I'm just wondering if anyone has heard this driver before. I'm not planning on purchasing any time soon but I'm just really curious about it because I've read some good things and it has a surprisingly flat frequency response up to about 1khz according to TB themselves.
I was wondering on any opinions on if it would go well crossed at around 200hz for a fast. The main issue I see is the low sensitivity but if biamping I imagine this wouldn't be too bad.
Here's a link to tang bands website: W5-1138SM - 5" Paper Subwoofer - TB SPEAKER CO., LTD.
I was wondering on any opinions on if it would go well crossed at around 200hz for a fast. The main issue I see is the low sensitivity but if biamping I imagine this wouldn't be too bad.
Here's a link to tang bands website: W5-1138SM - 5" Paper Subwoofer - TB SPEAKER CO., LTD.
Do a forum search for posts of the model, there's quite a few to browse: https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/loudspeakers/
Hi, GM. Not sure if I'm missing something but I don't get many results and the results I get don't seem to say anything about how they actually sound. I was just hoping someone around here has heard them
Thanks for sharing that, I haven't actually seen that before. I think I've gathered the output will be enough but it's hard to find any comments on the actual fidelity of the drivers from a credible source. I think it'll have to be a gamble if I ever did decide to go with these, I think it'd just be fun to have small speakers that can put out a lot of bass. Maybe that's just me haha
FRFT,
The W5-1138SM is a sub-woofer; so I doubt you will get a lot info around the fidelity. As far as I know, measuring low frequency output is also tricky, as the room tends to domnate.
Typical info you will get is that how low can it go in terms of reproducing the lower frequencies, and how loud it can get without sounding distorted or running into issues.
Personally I played around with it's bigger brother the W6-1139, and found it working well in the 130-150 Hz XO I did with a wide-band driver. I am guessing that the smaller W5-1138 will be able to go higher, but will be more SPL limited and maybe will not go as low, as it is a smaller driver.
What mid-tweet are you planning to use with the sub-woofer?
The W5-1138SM is a sub-woofer; so I doubt you will get a lot info around the fidelity. As far as I know, measuring low frequency output is also tricky, as the room tends to domnate.
Typical info you will get is that how low can it go in terms of reproducing the lower frequencies, and how loud it can get without sounding distorted or running into issues.
Personally I played around with it's bigger brother the W6-1139, and found it working well in the 130-150 Hz XO I did with a wide-band driver. I am guessing that the smaller W5-1138 will be able to go higher, but will be more SPL limited and maybe will not go as low, as it is a smaller driver.
What mid-tweet are you planning to use with the sub-woofer?
Yes that is my concern really. I was just thinking that maybe because it's crossing so low it could be effective.
The 6" version seems to have a good response too but not quite as flat as the 5. There are also two versions of each, one with a ferrite magnet and one with a neo, the neo ones seem to be smoother.
I have a pair of alpair 7ms which I would be using as the mid/tweet but that would be later on in the year. At the moment I'm just pretty interested in the concept
Greets!
Understood; at a glance I saw a few, but this isn't the first time folks have come up 'short' for whatever reason. Still, always best to do a search and FWIW I often find more just using Google.
In theory per factory specs and accounting for its super large roll surround:
T/S max flat tuning [Fb] = [0.42*45*0.5^-0.96] = ~37 Hz
Max usable BW: [37*8pi] = ~930 Hz
XO = ~[37*930]^0.5 = ~185.5 Hz +/- 10%, so probably fine at 200 Hz.
you may want to look up the voxel sub. It uses that woofer and is amazing for it's size. I have built three of them and they always make me smile. I was listening to one last night with a pair of Woden Baby Labs Skyflash with CHN-70's and a PE 2.1 amp. Bass was tight and easy to integrate with the mains.
Thanks for doing the maths on that for me, it's appreciated 🙂
I have seen the sub, I was wondering what it really sounds like because all the compliments are mainly for its size. In your opinion, would would they be good enough for a two way?
I have not used the driver in that type of application so anything I think would only be a guess. When I first built the subs (two), they were connected to an amp with no crossover and tested with a small two way using a 4" woofer. Standing near I did not think they were working but when I went to the other side of the basement for a different interconnect, it was obvious they were working. So in that application they seemed to have few bad habits when played at their full range. It seems that it could work in your application.
