Fakir One — Complete Driver & System Reference

Source: Official Visaton datasheets (2023 edition), data extracted via pixel-trace of PDF graphs. SPL/impedance values have ±1–2 dB / ±1–2 Ω margin from graph reading.

Updated 2026-03-22: DR 45 N and TL 16 H specs cross-referenced against official Visaton product pages and PDF datasheets. Missing electrical parameters added, dimension labels corrected, TL 16 H impedance data corrected (previous values were below Rdc — physically impossible).

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System Overview

The Fakir One is a 3-way horn-loaded speaker system using:

• TIW 300 (Art. 1364) — 12" woofer, direct radiating
• DR 45 N (Art. 6060) + custom spherical horn — 1" compression driver on lathe-turned solid American oak spherical horn, midrange
• TL 16 H (Art. 24520) — Horn-loaded tweeter with built-in horn
• REL S/31 — Subwoofer, internal crossover bypassed, fully controlled from Flex 8 output 5 (LR48 @ 120 Hz)

Note on the midrange horn: The Fakir One does NOT use the standard Visaton M 300 exponential horn. It uses a custom lathe-turned spherical horn carved from solid American oak. The DR 45 N datasheet data (SPL, impedance) was measured by Visaton with the M 300 horn and is included below as reference only. The actual frequency response, distortion profile, acoustic delay, and dispersion characteristics of the DR 45 N on the custom spherical horn will differ from the published M 300 data. Real measurements of the actual system are essential for crossover design.

All drivers are 8 Ω nominal.

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1. TIW 300 — 12" High-End Woofer (Art. No. 1364, 8 Ω)

Specs

Bass Reflex Tuning (from datasheet)

Also Used In

Monitor 890 MK III (×2), ATLAS COMPACT MK V, TL-SUB 30.

SPL Frequency Response (1W/1m, on-axis, free-field)

Impedance (Ohms)

Notes: Fs impedance peak at ~25 Hz (~69 Ω). Minimum impedance ~5.1 Ω at 150 Hz. Rising impedance above 500 Hz is classic voice coil inductance — this driver is very inductive. Impedance already ~15 Ω at 2 kHz, ~27 Ω at 5 kHz.

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2. DR 45 N — 1" Professional Compression Driver (Art. No. 6060, 8 Ω)

Specs

Dimensions (mm)

Crossover Requirements

• Minimum crossover: 1000 Hz with 12 dB/oct (2nd order) high-pass
• Designed for use above 800 Hz

Horn: Custom Spherical (Fakir One) vs M 300 Reference (Visaton)

Accessories

Also Used In

Monitor 890 MK III (with M 300 horn), PA 110 H, Fakir One (with custom spherical horn).

SPL Frequency Response (1W/1m, with M 300 horn, on-axis — REFERENCE ONLY)

Notes: Below horn cutoff (<300 Hz) output drops rapidly — horn unloading. Usable passband with M 300: ~600 Hz – 12 kHz. Very flat 800 Hz – 6 kHz region (~100–102 dB). Dip at 2.5 kHz (~97 dB) likely horn/driver interaction. Gradual rolloff above 8 kHz. These figures are for the M 300 horn. The custom spherical horn on the Fakir One will have a different response profile — actual measurements show a hard THD cliff at 5800 Hz not visible in FR data.

Directivity (with M 300 horn — REFERENCE ONLY)

Horizontal polar (dB relative to 0° on-axis):

Vertical polar: Narrower than horizontal. 500 Hz nearly omnidirectional. 1000 Hz: −3 dB at ±60°. 2000 Hz: −8 dB at ±60°, strong rear lobe. 4000 Hz: −5 dB at ±30°, sharp nulls at ±90°. 8000 Hz: similar but more ragged.

Note: Polar data is for the M 300 horn geometry (120° exponential). The custom spherical horn will have different dispersion — likely narrower at low frequencies (smaller mouth) and different off-axis behavior. Values approximate ±2–3 dB from Visaton polar plot.

Impedance (Ohms)

Notes: Very well-behaved impedance. Minimum ~6.5 Ω below resonance (consistent with Rdc 6.2 Ω). Impedance peak at ~2–2.5 kHz (~12 Ω) = driver/horn resonance interaction. Stays under 12 Ω across entire usable band. Much easier crossover load than the TIW 300.

