Zigmahornets with Fostex FE103E Speakers
Barry  
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Zigmahornets with Fostex FE103E
I first came across the Zigmahornets in a 6moons audio review. The original Zigmahornets were designed for use with the Fostex FE103 driver, but many have also reported good results with the Fostex FE103E speaker which is what I used. Enclosure plans for the Zigmahornet are available from the planet 10 box plan library and are shown below.
Figure 1: Fostex FE103E Zigmahornet Speaker Box Plan
This page summarizes my construction and experience with the Zigmahornets and shows how easy they are to build. Hopefully some of you will try this simple and rewarding project.
Construction - Zigmahornets with Fostex FE103E
The enclosure construction is very simple. I had the lumber yard cut a standard 4x8'sheet of 1/2" thick birch plywood into 8 strips. 4 strips at 4-3/4" wide for front and back panels and 4 strips at 2-7/8"x 8' for the sides. Their panel saw cuts were very accurate and straight.
Cut the end one of the 4-3/4" strips at 45 degrees to serve as the back, while making sure it is at least 58.5" long as measured from the top of the 45 to bottom. I cut it a few inches longer and later trimmed it to size.
With the remaining piece from the back panel, cut a 6" length for the top at 22.5 degrees.
Next, cut the 2-7/8" wide side panels at 45 degrees. Again, I left extra length at the bottom and later trimmed it to size.
With your back panel at the correct length mark your sides to get their final length. Take time to get this as accurate as possible. You want to avoid any gaps in your speaker and ensure they sit flat and straight on the base at the final size.
Now with your back and side panels at the correct length and aligned, cut your front panel at 22.5 degrees and match it up with the top panel.
Measure your front panel to have the 1 5/8" slot (port) at the bottom. Now all you have to make is your internal baffle and a base and you are done.
For the driver cutout, I used a 3.5" (89 mm) hole saw and then a rasp file to make the 94 mm opening.
I used 7" length of foam directly behind the driver for dampening.
Photograph 01: Construction of Zigmahornet Speaker Enclosures
Impressions - Zigmahornets with Fostex FE103E
The Zigmahornets sound very good and produce a surprising amount of bass from the small Fostex FE103E Fullrange Drivers. They are very detailed and I am hearing sounds that I have only picked up on headphones before. Be patient with them as they need a fair amount of time to break in.
Photograph 02: Finished Zigmahornet Speakers with Fostex FE103E Drivers