Fostex PM.03 Active Speaker Review

[infinitesymphony]

Small Fostex drivers seem to be capable of high output for the size. A coffee shop near me has this set of horn speakers with Fostex 3" FE83En full-range drivers, and they throw out a surprising amount of sound:



Wouldn't call them neutral but they work far better than expected in a large room.

 

[JohnBooty]

Small Fostex drivers seem to be capable of high output for the size. A coffee shop near me has this set of horn speakers with Fostex 3" FE83En full-range drivers

Oh my god. Is that a one-off custom build, or does somebody actually sell those? I wonder that the big flower horn is even doing there. Is there a tweeter/supertweeter at the throat of that horn? Is it functioning as a port? Purely ornamental?

Edit: I just realized the image is a hyperlink to the answers to all my questions. Did not know that was a feature with this forum software. https://www.specimenaudio.com/product/specimen-legacy-little-horn-minis-bright-red-573-a-b/

A full range driver is rear loaded with a horn shape to match the acoustic impedance of the air in the compression chamber with the air in the listening room.

 

[Trouble Maker]

Indeed, my Tannoys are 74cm apart and sit either side of a 64cm wide 27" WQHD monitor. However, 34" UWQHD monitor i'm keen on is 80cm wide

Depending on what you are doing, the 34" ultra wide monitor is a game changer. I've mostly lived with 20-24" monitors over the last 7-10 years, at home and in office, now I'm using a 27". I was using a 34" (curved) ultra wide monitor in my last office, and what you can do with it is on a whole different level compared to a regular ratio monitor (~16:10?). It's awesome being able to look at more (width/time) data-traces, excel sheets, schedules, putting up 2 documents or sets of data side-by-side, at sizes that you can actually see what is going on. There's something you get going back and forth visually between 2 things on one monitor that is broken when you are going between 2 different monitors.

 

[Berwhale]

the 34" ultra wide monitor is a game changer

Yes, I wish they were around in 2001 when I deployed 2,000 Eizo 18" screens to the Equity trading floor in the Merrill Lynch Financial Centre in London ...

 

[JohnBooty]

Nice!

When I see a company full of people working on monitors that are undersized for the task (with the definition of "undersized" varying based on the task) I immediately know that company has no idea what it's doing with regards to technology, and probably doesn't value its workers.

Even at minimum wage, an external monitor costs like 1% of a worker's salary. Especially over the 5-10 year lifespan of the monitor. Zero excuse for skimping.

(Even *worse* are companies where you are literally not allowed to bring your own monitor from home!)

 

[AnalogSteph]

The only problem with commercially available available ultrawide curved monitors is that their curvature is shared with TVs for production reasons, and as such its radius (around 3 m / 10') is too large for typical PC working distances. If I had all the space in the world on my desk, I'd probably be tempted to get three of these "it's hip to be square" Eizos (EV2730Q they're called, 26.5" @ 1920x1920). That said, while having extra space is neat I'm not sure I can warrant the extra power consumption. I have a rather worn-out old Eizo L795 that can serve as a secondary monitor here if need be, though my VGA cable is a bit short and I have to route it somewhat inconveniently, and having a monitor arm for it would be nice as well.

The one thing to be said about Proper Monitors even when they're old is that you stand a much better chance getting decent colors out of 'em even with built-in adjustments. My old Samsung 191T was hopeless without calibration and an LUT profile being applied. The L795 is doing pretty well in spite of both CCFLs and electrolytics clearly having seen better days. It does exhibit the sort of gamma drift when warming up that seems to be typical for PVA panels (they're generally rather dim when first turned on), along with the usual somewhat more muted blues as evident next to to the S-IPS panel of my main NEC 1990SXi. I can generally get them pretty close though.

 

[Berwhale]

Eizo were a great company to work with. They shipped the monitors to us in custom boxes from Japan. There were 3 screens in each box and no stands (as we didn't need them). All 3 screens were pre-calibrated and matched in the factory. We just had to take them out the box, mount the wishbone arm and stick it on the pole. We also had very few DOAs.

Just before the trading floor launched, I had to get a team of 8 guys to walk across ~800 desks in their socks, adjusting the monitor arms with Allen wrenches so that the screens were perfectly aligned for the press shots

 

[q3cpma]

Eizo were a great company to work with. They shipped the monitors to us in custom boxes from Japan. There were 3 screens in each box and no stands (as we didn't need them). All 3 screens were pre-calibrated and matched in the factory. We just had to take them out the box, mount the wishbone arm and stick it on the pole. We also had very few DOAs.

