The Frugel-Horn Corner Horn Project
Version 1.0.4 Plan Set
Drawings/Contents
Sheet i0/ Overview
Sheet i1/ Build Levels
Sheet FH0/ Horn Path & Notes
Sheet FH1/ Parts placement detail
Sheet FH2 Internal parts detail
Sheet FH3/ Deflector
Sheet FH4/ Side pattern (imperial)
Sheet FH5/ Side pattern (metric)
Sheet FH6/ Compression Chamber
Sheet A0-W0/ Wedgie Details
Sheet A0-W1/ Wedgie Plan
Sheet A0-W2/ Wedgie Placement
Sheet A0-W3/ Wedgie Parts
Sheet A0-W4/ Side pattern (imperial)
Sheet A0-W5/ Side pattern (metric)
Sheet A1-S0/ SupraBaffle
Sheet A1-S1/ SupraBaffle Shapes
Sheet A2-B0/Modified Buschhorn
please email me <dave@planet10-hifi.com> with
corrections & suggestions to make this document
more useful
(09-october-06, notes added 04-may-2010)
The Frugel-Horn (cross between flugel horn & frugal) is a DIY project to develop a
small, inexpensive corner horn. It is not a commercial product*. We started with a
modified-Buschorn, then made changes to make the design more rational & more
versatile for the DIY community. With the involvement of the entire community
sonics can rival & exceed any speaker in its niche.
Your Feedback helps improve this design and spurs continued development.
Commercial use has some requirements. See Use of Designs on the web site.
The web site:
<http://www.planet10-hifi.com/Frugel-Horn.html>
Note1: 04-may-10. With the demise of the Fostex FE126e, work on FH2 has been
discontinued and FH3 is under development for a range of current drivers,
Note2: A tribute to the Frugel-Horn has appeared at www.ring-audio.com. A
commercial development costing 1,000's of Euros.
Design History
1.0.0 / A modified Buschhorn 1 -- enlarged to accomodate the larger drivers used in
this design.
1.2.1 / Refolding of 1.0.0. This was our 1st Frugel-Horn build.
1.3.0 = version 1.0 Level 0 / Simplifications & minor change of some details to ease
building (drawings for this were in limited release)
1.4.0 = version 1.0 / Increases cabinet width, adds a curved rear mouth, and
deflector to improve bass extension by 10-12 Hz and reduce reflections off the
"supporting" corner back into the horn mouth thus reducing the ripple in the LF
response.
Air Cavity Chamber Size
The design accomodates a large range of air cavity chamber* sizes to (hopefully) help
allow a wide range of drivers. The internal partitions naturally define 3 possibilities --
small, medium, & large. These can be further refined by adding fill-in material. The
smaller the AC size the higher the acoustic low-pass filter to the rear-loaded horn. For
the initially targeted FE126e & FE108e, the small AC is a good starting point.
*(also, incorrectly, referred to as compression chamber)
Drivers with similar parameters to the 2 target drivers are likely to work best, but like
every other horn i have seen, people will want to try many drivers, and the variable
CC is there to aid in that endeavor.
supraBaffle
The purpose of the supraBaffle is to push roll-off due to baffle step down to the point
where the horn action takes over flattening the speaker's frequency response. The
smaller the compression chamber the smaller the supraBaffle required. Since the
supraBaffle is applicable to any skinny speaker another document covering it in more
detail is in the works.
Build Levels
The Frugel-Horn can be built to a number of levels. Although a full-on Level 3 is best,
even at Level o the horn is good. With each additional level the sonics are improved
but the build moves away from a rectangular box which may or may not be a WAF
issue (my wife prefers the Level 3 looks :^)
Voids
Unused voids in a folded horn are quite common. The voids in the Frugel-Horn can be
left as is, filled (sand, lead shot, kitty litter....) or as illustrated in many of the
renderings and examples, opened up so that they are no longer void. This also adds an
aesthetic touch and gives a visual indication that this is indeed a horn.
Adding your own creative touch
The Frugel-Horn design intentially leaves a lot of scope for your own creative
aesthetic. Even on the few builds to-date there are examples of a wide range of
artistic interpretation.
 The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
Project V1.0 sheet i1
Build Levels
drawn by dld
09-october-2006

Level 0 to Level 1 upgrade once built is

a bit tricky, but upgrades from other
levels to higher levels can be
accomplished step-by-step just by
adding to the current build.

