Here's one reason to love full range drivers

[Godzilla]

http://www.zaphaudio.com/tidbits/TB-W3-871-FR.gif

I was poking around Zaph's site and came across this fr of the venerable but discontinued TB W3-871. Pretty nice response imo. Tho we see many crazy looking fr from other drivers there are certainly some that do measure well.

Zilla

[cbro]

I have a pair for my PC setup with a Sonic Impact T-amp and I absolutely love them. They're the reason I decided to venture into full range for my new HT setup.

[planet10]

I have 2 pair of 871... they don't get much use.

dave

[Pano]

I sold all 3 I had. OK, but to me they sounded just like they look, small.

Maybe with a big woofer they could shine. No, I tried that. They still didn't do it for me.
Seems like they should, tho.

[wolf_teeth]

FWIW-
You can still get the W3-593SF, which is the same driver with a different frame- and you don't have to flush mount it!!!

Tang Band W3-593SF 3" Driver | Parts-Express.com



All hope is not lost,
Wolf

[mondogenerator]

i looked at these for my latest project, and ended up opting for the better sensitivity of the w2-800sl. But then my app was almost FAST, more of a wide band tweeter, and the lower moving mass and also size swayed me to the latter. that being said, considering the Sd is more than doubled in the 3"er, the mass/area looks slightly better than the w2-800sl

http://www.tb-speaker.com/detail/1230_04/w2-800sl.htm (the rising response over 10k is easy to fix if i want, so for a wideband tweeter its FR looks very nice)

in my app, and despite the size and the corresponding constraints, the w2-800 seems a better fit, for me.

stand alone FR wise i wouldnt personally go for less than a 4" or 5" driver-i.e. i dont think id even run an alpair 5 or 6 fullrange(whichever one which has the low Fs), and both of which seem exceptional, in different ways. Although ive not heard them and am relying totally on datasheets!

i would use these fullrange, as i would with alpair 10/12 etc

http://www.tb-speaker.com/detail/1208_03/w5-1611sa.htm (although i never liked the sound of a PP coned driver yet :$)

and

http://www.tb-speaker.com/detail/1230_04/w5-1880.htm

[Godzilla]

>>>but to me they sounded just like they look, small...

Once you get accustomed to larger drivers it's not easy going back. That can be said about lots of things lol...

I enjoy 15" woofers but in the office where space is limited i enjoy my small full range drivers. Currently listening to the Dayton 5" in a small box... not perfect by any means but compared to the two ways i have to compare them to i prefer these. I bet the TBs are smoother tho.

[Bigun]

Originally Posted by wolf_teeth

FWIW-
You can still get the W3-593SF,

it's strange seeing drivers with huge cancellation magnets, with the end of life for CRTs we can look forward to using drivers without these boat anchors on the back of them.

p.s. consider the FR88EX for 3" too.

[kec]

I still like my Salas TB3 bipole, a lot...

[mondogenerator]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

>>>but to me they sounded just like they look, small...I enjoy 15" woofers but in the office where space is limited i enjoy my small full range drivers. I bet the TBs are smoother tho.

yep they DO sound small, running FR. the tiny Sd kills any chance of bass, and even dare i say it, a 3" driver would suffer to a slightly lesser extent.

unfortuantely, living in the UK, we dont have the US's luxury of SPACE. I couldnt even dream of having 15s....as it is i have 3 pairs of speakers, and a half stack guitar cab, and the living room in my apartment is maybe 25 sq yds.........so sadly the biggest woofers in my possession are the 10" celestion greenbacks in the guitar cab....(Fs 90Hz= hardly hifi)

Clearly the elevated HF above 10k and the size would make them ideal for arrays, but sadly again Fs is too high. Besides what a lower Fs would give is taken away by the xmax again, so i kinda see where TB are going with these things. in a 2 way design, crossing 1st order, either above 6k or below 1k seems practicable, and nicely out of the 'traditional' F(x) points. now theyre run in the mids and HF is silky smooth, im almost doubting my visatons....but not quite. i can think of at least 2 projects i have that could use these things rather than the 'standard' tweeter, and im sure in a FAST app with a smaller woofer(5-8") for 'modest' levels, i.e. sub 100dB, they will really shine.