FR30 Set Up, Tweaks and Burn In

When I first saw the photo, I thought Donald had rearranged the furniture. You both seem to have very similar spatial situations.

I put the M-2 in after I replaced XSSH Al footers with furniture slides. My bad! More than likely it has nothing to do with the fuse.:thinking:

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I had so many audio-related junk stored in the boxes that I was able to find something useful, again. I place two taller stainless footer pads in the back and two smaller brass footer pads in the front, which resulted in a .3" tilt without adjusting any thread on the stock footers:

These metal pads will allow me to move FR30 without furniture slides. I will turn on the system later to see how it sounds.

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looks great…I do believe though, that ultimately, they sound better with the point of the cone directly into the wood…

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And what does the boss in the house say about it? Death occurred suddenly.:rofl:

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This is the way.

I seem to recall that brass is a good material for the cups or cone’s receiving the spikes.

FYI/FWIW.

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I hope the little coasters aren’t too small and leave marks in the wood.

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These look better than plastic slide for sure, and my wife was happy to hear there’re some nicer ones coming soon.

The sound is much better with these metal pads than plastic. It could be due to better tilt angle, new fuse, more toe-in, and additional speaker break-in. Who knows? :thinking:

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@Chris_Brunhaver
A local fellow just got some FR30s.
Having my grubby mitts on them, I wonder why the front baffle cover is added on and not an integral part of the enclosure?

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I am sure Chris will add a more lengthy answer but it enables us to build it and remove the drivers. This means the cabinet can be built as a solid braced piece and once done, the last step is to install the drivers from the front. The baffle piece is more of a dress piece.

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Got it. Thanks Paul.

Because it looks nicer :wink: It covers the not particularly fancy planar drivers and their mounting. At the same time, the cover acts as a waveguide. The FR speakers look chic and modern in the age of iPhones. The eye listens too.:rofl:
The removable covers even allow for a Harlequin-style color change. Maybe this option should be offered.
Donald😉

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On the FR30 and FR20, while the tweeter is attached to it (and it forms the acoustic waveguide for the midrange), on the woofer section it is really a dress panel to cover up the woofer flange and screws.

In the case of the FR10 and FR5, it acts as the entire front face of the speaker and is structural. This was part of an effort to simplify the construction and rear-mounting of the drivers (without additional trim rings etc.)

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Ron, not sure if you saw this on the FR10 thread, but it explains it in pictures …

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The setup with stock footers/pads just didn’t do it for me. I changed back to XSSH Aluminum/steel balls footers. What a change! The veil was removed. the band entered the room, and the Godzilla bass returned.

I raised the back footers to .3" higher too. Often I sit 20’ away from the speakers so I can use computer on the desk (more here than the sweet spot). So I do not want to tilt more than .3". For the same reason, I toe-in between 2 to 3 inches so they are pointing outside of my ears from the sweet spot. To me the music is more relax and I like the soundstage better too.

But there is no question, if you own any of Aspen speakers you should try some aftermarket footers/pads. They will make an improvement!

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Curious as to whether you have taken the opportunity to listen with the speakers pointing straight ahead.

The midrange and HF drivers on these speakers lead me to believe otherwise “traditional” toe in may not be the best orientation – especially if you have more or less tamed the side wall points of first reflection.

FWIW.

Have fun.

The tweaking nature has gotten me again, M-2 fuse is going through a break-in period that may have affected the sound. For instance, on the 2nd day the midrange was a bit less focused, so I adjusted toe-in and now the speakers are three-inches inward on each side.

Today the midrange got more energy than yesterday. I will keep this layout for a couple more days before I make more adjustments. Now, they are sitting on top of XSSH footers that have non-slide bottom so they cannot be moved around. These footers made the midrange more focused and stronger too. It is very possible I will toe out a bit to bring the balance that I preferred.

But my initial impression of FR-30 needing less toe-in (1") could still be the best way in my room. Time will tell. I never tried straight ahead; the looks do not suit me well.

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and your speakers are changing daily…and will for a few weeks at least

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Always listen to Chris on this stuff. :blush:

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Donald, if you want to move the speakers, put a towel, carpet mat, cardboard or something similar under your feet.

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