Level 3 / Full Build. Horn with supraBaffle & deflector

Level 0 / The horn in a rectangular box. Instead of the Level 1 / Just the horn but with curved mouth
curved rear the sides are made straight down from the back
of the top panel.

Level 2a / Add the deflector to Level 1 Level 2b / Add a supraBaffle to Level 1

 The Frugel-Horn
These partitions can be removed, changed, modified to
accomodate different size compression chambers to Open Source Corner Horn
allow some driver versatility. See Sheet 7 (page 8) Project V1.0 sheet FH0
Horn Path & Notes
drawn by dld
updated 05-october-2006
Cut side walls at this line for a
Level 0 build
1/ This alpha is (mostly) consistent with the
HornShoppe expansion.

2/ Internal width is 140mm, internal

19.9 18.6
partitions drawn are 12mm, front, top,
126 bottom, sides are 18mm (feel free to use
larger or smaller material for the outer
20.8 3.1 panels)

3/ optional ~300 mm wide/diameter

supra-baffle not shown. Its purpose is to
move the baffle-step drop off to where the
horn action starts flattening lower
midrange FR

4/ Has up to 5.4 litre compression chamber

using all of the upper void -- this should
give some latitude for other drivers. The
48.2 design has partitions which lend themselves
to small, medium & large CCs. Choose one
43.9 44.6 larger than needed and add "fill" to decrease
461.7 it as required
47 48.2
11.3 5/ intended for Fostex FE126 or FE108e,
horn action from ~ 50-200 (250) Hz

6/ Deflector and curved mouth are optional,

but recommended. In conjunction they
increase mouth size and give 10-12 Hz more
extension in the bottom.
10

247

291 1262.1 cm^2 x 14 cm width

= 17669 cm^3
250 32
31 = 17.67 litre
41.1 41.1

31.9 63.5
43.2 Area of this
shape is
1262.1 cm^2
123.7 98.2
739

160.6

30
 The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
Project V1.0 sheet FH1
Panel Placement Details
drawn by dld
updated 02-february-2007

11 3/16 6 15/16
[285] [176]
5 15/16
[150] 4 3/16
1 7/16 [106] 5 1/2
[36] 3/4 [140]
[19]

A
13/16
[20] 17
[433.2]
B 6 3/16
7 1/2 [157]
[191]

8 9/16
[217]

18 1/4
[464] 12 1/8 20
[307] [508]
20
[508]

D F
C

3 1/2 2 1/2 29 1/16

[89] [64] [739]
4 3/16
[106]
4 15/16 30 1/2
[125] [775]
G
6 1/16
[154]

4 3/8 10 1/2
[111] [267]
15 9/16
[395]

52" (1321mm) radius

 The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
11 Project V1.0 sheet FH2
45 Internal Panel Details
drawn by dld
17-june-2006
A
4 3/4
[122] 11

4 1/2
10.7 [113.8] 11.3

C
1 3/8
B [35.7]
1 1/2
16 7/8 [38.1]
[428.3]
16 7/8
[428.4]

10
10

20 1/4
[515.7]
20 1/4
[515.7]

10 3

E
4
F
[102.1]
11
4 1/8 [279.2]
11
[104.2] [279.7]

30
60

11
[280.2]
12 1/8
[307.9]
 The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
Project V1.0 sheet FH3
Deflector
drawn by dld
updated 5-october-2006
37.7

11 5/8 10 1/4
[294.9] [261.9]
2 3/8
[61]

any deflector above this is

bonus ... an angle as drawn
66 will provide a bit extra as
well as potentially higher
9 1/2 aesthetic
[241.6]

55 5/8
10 1/4 [14.3]
[261.9] 45

projection of top surface of

enclosure hieght deflector

22 1/2
[573.1]

Notes: 14 7/8
755.2 [379.2]
0/ The deflector serves 2 tasks, first it acts 21 3/8
to reduce the reflection back up the horn, [542.3]
and second, it increases the mouth size.
Without the mouth are is the opening on
the back of the horn (1,060 cm^2). With
the deflector it is the 2 surfaces on the sides
defined by the verticle edge of the rear of 52" radius
the horn, and the outer, back edge of the
deflector (2,080 cm^2 for a full height
deflector) The shape of the mouth is also
better with the deflecto ( 1:5.4 Vrs 1:1.5)

1/ The minimum deflector is a triangular

prism up to 2/3 height. Everything above
that helps a bit but is mostly cosmetic.
2/ angled tops with an angle greater than
45 will be more of a challenge to build.
3/ material for this is not critical -- a good
chance to use up that MDF. should be filled
with sand, kitty litter, lead shot ...
something to keep it from ringing.

