Morning all! 
Gonna be honest, I have NOT read all 317 pages of this thread, but I have scanned over quit a bit of it here and there.
I'm a big fan of foamcore from my RC building days, and am just getting into speaker building.
Here's my question: I have several 3" TangBand W3-593SFs that I pulled from my old Logitech Z-5500 satellites. I'm itching to try to put them to better use than the horrible plastic enclosures they've been living in for the past 12 years or so.
What would be the best home for these? I really like the TABAQ design, since it's simple, and I'm just starting out. I also see lots of love for the Karlsonator, and I'm not opposed to that if it's the best choice, but I'm not a fan of the aesthetics of those. Something about the front baffle strikes me as a bit vulgar. lol
Anyway, all comments and suggestions appreciated for what to do with these little drivers.
My main build right now is a set of MA Alpair 5.3's going into Woden Bloodhound enclosures as soon as I can get out into the shop. They're in temporary foam boxes at the moment, and sounding pretty good!
Gonna be honest, I have NOT read all 317 pages of this thread, but I have scanned over quit a bit of it here and there.
I'm a big fan of foamcore from my RC building days, and am just getting into speaker building.
Here's my question: I have several 3" TangBand W3-593SFs that I pulled from my old Logitech Z-5500 satellites. I'm itching to try to put them to better use than the horrible plastic enclosures they've been living in for the past 12 years or so.
What would be the best home for these? I really like the TABAQ design, since it's simple, and I'm just starting out. I also see lots of love for the Karlsonator, and I'm not opposed to that if it's the best choice, but I'm not a fan of the aesthetics of those. Something about the front baffle strikes me as a bit vulgar. lol
Anyway, all comments and suggestions appreciated for what to do with these little drivers.
My main build right now is a set of MA Alpair 5.3's going into Woden Bloodhound enclosures as soon as I can get out into the shop. They're in temporary foam boxes at the moment, and sounding pretty good!
Try the foam core Tabaq then:
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/88787-tabaq-tl-tang-band-119.html#post4556798
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/88787-tabaq-tl-tang-band-119.html#post4556798
Thanks X, but I got impatient and started playing around with WinISD...
I ended up with a Franken-TABAQ-ish horror with dual drivers, about 30" tall, 4.5" wide, and 7" deep. I have no clue if it will sound like anything except hot garbage, but the sim curves looked fairly decent from what (VERY) little I know, and the build is fun at least.
I'll post a few pics once I get it done, maybe tomorrow.
Here's the output from WinISD.
WHY does this software not have any sort of export or print options?!
I ended up with a Franken-TABAQ-ish horror with dual drivers, about 30" tall, 4.5" wide, and 7" deep. I have no clue if it will sound like anything except hot garbage, but the sim curves looked fairly decent from what (VERY) little I know, and the build is fun at least.
I'll post a few pics once I get it done, maybe tomorrow.
Here's the output from WinISD.
WHY does this software not have any sort of export or print options?!
Attachments
At the risk of getting banned for life for atrocious design and build practices, here's the...thing I built out of dual TangBand W3-593SFs pulled from the satellite speakers of a Logitech Z-5500 desktop system.
Pros: It plays. Fairly well, actually. I'd describe the sound as very bright and clear, with almost no bass at all.
Cons: ugly as sin (but almost as fun!), almost no bass at all.
I took a photo of the box with stuffing before I closed it up, but it's gone MIA, sorry. The box is stuffed with poly-fill from the top down to about 2/3 of the way towards the base to medium density, by my estimate.
I'm sure the list is lengthy, but what do you folks see that I did wrong, likely contributing to the poor performance? Too much stuffing? Not enough? Miscalculated dimensions? Poor design, and I just don't know how to read the sims?
For my listening test, I was doing a left/right comparison to my Yamaha NS-6490 bookshelf speakers, and I have no idea if that's a fair comparison or not. I've had these for years and always been happy with them, but then again I've never done anything approaching critical listening, so I wouldn't know how to judge them.
All thoughts appreciated. This was just a test to prepare me for the next project, so I'd like to learn as much as possible so I don't make the same mistakes.
Pros: It plays. Fairly well, actually. I'd describe the sound as very bright and clear, with almost no bass at all.
Cons: ugly as sin (but almost as fun!), almost no bass at all.
I took a photo of the box with stuffing before I closed it up, but it's gone MIA, sorry. The box is stuffed with poly-fill from the top down to about 2/3 of the way towards the base to medium density, by my estimate.
I'm sure the list is lengthy, but what do you folks see that I did wrong, likely contributing to the poor performance? Too much stuffing? Not enough? Miscalculated dimensions? Poor design, and I just don't know how to read the sims?
For my listening test, I was doing a left/right comparison to my Yamaha NS-6490 bookshelf speakers, and I have no idea if that's a fair comparison or not. I've had these for years and always been happy with them, but then again I've never done anything approaching critical listening, so I wouldn't know how to judge them.
All thoughts appreciated. This was just a test to prepare me for the next project, so I'd like to learn as much as possible so I don't make the same mistakes.