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3. TL 16 H — High-End Horn Tweeter (Art. No. 24520, 8 Ω)

Specs

Dimensions (mm)

Crossover Requirements

• 70 W / 100 W peak rating: 12 dB/oct high-pass, minimum 5000 Hz
• 150 W / 200 W peak rating: 12 dB/oct high-pass, minimum 7500 Hz

Also Used In

Monitor 890 MK III (exclusively — not listed in other Visaton systems).

SPL Frequency Response (1W/1m, on-axis)

Notes: Resonance peak at ~1.5 kHz (91 dB) then dip at 2 kHz (86 dB) — classic horn resonance behavior. Usable passband: 3 kHz – 20 kHz+. Extremely flat 5–20 kHz (~99–102 dB). Matches the DR 45 N sensitivity almost perfectly in the overlap zone (5–8 kHz).

CRITICAL — In-system behavior differs dramatically from bare-driver data. On the Fakir One, the TL 16 H sits on top of / behind the DR 45 N's custom spherical mid horn body. The mid horn acts as a large diffraction source at tweeter frequencies, creating comb filtering with ~12 dB swings across 5–15 kHz (measured at 4.09m listening position, March 2026). Key features: deep null at ~8 kHz, peak at ~12 kHz. This is geometry-dependent (horn edge path length differences), not room-related — it will be present at any measurement distance. The datasheet's flat 99–102 dB response has no predictive value for the TL 16 H's actual behavior when mounted on the Fakir One. Only in-system measurements reflect reality.

Impedance (Ohms)

Notes: CORRECTED 2026-03-22. Previous pixel-traced values (5.4–6.3 Ω) were below the driver's Rdc of 6.9 Ω — physically impossible. The Visaton graph confirms essentially flat impedance ~7–8 Ω across the entire band. No significant resonance peak visible. Almost purely resistive load — dream driver for crossover design.

Directivity (from Visaton polar plot, dB relative to 0° on-axis)

Notes: At 500 Hz and 1000 Hz the pattern is nearly omnidirectional (well below operating range). At 4000 Hz, pattern narrows significantly with deep rear nulls. At 8000 Hz (nominal operating range), the −6 dB point is at ~67° as stated in specs. At 16000 Hz, narrows to roughly ±40° at −6 dB. Values approximate ±2–3 dB. These are free-field measurements of the bare driver. On the Fakir One, diffraction from the adjacent mid horn body will alter the real dispersion pattern significantly — see in-system note above.

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4. Crossover Design Notes

Sensitivity Mismatch

The TIW 300 is 10–12 dB less sensitive than the horns. In an active system, this means the woofer amp needs to deliver ~10–16× more power than the mid/HF amps for matched output. In a passive system, the horns need L-pad attenuation of ~10 dB.

Important: In the Fakir One's triamped configuration, each driver is fed by a different amplifier with its own voltage gain. Datasheet sensitivity (1W/1m = 2.83V into 8Ω) only describes the driver's efficiency — the actual SPL produced per unit of DSP output depends on the amp's gain in each channel. The Karan POWERa (bass), custom 300B SET monoblocks (mid), and custom 300B SET stereo (tweeter) all have different gain structures. The real sensitivity relationship between drivers is therefore set by the combination of driver efficiency, amp gain, and Flex 8 channel trim — not by driver specs alone. The Flex 8 trims (currently bass 0 dB, mid −5 dB inverted, tweeter +8 dB inverted) compensate for both driver sensitivity differences AND amp gain differences simultaneously.

Visaton's Recommended Crossover Points (from datasheet minimum XO frequencies)

• Woofer → Mid: somewhere between 800–1000 Hz (DR 45 N minimum is 1000 Hz @ 12 dB/oct)
• Mid → Tweeter: somewhere between 5000–7500 Hz (TL 16 H minimum is 5000 Hz @ 12 dB/oct for 70W, 7500 Hz for 150W)

Fakir One Active Crossover (optimised from measurements)

• Woofer → Mid: 800 Hz, LR24 (below TIW 300 breakup zone)
• Mid → Tweeter: 5000 Hz, LR24 (below DR 45 N distortion cliff at 5800 Hz on custom horn)
• Mid channel trim: -8 dB | Tweeter channel trim: -8 dB | All drivers normal polarity

