"nanoTower" - Tang Band W3-881SI

[cogitech]

I bought a pair of these ("buyout", $10 each) Tang Band W3-881SI on a whim, based on inspiration from another thread. My original plan was to make very small, sealed boxes for them, for near-field listening.

Then I started looking at Cyburgs-Needle and TABAQ, and became more interested in seeing what this little, cheap 3" driver could do in a large(r), ported enclosure.

Neither Cyburgs-Needle nor TABAQ fit my height criteria of 42" (they will go in my bedroom, and they need to be tall enough to reach over our bed (which is quite high).

Anyway, I opened up WinISD and plugged in all the specs that I could find for the W3-881SI. I then designed a (12mm plywood) box 42" h x 4.5" w x 6.5" d (exterior dimensions) for a total interior volume of 13.3 litres, with a tuning of 52.5hz (port 1.5" dia. x 2.5" L). (see photo)

It looks very much like Cyburgs-Needle, but taller (See photo), and it is not optimized for Quarter Wave or transmission line, AFAIK (ie. I did not use M. King's worksheets, as I have no idea how to. So this is just a simple bass-reflex design. If there is any QW or TL going on, it is by accident

The total cost of this project was $77, tax and shipping ($26) included. I am extremely satisfied with the result. i still need to sand them down and stain them, etc.

The best part; they sound fantastic! Not as refined as my microTowers of course, and they reach their SPL limit sooner than the microTowers, but I never expected them to compete with the mTs anyway. I also did not expect them to sound as good as they do, with as much bass as they have. I am truly amazed what can be done with a single 3" driver. I've been walking around with a stupid grin for the last couple of hours. My wife is getting annoyed.

[Nanook]

your requirements. Bedroom listening is never too loud, so I wouldn't sweat it if they don't go too loud.

[cogitech]

Thanks Stew!

Yes, that's exactly what I thought. We will only be using them for soft music and TV shows after the kids are in bed, so they should be perfect. I love them so much, I might build a second pair for my office.

[planet10]

Originally Posted by cogitech

...If there is any QW or TL going on, it is by accident

There is.

The BR tuning is much lower than i would go.

dave

[cogitech]

Originally Posted by planet10

There is.

The BR tuning is much lower than i would go.

dave

But is it lower than you would go with QW/TL ?

It seemed to look good to me in WinISD as a simple BR, not far off the 16 litre suggested by the app (which was tuned to 49hz).

Either way, I love the way they sound and they are glued shut, so no going back

[oshifis]

I built a Mini-Buschhorn (original Buschhorn scaled down to 2/3 size) with TB W3-871S. I am really satisfied with it. BTW the best test is human voice (radio station news).

[cogitech]

Interesting perspective on radio station news. I find that there is too much compression on both AM and FM radio. Are you speaking of XM/Sirius? I refuse to pay for radio

I am also far more interested in human singing than speaking, so one of the first tests I always do is listening to various male and female vocal tracks. For female vocalists, I go with anything from the "Best Audiophile Voices" collection. For male, I always give the honours to Leonard Cohen (the young, the mature, and "the seasoned" to see how the speakers do with all of them) and sometimes Michael Buble, Don Henley/Eagles, Dave Matthews, etc.

Then I move onto cello and violin concertos, then over to prog rock, reggae/dub, then I throw in some Nini Rosso really loud, Proclaimers, Pogues, Japanese Pop, ... etc.

So far, these little speakers have done an unbelievably good job with all of it.

[chrisb]

Originally Posted by Nanook

your requirements. Bedroom listening is never too loud, so I wouldn't sweat it if they don't go too loud.

Stew, are you saying the loudest sounds from the bedroom should be something else?

[skeeter99]

I really like these, very clean looking. Nicely done!!

Scott

[cogitech]

Originally Posted by skeeter99

I really like these, very clean looking. Nicely done!!

Scott

Thank you, Scott. I plan to sand them and apply the same stain as I have on the bottom portion of the microTowers, plus a couple coats of satin. I also really want to find some black scews for the drivers (neither Home Depot nor Rona carry little black wood screws ?!!)