6 5/8 4 1/4
[169.7] [108.5]
 The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
Project V1.0 sheet FH4
Side Pattern (1/2" grid)
drawn by dld
17-june-2006

31

30

29

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

0
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
 The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
Project V1.0 sheet FH5
Side Pattern (1 cm grid)
drawn by dld
17-june-2006

78
76
74
72
70
68
66
64
62
60
58
56
54
52
50
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
-12 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28
 small The Frugel-Horn
= (2.356 litre/143.7 in^3) Open Source Corner Horn
medium Project V1.0 sheet FH6
+ = (4.067 litre/248.1 in^3) Compression Chamber
drawn by dld
updated 13-march-2007
+ + =
large
(5.854 litre/357.3 in^3)
extra volume added by wedgie version
(0.186 litre/11.36 in^3)

0/ internal partitions readily allow 3

major sizes of compression chamber.
Volumes indicated do not subtract
volume of the back of the driver or
any braces added
1/ the volume of the CC along with the
throat size & the driver parameters
create a low pass filter for output
from the horn. The larger the CC
volume the lower the filter's cut-off. It
is important that this is not so high as
to allow significant midrange to get to
the horn (ie not too small), but not so
low that the horn action isn't being
used to ease the job of the driver in
producing bass (not too big). The
lower this high pass is set the larger
the supraBaffle required
2/ choose a CC larger than you think
you need and then add solid fill -- an
opportunity to make inside quite
irregular -- to tune the CC size. A set of
wooden blocks or such would allow
change in fixed steps
3/ as a generalization drivers with
greater Vas & Qt will require a larger
CC and will vary depending on
atmospheric pressure.
4/ please report back your findings for
the driver you use, these will help
fellow builders fine tune their
enclosures
5/ The small CC is a good starting point
for the FE126e & FE108e
6/ The 1st approximation is 2.2 litre for
the FE126e & 1.8 litre for the FE108e
7/ If you do the wedgie version you
start out with a slightly larger CC

extra CC area in
Wedgie Version
 1 23/32 2 1/16 The Frugel-Horn
1.63 [44] [52] Open Source Corner Horn
Project V1.0w sheet A0-W0
1 7/32 Wedgie Details
5 17/32 [31] drawn by dld
[140.5] updated 13-march-2007

1 25/32
[45]

Notes:
A 10
0/ the "wedgie" comes from the use
of 2 wedge shaped pieces to make
the taper. The 1st 2 passages are
fixed at 31mm wide and the wedge
in the niddle of each passage is B
used to taper the line. This allows a
less severe cross-section ratio (2
channels with 1.4:1 aspect vrs 1
with an aspect of 7.5:1) and braces
the high pressure panels.
1/ the increase in the height of the
1st section requires a slightly taller
box and a slightly deeper top.
2/ all the angles in pieces A, B, C, D,
& E are now 10, 45 or 90
18 1/4
3/ top, baffle, A, B, C, & D are 1 7/32 [463.8]
different sizes. A & C aren't [31]
different by much.

D F

E
1 7/32
[31]
4 1/2
[114.4]
4 3/32 45
[103.6]

10 1/16
[1.5]
2.78

16 7/8
[428.9] 16 13/16
[426.8]

B
 The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
Project V1.0w sheet A0-W1
Wedgie Details
11 9/32 drawn by dld
[286.7] updated 13-march-2007
6 4 5/32
[152.5] [105.8]
1 15/16
[48.9]

A 10
1 7/32
[31.2] 1 7/32
17 1/16 [31]
[433.2]
6 5/8
B [167.9]
4 5/32
[105.8]

9
[228.3]

18 23/32
[475.4] 20 7/16
12 3/32 [519.3]
[307.5]
20 7/16
[519.3] 1 7/32
[31]

D F

30 15/16
3 1/2 2 1/2 [786]
52" radius [89] [63.5]
4 5/32 29 17/32
[105.8] [750]
4 15/16
[125.3]
G

6 1/16
[153.8]

4 3/8 10 1/2
[110.8] [266.7]
15 15/32
[392.8]
The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
Project V1.0w sheet A0-W2
Wedgie Placement
drawn by dld
04-october-2006

Notes:

