the room determines response.


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## beak81champ (Oct 2, 2015)

Still diggin’ these Bnae?


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

beak81champ said:


> Still diggin’ these Bnae?



Yessir, no complaints.


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## dsquared (Aug 10, 2016)

What would you compare these to?


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Can't help but think the cone and basket are similar to the old ID OEM/CX mids from years back. LOVED those so much. Haven't found a midrange yet that could reproduce a tuba the way they did.


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## Jscoyne2 (Oct 29, 2014)

So reading the parts about the same design basket being used in a different driver. Something about the speaker falling flat well below the listed xmax.

How would one test that on this? Distortion at low volume vs high?

Got any distortion charts Bnae?


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## bnae38 (Oct 3, 2015)

Jscoyne2 said:


> So reading the parts about the same design basket being used in a different driver. Something about the speaker falling flat well below the listed xmax.
> 
> How would one test that on this? Distortion at low volume vs high?
> 
> Got any distortion charts Bnae?


I dont, sorry.

Dunno, I'm still happy with them, although I don't pound the hell out of them either.


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