Attachments
Interesting. I cannot answer your question about poor performance, but have a question regarding your drivers. How did you know that exakt version? I too have 5 drivers out of an old Logitech system, but cannot identify the driver. Might be the same though. If that is the case, I could actually do some sims with the drivers, which would be nice
Did you model the speaker as a bass reflex with two drivers and used the AMLTL method? I think you may just be missing a baffle step correction (BSC) circuit. That is a common thing that makes a speaker appear to have no bass. Especially a pair of drivers in parallel will have +6dB more sensitivity. If this is a 4ohm equivalent speaker, use a 0.5mH inductor (air coil) and about 6.7ohms in parallel as a starting point. Adjust the resistor to taste. Basically, you may need to attenuate the highs above about 800Hz by up to 5dB or 6dB to make the sound balanced to hear the bass.
I have no idea what you're saying. My skills are not even close to advanced enough to even follow your first sentence!
I used WinISD with the settings shown in the screenshots a couple posts up, if that helps any? I did use 2 drivers. I don't recall seeing any options for bass reflex (or any other type) or any methods. It just asked for sealed, vented, bandpass, etc.. is that the same? I chose vented.
The alignment was C4/SC4 (Sub-)Chebyshev...whatever that is.
I wired the drivers in series to run them at 16ohms, since I wasn't sure if whatever I'd be hooking these to would be able to safely drive a 4-ohm load.
Could that be the issue?
As for the BSC, I've seen that term tossed around on here, but never understood what it was or how one went about 'constructing a BSC circuit'. Sounds like something I may need to learn post-haste!
Accidental MLTL Technique
Try wiring in parallel. Your amp isn’t going to blow up as a test.
BSC is simply a high frequency shelf filter to EQ the loss of bass from having a narrow baffle. If you put one driver on the front and one diametrically on the back baffle, you won’t have baffle step loss because it becomes a bipole speaker.
Here is 4 driver bipole MLTL.
Tangband W3-881 MLTL build
Try wiring in parallel. Your amp isn’t going to blow up as a test.
BSC is simply a high frequency shelf filter to EQ the loss of bass from having a narrow baffle. If you put one driver on the front and one diametrically on the back baffle, you won’t have baffle step loss because it becomes a bipole speaker.
Here is 4 driver bipole MLTL.
Tangband W3-881 MLTL build
Thanks for the advice X!
Hmm, Sounds like I need to tear this thing apart and start over.
It took so long just to make this one, it hurts to think of dismantling it, but I guess that's part of the process.
Wouldn't swapping one driver to the rear lose much of the sound output, since one is now facing the wall?
If I decide to try the BSC method, is there a simple/cheap way to get air coils without ordering them online? They seem to be fairly expensive and/or take forever to come from China.
I saw a suggestion for something like these, would they work? However, I really would prefer not to wait so long for them. Any DIY option? We are on DIYA forums, after all... I have lots of CAT5 cable, that of any use?
Hmm, Sounds like I need to tear this thing apart and start over.
It took so long just to make this one, it hurts to think of dismantling it, but I guess that's part of the process.
Wouldn't swapping one driver to the rear lose much of the sound output, since one is now facing the wall?
If I decide to try the BSC method, is there a simple/cheap way to get air coils without ordering them online? They seem to be fairly expensive and/or take forever to come from China.
I saw a suggestion for something like these, would they work? However, I really would prefer not to wait so long for them. Any DIY option? We are on DIYA forums, after all...
I have lots of CAT5 cable, that of any use?
Actually, you will increase bass by 6dB and the sound will be more balanced. You have too much mids and highs with two of them facing you. Furthermore, having two makes it not a point source and you have interference in the vertical plane that causes dips and peaks depending on position of your ear relative to the speakers. It is counterintuitive but try it. The bass enahncement will be significant and sound like a totally new, better speaker. Do wire them in parallel though. You can simply cut a new hole on backside and move one driver. Fill in the open hole with a piece of fiam core. Try that first - quick and easy.
Cool. I wasn't able to get them aligned opposite, because of wiring issues and the fact that someone (me) put the dang panel in upside down!
As I'm sure is no surprise to you at all, it does sound a little better now, but still nowhere near as good as my Yamahas.
I do like the really clear vocals, which my Yamaha bookshelfs tend to flatten a little. I think a pair of these with a decent sub would be ok for someone looking for something cheap in a dorm or something.
I think I'll move on to my main build and hope that they turn out better.
As I'm sure is no surprise to you at all, it does sound a little better now, but still nowhere near as good as my Yamahas.
I do like the really clear vocals, which my Yamaha bookshelfs tend to flatten a little. I think a pair of these with a decent sub would be ok for someone looking for something cheap in a dorm or something.
I think I'll move on to my main build and hope that they turn out better.
Expanded polystyrene insulation board.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-C...ared-Edge-Insulation-Sheathing-52DD/202085962
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-C...ared-Edge-Insulation-Sheathing-52DD/202085962