0/ red bits are the 2 wedgies

 The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
Project V1.0w sheet A0-W3
Internal Panel (Wedgie)
drawn by dld
14-august-2006

Notes:

1/ all miters are 10 except for the one 90 cut &

the marked 45
4
[103.1] 2/ only panels that differ from the non-wedgie
version shown

45

4 3/8
[111.8]

16 3/4
[426.8]

16 3/4
[426.8]

1 1/2
[37.8]

1 3/8
[35.7]

20 3/4
[527.2]

20 3/4
[527.2]
 The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
Project V1.0w sheet A0-W4
Wedgie Side Pattern (1/2" grid)
drawn by dld
09-october-2006

31

30

29

28

27

26

25

24

23

22

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

0
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
 The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
Project V1.0w sheet A0-W5
Wedgie Side
drawn by dld
09-october-2006

78
76
74
72
70
68
66
64
62
60
58
56
54
52
50
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
-12 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28
Notes:

The supraBaffle serves a specific purpose. Any speaker mounted on a baffle will see 2
The Frugel-Horn
steri-radians at high frequencies & 4 steri-radians at low frequencies. Ignoring any other Open Source Corner Horn
influences this means an on-axis drop in level of 6 dB in the low frequencies. This is called
baffle step loss*. With the narrow baffle of the Frugel-Horn this would start ~ 650-700 Project V1.0 sheet A1-S0
Hz. The output from the horn is high enough to compensate but only up to 250-300 Hz. supraBaffles
The purpose of the supraBaffle is to push the baffle-step down in frquency until it meets drawn by dld
up with the output from the horn. This depends on compression chamber size (ie the 04-october-2006
acoustic XO between the horn & the direct driver radiation), Exact values await actual
measurements of units in the field.
*(for more info http://www.t-linespeakers.org/tech/bafflestep/intro-bds.html)

A 1st order approximation is that the supraBaffle needs to have an average minimum dimension of 11 1/2' -- 13" (292-330mm). The actual shape
leaves a lot of room for creativity.

On the next sheet i have reproduced Page 23 of Olson's Acoustics and some shapes suggested or implemented already. This graphically illustrates
the diffraction behaviour of a number of standard shapes. One can see that a sphere is smoothest, a truncated pyramid is close, and that any
shape requires a trailing edge. From this, and ease of construction, a truncated pyramid will be designated as "the standard supraBaffle".

Considering work done since Olson, the shape that B&W uses on their top-of-range speakers for their midrange probably represents a close to
ideal shape.

The supraBaffle can be flush with the front baffle, stand completely proud, or somewhere in-between. The standard sB will fit over the front, with
most of the sB behind the plane of the front -- this because it is easiest to execute. Keep in mind that a supraBaffle proud of the front is going to
increase the size of the suprabaffle.
This "standard supraBaffle" is comprised of 4 layers of ~3/4" (19mm) material, and then passed thru a table saw with the blade set at 45 to
achieve the bevel.

11 1/2
[292.1]

6 3/4 1 1/2
[170] [38.1]

11 1/2
[292.1]

1 piece 3 pieces

shown at 50% of the scale of the other drawings on the page

 The Frugel-Horn
Open Source Corner Horn
The most thumbed page in my copy of Olson's Acoustics -- everybody
should have a copy of this book (available from audioXpress).
Project V1.0 sheet A1-S1
supraBaffle shapes
It shows the baffle step diffraction on various shape baffles. It can be very drawn by dld
helpful deciding what not to do. 04-october-2006

John in Costa Rica provided these

sketchs of possible supraBaffle shapes.

Josh's star shaped supraBaffle &

the Nautalus midrange pod
 6 1/4
[158]

Modified Buschhorn
sheet A2-B0
a Buschhorn 1 stretched to fit a 4"
4 1/4 (100mm) driver
[108] drawn by dld
15-february-2006

16
19 22 0/ Internal width is 5 1/8" (130mm)
22 1/ internal partitions are 5/8" (15mm))
24 23
2/ this was what we built as proof of concept,
ie Version Zero. All subsequent builds have
been superior, so this is only here for historic
1 5/8 1 15/16 interest.
20 [42] [49]
[508]

2 1/8
[55]

9
[228]

32 33
32 29 11/16
[754]

28 1/4
2 1/2 [718]
[64]
4 1/2
[114]

5 3/4
[146]

30

10 1/2
[267]
11 1/4
[286]