Just before the trading floor launched, I had to get a team of 8 guys to walk across ~800 desks in their socks, adjusting the monitor arms with Allen wrenches so that the screens were perfectly aligned for the press shots

Don't know about "working with", but Eizo is definitely the Genelec of the computer monitor world, in my eyes. Got a ColorEdge CG2730 recently and I didn't even felt the money go, so good was the stuff: comprehensive calibration report with DeltaE of 1.2, nice accessories including a very flexible DP cable, even the cardboard box was made in Japan (with a "QC Passed" sticker!).

 

[amirm]

BTW, I also have the PM0.4 in for review!

 

[Shazb0t]

BTW, I also have the PM0.4 in for review!

Awesome! I'm considering shopping for a pair of these to use as desktop speakers at work. The small size would hopefully fit in without outing my crazy to coworkers.

 

[SmackDaddies]

I guess my assessment of the subjective part, would be, not understanding why similar priced speakers with similar or worse overall response, are almost semi-praised or seen as pretty good for what they are, and THIS speaker the subjective portion seems like there is an attempt to be comical or almost some Dislike of the speaker, for simply being what it is. .....................A small low priced speaker.

Having heard an earlier version, yes it had no bass, but the rest, when paired with a sub, was quite listenable.

I do not believe I could (nor should) compare it to multi-thousand dollar speakers, but for a cheap, small bookshelf it was clear, clean and not very bad overall.

I guess I see it as being closer to ideal than a total disaster, as how the subjective portion "Seemed" to read to me.

Apologies to Amir, if I come off as gruff or unhappy, but just feel you were a bit too tough for what it is.

I thought he was quite reasonable - he even recommended it.

 

[beagleman]

I thought he was quite reasonable - he even recommended it.

Yes I replied to the wrong thread....LMAO..!

 

[tomli747]

BTW, I also have the PM0.4 in for review!

Is the review coming?
Or it was published and I missed it?

 

[amicusterrae]

Is the review coming?
Or it was published and I missed it?

I'm also watching for that review. I bought the PM0.4s, hoping the response would be consistent Amir's measurements of the PM0.3s. I wanted a little more bass extension but the smallest offerings from JBL and Kali were larger than I'd prefer for my desk. For the price, I didn't have high expectations, and after a few weeks, I am reasonably satisfied, especially at my preferred low listening levels. Turn them up . . . not so much! They do fit nicely on the Kanto SP9 stands.

 

[Acerun]

The cable between the speakers is monoaural, correct?

 

[nick-v]

I'm curious about the PM0.4 review as well. I've been using a pair of Fostex PM0.4n (on Audioengine DS1 desktop stands) in my office system at work for several years with a Pinnacle SubSonic subwoofer and an LH Labs Geek Out DAC. I've been pretty happy with the performace (with Tidal). This system never gets cranked up, it always just plays at low level.

 

[dasdoing]

what happned to the Fostex PM0.4n?
I would rather see the 9301 (aslo 4"). asked them to send one to Amir but no response lol

 

[CdrCrazy]

So I've a set of PM.03's on the way (to replace a 2.1 rigged X530 setup) that I scored used for $100 shipping inc, and just testing out a Paradigm PD-8 ($90 used) split off the line out on my mobo (SL1220A as onboard DAC/AMP) and it already sounds much better. Just wondering if I should bother keeping this RCA center from the X530 when the PM.03's get here, will it or an upgraded center have any really noticeable impact for casual gaming/music/movie use?

 

[xaviescacs]

Just bought a pair of what I guess is the next iteration of the same product: PM0.3dH. The lack of bass is obvious but honest. The clarity is quite good. Nice for a very small space.

 

[Rich90]

Ive got a pair of Fostex 3ways 641's l have had for about 5 or 6 years anyway they are starting to drop out and just in general play up a bit , so i rang a Speaker monitor Tech who explained that he doesn't work on powered monitors anymore as they are a pain to work with and said my problem was mostly likely to be that the glue holding some parts are giving away and that they will give you all sorts of problems so ordered in some Focal Alpha Evo 50's ..Problem solved.
Next Place for these Fostex is the tip station.....YAY