FERN & ROBY Raven III, a full-range, single driver speaker

Twitter: @AudiophiliacMan

#hifi #speakerreviews #fernandroby

[TheRealWindlePoons]

I have been listening to a pair of Lowther full-range horn loaded speakers for nearly 20 years now. Needless to say I am totally sold on the "full range" concept.

[frogmorepipester]

In the 70’s & 80’s my friends and I use to build some great sounding full range speaker cabs. Pushed by 10w Realistic receiver, my 51/4 full range setup sounded great. I miss Radio Shack and my Dad’s workshop.

[gdwlaw]

Quite a lot of loudspeakers use full range : Pearl acoustics, closer acoustics. some amazing ideas floating around and with transmission line acoustics.

[The_Juan_Percent]

I had an opportunity to listen to these a while back, they sound great but IMO simply not worth the asking price compared to other full range offers, certainly no better than Omegas and they're half the cost.

[jasondeen]

I love my Raven IIIs, and agree with the tonal qualities of the speaker. Love them at low to moderate volume. I power them with a SIT-3.

[chrislj]

$8, 500 compared to the $2, 400 Zu speakers? No thanks, my DW6 are just fine for me, but the walnut does look nice.

[richardelliott]

When I saw the single driver, I knew the audiophiliac would like them . A solid wood cabinet is an unusual choice, if you have heard a marimba, you know why, but I have to trust in this application, given the praise for the quality of the product.

And speaking of quality, the S.E.A.S company was founded by a doctor doing medical research on hearing, who, after finding available speaker drivers too imprecise to provide useful measurements for his work, had to build his own. which then provided the expertise to start the SEAS company 

I count myself lucky to have a three way tower speaker with four custom SEAS drivers, one being an unpowered slave woofer, all housed in black lacquered aircraft grade plywood, unlike the exposed solid walnut sides of my old JBL's, which were also famous, back then, for driver quality, and the noted " west coast sound".

these experiences really made me a believer in driver quality above all else, as a primary buying trigger when selecting speakers, otherwise you are just buying weird looking furniture that will eventually become unsuitable as the system grows. . .

[BackwardsCompatible-Not]

Steve, so good to see you take these on! You now owe it to yourself to try a pair of locally made Omega Loudspeakers.

[thomasdix]

Heard it at Caf; it is an interesting sounding speaker; not my cup of tea, but, it might appeal to others

[elonmuskrat]

How he can say that price with a straight face is one of the great mysteries of the ages.

[danielgeiger]

The PearlAcoustics Sibelius is half price with thicker solid oak wood and Quarter wave cabinet construction. Love mine. Quite revealing of bad recordings. Should really get your hands on that single driver speaker. Great cohesion of the sound. Would have loved a comment of the upward slant of the cabinet.

[rickmathis]

I've been fortunate enough to have heard a handful of other single driver speakers, and this sounds like one that I need to check out. The ones I've listened to, do indeed sound more "natural" as you stated. Perhaps that's due to the lack on crossover. Thanks for another great one, Steve. My wallet may NOT thank you... 😂

[jamesbullock]

Years ago, I wouldn’t give a single driver speaker the time of day, but this seriously intrigues me. I’d also like to hear the baffleless version as well.

[robclendenning]

Changing my initial comment.. Steve didn’t speak about the custom work Christopher has done with SEAS on the driver (nearly 2 years of work). So to me this along with the filter network (which Steve mentioned in the interview with him) justifies in my mind more of where he is coming from re costs and value. But still way overpriced

[robertyoung]

I hope these make it to some audio shows where we can see and hear them.
Nice looking product that looks great with the Pass amplifier.

[bangerdean]

I heard this speaker about a year and hall ago at AXPONA.
When I walked into his room I immediately made a connection with this speaker. I didn’t fully understand at the time that I was listening to a single driver speaker or what it really meant. It’s on my short list of speakers when I upgrade. It’s why I wanted to listen to Steve’s review and not surprised he liked it. Although It does seem to be priced on the high side. I’ve yet to listen to a Devore O/93 and waiting to do so.

[nickblood]

Love the music you tested on these. Well done.

[ChannelAudio]

Will be good to know the comparison with old Tannoy HPD385 in a good cabinet. 😊

These modern ones are probably not worth the price tag as majority of it covers profit marjins at different level.

[brucermarino]

Thanks!
1. These would seem an interesting candidate for nearfield listening.
2. Is it not more correct to describe the F&Rs as a dual or whizzer cone rather than a single driver speaker like, for instance, the Pearl Acoustics speakers? An attached cone like this involves a very real mechanical crossover which comes with significant compromises including shadowing part of the main cone.
3. Having just listened to your interview with the creator, it's clear there's also significant, passive electrical contouring, in the speaker which is not dissimilar to what you might find in a typical speaker. A two-way, in fact, may have fewer pieces in its circuitry. And, is it not true that these contouring networks induce phase and other issues like typical passive crossovers?
4. I checked the F&R website I couldn't find anything even approaching a frequency response graph. Would it not be reasonable at these crisis to provide this basic information?
5. BTW, a review on the F&R says they are easy to place. Who can tell? 😊
Any thoughts? Thanks again, Steve and congratulations on the subs!

[karlhartwig]

Just "re-listened" to the Catherine Wheel on vinyl and then the Zappa, stellar suggestions all on new gear, because I don't think I've heard those recordings fifteen or twenty years. Very enjoyable and they sound even better now-I guess that's the point. No wonder you have a quarter million subscribers!