Crossover Overlap Zones (from reference data)

• TIW 300 ↔ DR 45 N: Both usable 600–2500 Hz. TIW 300 has rising response and breakup 1–2.5 kHz. DR 45 N is clean from 600 Hz up. Crossover around 800–1000 Hz makes sense.
• DR 45 N ↔ TL 16 H: Both usable 3–8 kHz. DR 45 N on M 300 starts rolling off above 6 kHz. On the custom spherical horn, nearfield THD measurements reveal a hard distortion cliff at 5800 Hz (THD doubles from 0.18% to 0.43%) — not visible in frequency response data. This sets the practical upper limit for the midrange crossover at ~5000 Hz with LR24. TL 16 H is flat from 5 kHz up. Crossover around 5000 Hz is optimal.

Impedance Considerations for Passive Crossover Design

• TIW 300: very inductive above 500 Hz (impedance rising steeply). Zobel network essential for passive crossover.
• DR 45 N: well-behaved, slight peak at 2–2.5 kHz. Manageable.
• TL 16 H: almost purely resistive. Dream load for crossover.

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5. Physical / Mechanical Summary

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6. Accessory Cross-Reference

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7. Cabinet — Woofer Box Volume Calculation

External Dimensions

37.5W × 48D × 80H cm (375 × 480 × 800 mm)

Source: Sava Velikinac (cabinet maker)

Construction

• Walls: 19 mm MDF
• Bottom: double-layer (38 mm total)
• Front baffle: sandwich of MDF + chipboard (~35 mm total)
• Port: front-firing rectangular slot, ~28 cm wide × 6–7 cm tall × 42.4 cm deep (full internal depth)

Internal Volume Estimate

• Internal: ~337W × 442D × 724H mm
• Gross internal: ~107.8 L
• Subtract driver displacement, bracing, port volume → ~84 L net

Bass Reflex Tuning

Unknown from dimensions alone — rectangular slot port does not map to standard BR 25.50 tube calculations. Actual tuning frequency must be confirmed via impedance measurement (double-hump identification).

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8. Data Quality Notes

• All SPL and impedance values extracted by pixel-tracing the frequency response graphs from official Visaton 2023 datasheets rendered at 6× resolution.
• Accuracy: ±1–2 dB for SPL, ±1–2 Ω for impedance (larger error near steep slopes or graph edges).
• The TIW 300 bass response below 50 Hz depends heavily on enclosure — the "fu" in specs means "lower cutoff frequency dependent on cabinet."
• DR 45 N data includes the M 300 horn (measured as system, not bare driver). The Fakir One uses a custom spherical horn — actual system response will differ from this reference data.
• TL 16 H data is for the complete horn unit as shipped.
• Visaton does not publish T/S parameters on these datasheets. Additional T/S data referenced on pages 385–386 of the Visaton catalog for TIW 300.
• 2026-03-22 update: DR 45 N specs now include peak power (150W), magnetic induction (1.55T), magnetic flux (90µWb), Rdc (6.2Ω), and voice coil inductance (0.1mH). TL 16 H specs now include peak power ratings, opening angle (67° @ 8kHz), magnetic induction (1.6T), magnetic flux (200µWb), pole-plate height (2.5mm), Rdc (6.9Ω), and voice coil inductance (0.17mH). TL 16 H impedance table corrected — previous values were below Rdc. Directivity data added for both DR 45 N (with M300) and TL 16 H. Min crossover for TL 16 H corrected from 7000 Hz to 7500 Hz.
• 2026-03-22 measurement cross-reference (right speaker, 4.09m, no crossover): Bass-to-mid sensitivity delta measured at 11.9 dB — matches 12 dB datasheet prediction. DR 45 N on custom spherical horn peaks at 1000–1250 Hz and rolls off ~10 dB by 6 kHz — significantly different from M300 reference (flat 800–6 kHz). Confirms custom horn has less HF extension; validates 5 kHz crossover choice. TL 16 H shows ~12 dB swings (null at 8 kHz, peak at 12 kHz) due to diffraction from the adjacent mid horn body — this is a physical geometry effect, not room-related. Datasheet free-field response is not predictive of in-system behavior. Bass room modes identified at 50 Hz (null) and 200 Hz (null).