Tad th4001/4001 + 1601 x 2

[Shamrock]

Here's my current project-->

Picked up these big studio mains by George Augspurger. Originally they were loaded with one of his big horns, a TAD compression driver, and 2 TAD 1601's. Not sure about the tuning.

These things are pretty well built; 1 to 1.5 inch panels of high grade plywood, and ample 2X4 bracing throughout. They got beat up in the warehouse where they were discovered, so I have started the process of filling and sanding.

Since these cabs were optimized for twin 1601's, I thought a TAD 2401 type monitor was in order..but with a few inevitable twists. I have a pair of those pretty TH4001 clones Thomas (AKA Diy_HK) sells on eBay, a pair of TAD 4001 compression drivers, and two pairs of TAD (pioneer Exclusive) EL403's which are the early domestic version of the 1601. It's a lot of AlniCo!

I'll keep updating this thread as I go along- posting plenty of pictures.

[Shamrock]

One of the challenges I faced early on was getting the TH4001horn to sit properly on the baffle, but I have it all sorted. There is a secondary baffle that overlays the area where there is currently no paint. It's a classic horn monitor trait as it serves to get the two drivers to "line-up" closer so I am told. That second baffle will be 1 inch so that it comes flush with the outer panels of the cabinet. I had to compensate for the "missing" 1 inch so that the TH4001 horn can sit flush. You are now seeing the cab without the overlay- which I will do tomorrow (weather permitting). There will be a grill to cover the 2X15 area.

The plan is to finish these in Dura-Tex or some other textured finish. Black is the color. The grill will be covered with NOS cloth for vintage JBL's. The color is "camel" as found on the beautiful L300's among others. I have been saving this roll of cloth for something special and I think this is it.

Here's a shot straight on --->

[Shamrock]

Here are the 4001's that will be gracing these big ugly cabs:

[Shamrock]

Here is a picture of an EL403 badge; It looks very much like the TAD badges, but these are green instead of blue. These drivers have factory 1601 cone kits. Four matched drivers like this one will load the cabs.

[Charles Hansen]

The 4001's get pretty ragged above 10 kHz. Even with the beryllium, it's just not possible to get smooth response that high with a 4" dome. Do yourself a favor and add a pair of the TAD 703 super tweeters. You can cross them over anywhere between 5 kHz and 10 kHz -- I'd suggest 7 kHz or so. The resulting sound will be much sweeter and less fatiguing. This is what JBL did with their recent "super" speakers for the Japanese market. I've heard them and they are outstanding. I think yours will be even better if you can afford a pair of the 703's.

[Shamrock]

Originally Posted by Charles Hansen

The 4001's get pretty ragged above 10 kHz. Even with the beryllium, it's just not possible to get smooth response that high with a 4" dome. Do yourself a favor and add a pair of the TAD 703 super tweeters. You can cross them over anywhere between 5 kHz and 10 kHz -- I'd suggest 7 kHz or so. The resulting sound will be much sweeter and less fatiguing. This is what JBL did with their recent "super" speakers for the Japanese market. I've heard them and they are outstanding. I think yours will be even better if you can afford a pair of the 703's.

Hi Charles,

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate what you're saying- I really do. It's something I might consider down the road...

At this point I'm focused on getting these things fired up and listening to them before I get to concerned with adding a tweeter. If they sound good to these ears, I won't let their ragged response bother me too much. If something is lacking or rough, then I will certainly do something. I might try 4002's or even 4003's before adding a tweeter because I like the simplicity of a good two way. If I do add a tweeter, the ET703 has a lot of competition...many choices, there.

Thanks!
Resident Mick.

[pos]

Nice!!
Are you going to run these active?

Originally Posted by Shamrock

If I do add a tweeter, the ET703 has a lot of competition...many choices, there.

what tweeters are you thinking about?

[Charles Hansen]

Originally Posted by Shamrock

At this point I'm focused on getting these things fired up and listening to them before I get to concerned with adding a tweeter. If they sound good to these ears, I won't let their ragged response bother me too much.

That's definitely a good plan! You've got some good speakers on your hands!

Originally Posted by Shamrock

I might try 4002's or even 4003's before adding a tweeter because I like the simplicity of a good two way.

If you want to stick with a two-way, the best route would be to use the TAD 2001 tweeters. There is no way that any 4" dome is going to go past 8 or 10 kHz smoothly, even with the beryllium dome. The 2001 uses a 1.75" beryllium dome and it will barely reach 20 kHz without breaking up. The tradeoff there is that it won't go much below 1.5 kHz on the bottom end and again it is hard to make a two-way speaker.

Originally Posted by Shamrock

If I do add a tweeter, the ET703 has a lot of competition...many choices, there.

I suppose, but those TAD's are pretty special. They have a 1" beryllium dome that will go all the way out to 40 kHz without breaking up. I don't know of many super-tweeters that can compete with the TAD's. Plus you would still have an all TAD system.

The only one that was comparable was the TAD beryllium ribbons, but those have been discontinued for several years now.

My recommendation is get them up and running. Then when you get the urge, add the 703's (or the beryllium ribbons if you can find a pair on eBay). I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the improvement. At that point you will have speakers that compete against the $30,000 and $60,000 JBL "super" speakers.

Happy listening!

[Shamrock]

Originally Posted by pos

Nice!!
Are you going to run these active?

Thank you. Yes, I'll run these active with a BSS FDS-310 for starters and go from there.

Originally Posted by pos

what tweeters are you thinking about?

Well, I wasn't really thinking about tweeters...but those Pioneer Be ribbons are pretty cool.

[Shamrock]

Originally Posted by Charles Hansen

That's definitely a good plan! You've got some good speakers on your hands!

Thank you.

You should have heard all the stuff I had to say to my wife to get these...

Originally Posted by Charles Hansen

If you want to stick with a two-way, the best route would be to use the TAD 2001 tweeters. There is no way that any 4" dome is going to go past 8 or 10 kHz smoothly, even with the beryllium dome. The 2001 uses a 1.75" beryllium dome and it will barely reach 20 kHz without breaking up.

I don't know....I've read the specs, and I've had a couple of friends go first hand down that road and they didn't exactly think the 2001 was anywhere near the 4001 at any frequency. I know I'm about to find out for myself pretty soon, though.

The tradeoff there is that it won't go much below 1.5 kHz on the bottom end and again it is hard to make a two-way speaker.

Exactly. I think the real beauty of using a large format like this is that it can sweep the whole vocal range and play with weight and authority all the way down to 500Hz without breaking a sweat. If high frequency augmentation is needed it's easy to add. Pretty hard to add good midbass/lower midrange to a 2001.

Happy listening!

Thank you.