Try an FR-12. I dare you. I double dare you.I agree... I've been lurking on this thread as I'm not in the market right now for new cabs (PXM-12MPs are great!).
BUT watching a master of his craft at work is very satisfying and though I don't think it has much functional impact, the aesthetic of the PCB is so nice!
Would I by chance be one of those 4 people already added to your waitlist, good Sir?It's getting closer by the day
Taiwan and Shenzhen are on spring break for a couple of weeks though.
I'm out in the shop soldering up the first pcb proofs today ..before ordering the gold plated V2 production boards.
Long before the V2 waitlist at the beginning of this 900 post journey, I asked @Deadpool_25 and @Lysander to be my only two beta testers. Their V2s are in this batch of proofs. And unless there is a major glitch in these final board proofs, they should be receiving the very first ones and sharing their findings in just days.
And 4 of you awesome folks reached out before the waitlist was announced to be on the informal waitlist. I kept your first contact as your waitlist position.
@LolainNB you are at #2
Thank you all for your continued support. V2 is a really cool project.
View attachment 134363
Thank you! And yes I have you down.Would I by chance be one of those 4 people already added to your waitlist, good Sir?
I nagged to be in on it a good few times in this thread anyways, even during doing the Lysander mod and your recommended V1 optimizations on the original preamp board.
If not no problemo, please do add me and/or tell me where to send additional information. Thank you very much @WKSmith !
Impressive.View attachment 134598
If you were wondering if the V2 would kill the backline AITR mojo..
Red is the stock FR-12 freq curve, light blue is the V2 preamp in the same FR-12.
Eq knobs all centered at 0 (noon)
Cut knobs at 1 (off)
Less than 1dB deviation in just a couple of spots.
Don't mind the missing trace at 20Hz. I quit sampling below 35Hz . It's below the port tuning and the charts qet wonky down there.
How flat can you get the frequency response by tweaking knobs?If you were wondering if the V2 would kill the backline AITR mojo..
Red is the stock FR-12 freq curve, light blue is the V2 preamp in the same FR-12.
Eq knobs all centered at 0 (noon)
Cut knobs at 1 (off)
Less than 1dB deviation in just a couple of spots.
Don't mind the missing trace at 20Hz. I quit sampling below 35Hz . It's below the port tuning and the charts qet wonky down there.
Haven't got to that yet. I've been tuning the V2 all day to make sure it gets completely out of the way with the knobs centered. This eq does some cool stuff.How flat can you get the frequency response by tweaking knobs?
I agree that the FR-10 and 12 are not the best choices for a true FRFR speaker, and Fender has obviously designed them for the guitar player community. However, as the dreaded hiss problem seems to have been resolved both by WKSmith and, possibly Fender, I would be interested in learning more about what other advantages and characteristics the V2 brings to the FR-10 and 12.Haven't got to that yet. I've been tuning the V2 all day to make sure it gets completely out of the way with the knobs centered. This eq does some cool stuff.
We shall see.
But honestly if you want flat, reference monitors.... The FR-x x is not the best choose of hardware. That's not really its thing.
But I will see how flat I can get it. I know that's important to some players. I can only do a little to compensate for the cabinet, ports, class D amp, horn, system response. Which is created not flat at all (perhaps a factory backline curve just by luck and parts working out)
Fender has for sure put a hiss fix in place. This will be a very limited run for the V2. For people like me that bought a hissy one.. It is a cool solution. I'm not making much on these at all. I just wanted to share this project with my fractal family.I agree that the FR-10 and 12 are not the best choices for a true FRFR speaker, and Fender has obviously designed them for the guitar player community. However, as the dreaded hiss problem seems to have been resolved both by WKSmith and, possibly Fender, I would be interested in learning more about what other advantages and characteristics the V2 brings to the FR-10 and 12.
I've barely played it. So the vote is still out. But I love the size.So. How do you like the FR10?
Looks like there is more than enough justification to consider the V2 as an upgrade to the FR-10 and 12 regardless of the hiss problem. It's certainly reassuring to know that such talent and support resides among the Fractal community. I hope that WKSmith receives some recognition and reward for all his efforts.Fender has for sure put a hiss fix in place. This will be a very limited run for the V2. For people like me that bought a hissy one.. It is a cool solution. I'm not making much on these at all. I just wanted to share this project with my fractal family.
The clip light and phantom protection are utility features but pretty cool.
The eq is pretty freakin awesome. More on that soon. But grab some knobs and it does some magic the stock FR Can't.
This is an awesome trick too . The jumper can bypass the crossover input straight into the class D amps line in. For Fx200 ish coax drivers.
Or using spdt switches on the mute and across those terminals, you could also have a switch to kill the horn and take the low pass off the 12" from the crossover low side bypass. (Instead of the jumper). For a more conventional 12" backline ... if you are into that thing.
View attachment 134607
The pots turn with 40 really fine notches in the travel. They feel expensive and sexy.
The opamps are in sockets for trying different models.
Lots of cool stuff. For a very few busted FRs
Looks like there is more than enough justification to consider the V2 as an upgrade to the FR-10 and 12 regardless of the hiss problem. It's certainly reassuring to know that such talent and support resides among the Fractal community. I hope that WKSmith receives some recognition and reward for all his efforts.