Tangband supplier in UK / Importing Drivers

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Does anyone know of a supplier of Tangband in the UK? I've been trying to e-mail Parts Express to see if they'll ship to the UK but the e-mail keeps bouncing.

Actually, while I'm on the subject, has anyone shipped drivers from the US / Europe to the UK and had good / bad experiences? I'm fed up with Wilmslow Audio - in the last 3 orders they've supplied the wrong part twice, and not supplied all I ordered twice. Given that they're expensive compared to the US anyway, I can't help feeling that it'd be a lot less hassle to import from elsewhere as long as it doesn't end up too expensive in shipping + VAT.

All I want to do is make speakers, not wait around for weeks for parts to not arrive......
 
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Joined 2001
Here is the contact page for TangBand speakers. Since your frustration level appears to be high, you might try phoning them-oftentimes more satisfying than waiting for an Email from people.
http://www.tb-speaker.com/tbco.htm

There was a thread on finding a British source of drivers some time back. Some British DIYers have had satisfactory results ordering from the US. Maybe they can give some pointers.

Hint: Some DIYers over there say that the Audax line seems to be cheaper over there than in the US.
 
As of today there is no company over seas selling TB.
I know this as fact.
Parts Express, Creative Sound in Canada and Nuera are the only company's as of date selling the TB line.

On orders from over seas.
Well CSS just ordered the RCM PR'S and the RCM DMT 300 AMPS and delivery time from RCM to SEATTLE was 2 weeks.packages were lost!!normal air is only a few days.

Shipping was buy air but if you are wanting a better buy, ask for surface mail.
Takes longer but gets there at 1/16 the cost of AIR.

I have sent many orders to England,Germanyand if using surface post it takes almost 2 months time.

Hope this helps

Al
 
Redeye,
I don't know of any suppliers for Tangband in the UK (which is a shame), but importing from the US isn't all that expensive.

I imported two Peerless 831858 8" drivers from Madisound in November which cost $27.50 each - quite a bargin. Three day shipping by air came to $41 with VAT, duty and admin costs an additional £19. The drivers have steel baskets but are still quite heavy so the 3" & 4" TBs should cost much less.

The drivers arrived quick as well - ordered on Tuesday, arrived Friday!

Please let me know how much you get charged if you do order the TBs.

Nice one,
David.
 
David - It sounds like importing might be the way to go then - those shipping costs aren't too bad considering how much cheaper the drivers are in the first place. I was also considering this method for getting Vifa/Peerless drivers because Wilmslow have a limited range and they're very expensive compared to the US.

I'll let you know when I get around to buying the Tangbands - my active studio monitor project has been a little more successful than anticipated and several friends want a pair now, so the TB project might be a little delayed.

Thanks for all the help folks.
 
Hi,
I think I started a thread on this a while ago. It was going to work out to about £40 per TB speaker inc. delivery!!!

It turned out to far from practicle. "You win some, you lose some" when it comes to the location of suppliers. We have RS/Farnell - they have radio shack, madisound, parts express etc. Best place to move to is Canada! ;)

Gaz
 
Konnichiwa,

Redeye said:
Does anyone know of a supplier of Tangband in the UK? I've been trying to e-mail Parts Express to see if they'll ship to the UK but the e-mail keeps bouncing.

I recenetly got 70pcs of the Tangband 2" Magnesium Cone Neodymium Magnet Drivers (don't ask what for) directly from TB, around £2.50 each. TB wanted originally to send some free samples, but balked at the number... ;-)

Sayonara
 
Just to drag this UK thread into the current decade, as I'm now looking for somewhere to buy a driver. Tang Band have 2 European distributors listed on their website now - Blue Planet Acoustic in Germany and Axiomedia in Italy:

Distributor - TB SPEAKER CO., LTD.

Orders with these companies will come into the UK without customs charges or delays. This is in comparison to orders sent from outside the EU which, when they have a declared value of £15 or more will incur 20% VAT, possibly some duty and an £8+ handling charge from Royal Mail. If buying through eBay some US sellers offer postage through eBay's international shipping programme which allows you to prepay the VAT and avoid some customs delay and the RM fee.

I've found some other EU sellers here:

http://www.spectrumaudio.de/ (as mentioned a few posts back)
http://www.audiokit.it/
http://www.audioselection.it/

Postage seems to be about €10-€20
 
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