Tang Band W3-1878

[aarvin2]

Originally Posted by mondogenerator

I even prefer them to my Alpair 6 gen1.

May I know why please ?

[mondogenerator]

although the tangbands i have show a ~10db rise above 10khz, it is less audibly offensive than the broad peak centred around ~7khz that the A6 gen1 has. It requires a notch to be flat through 5k and to the upper limits of audibility. The W3 1285 does not. Since it also has no dome the radiation pattern is narrow above 10k in the TB, and a slight increase in toe in deals with the laser like last octave, and the rest of the lower HF is flat.

As far as value goes, the alpairs in general are very good value but the TBs are much easier to build for and listen to.

Also the lack of rear spider means you can literally rock the voice coil from one side of the magnetic gap to the other. As far as im concerned that makes them more susceptable to bell mode resonances. I havent tested to see if this occurs in actuality though.

[mattlong8]

Hey Aarvin,
I did some research and I think I have a solution for you:
Tangband W4-1337SA Price $67

Granted it's a 4" but this is what Zaph had to say:

"This is a very wide bandwith driver that could work as a small woofer, a dedicated midrange or even a full range driver provided a filter is used to tame the top end. This driver's breakup node above 10kHz does not propagate as harmonic distortion lower in frequency, meaning you can cross it over as high as you want. Harmonic distortion is merely average, but the smoothness of the response curve is class leading - a fair trade to many. This is a titanium cone, but it exhibits very "non-metal" behavior due to the thin, light cone with exponential profile. Generally good value and consistency. It has a underhung voice coil that is vented under the spider, a cast frame and great build quality all around. Tested June 2007."
Usability: Build Quality: Consistency: Value:
You can see his measured T/S here. Click on the w4-1337 and the t/s radio button.

-Matt

[aarvin2]

Hi Matt, the thing is that I am looking for a 3" speaker. The best, most neutral/transparent full range that I can get my hands on.

That's why i'm looking for people who've experienced the w3-1878

[xrk971]

If neutral 3 incher is what you are looking for, are you stuck with Tang Band? If staying with TB, the w3-315e is quite nice for much less cost. Almost as flat with slight bump at very high end which you can't hear anyway.

[aarvin2]

Originally Posted by xrk971

If neutral 3 incher is what you are looking for, are you stuck with Tang Band? If staying with TB, the w3-315e is quite nice for much less cost. Almost as flat with slight bump at very high end which you can't hear anyway.

Price is not a problem actually

Have you experienced both the w3-1878 and the w3-315e ??

By the way frequency graphs only tell 1/8 of the whole story.

The W3-1878 has great Qts, better construction materials, good BL etc

[xrk971]

Sadly, no I am only looking at specs and am shopping for 3 inch driver now too. Your points are well taken regarding construction, qts, Bl, etc. Plus, the 1878 looks really cool.

[mondogenerator]

lol the 1285 looks cooler! Its only downside in spec is the low Qts

[Melo theory]

W3-1878 FR curves | Audioheuristics

[Cross Reference]

Originally Posted by xrk971

Sadly, no I am only looking at specs and am shopping for 3 inch driver now too. Your points are well taken regarding construction, qts, Bl, etc. Plus, the 1878 looks really cool.

Out of all the 3 inch fullrange drivers I would take the Newer Fostex ff 85wk over the Tang Bands any day . They have everything I am looking for but, lowest bass. CR