What driver are you thinking of pairing them with? Maybe I could mock up something similar and give it a try.
What driver are you thinking of pairing them with? Maybe I could mock up something similar and give it a try.
I was going to pair them with the alpair 7ms I already own. There's no need to go through the effort unless it's no trouble, as I'm not 100% certain if or when I'll have the funds to do this, I'm hoping later this year
What I could do is pair the woofer with a Pulvia 7 HD in a testing baffle (foam board) and run some frequency sweeps with REW. For a crossover the easiest would be a mini dsp but i have been working with the bi amp 6-24 crossover and could get one set up at 200 Hz. Just need some caps. It will take some time but will also give me something to do. I have been curious about utilizing these subs more and your idea may be a winner.
The 7HD's are new and need to be played in for a while before testing. So again it may take a while, but I am interested in the outcome.
The 7HD's are new and need to be played in for a while before testing. So again it may take a while, but I am interested in the outcome.
That sounds great, please let me know how it goes when you do get round to it. I am in no rush either so it's not a problem at all. I really like the idea of being able to take advantage of the lower xo point by using a more heavy duty driver which would bring extra benefits for going for a FAST/WAW like this (being able to have more bass than a typical 2 way of the same size). Hopefully it comes up well. I take it you have the ferrite magnet version of the sub?
Yes ferrite magnets on all of them. Makes it easy to find that missing screw. Just look on the magnet.
Haha, that is a handy feature. One thing I noticed about the ferrite version is that the specs are ever so slightly different and the frequency response is not quite as flat, not sure how much of a difference it will make.
Not as much difference as your room.
FWIW, I had a pair of the 6"s in some 2-way boxes. I tried bi-amped and passive, with a Fostex FE126E covering the mid-high range. Crossover was in the 600Hz region.
The bass drivers sounded fine. Bit more harmonic distortion than a full-sized sub (ie, a slight "thickening" of the sound, which some people like), but not bad at all.
The one thing I'd note is that those drivers needed a rocket up them to get anywhere. To give you an idea, when I was running bi-amped I used a Behringer NU6000 for the bass. At "fun" levels, the -6dB lights lit up with every kick drum hit. That's around 500w per driver.
The 5" will probably be fine with 200w-ish.
NB - Yes, I know those numbers are above the long-term thermal ratings. Since the power is delivered for relatively short periods, heating isn't such a big issue. Playing dubstep with sustained tones would be problematic.
Chris
FWIW, I had a pair of the 6"s in some 2-way boxes. I tried bi-amped and passive, with a Fostex FE126E covering the mid-high range. Crossover was in the 600Hz region.
The bass drivers sounded fine. Bit more harmonic distortion than a full-sized sub (ie, a slight "thickening" of the sound, which some people like), but not bad at all.
The one thing I'd note is that those drivers needed a rocket up them to get anywhere. To give you an idea, when I was running bi-amped I used a Behringer NU6000 for the bass. At "fun" levels, the -6dB lights lit up with every kick drum hit. That's around 500w per driver.
The 5" will probably be fine with 200w-ish.
NB - Yes, I know those numbers are above the long-term thermal ratings. Since the power is delivered for relatively short periods, heating isn't such a big issue. Playing dubstep with sustained tones would be problematic.
Chris
Thanks for your input, Chris. What sort of distance were you listening at to be cranking that much power? I thought they would be good for normal sort of listening levels without too much power. So you are saying the bass is a bit more "blurry" sub sounding than a normal midbass driver?
Did you end up decomissioning these speakers in the end then?
Did you end up decomissioning these speakers in the end then?
The listening distance was a few metres, in a large-ish room. Cone excursion was clearly visible from the listening position.
It's difficult to describe the sound quality beyond "a bit of harmonic distortion". Slightly muddy, perhaps, but bear in mind that this is in comparison to big (and fairly expensive) sub drivers. For the size of them, how much bass they put out, etc, these are really cool little drivers and I think you'll have a lot of fun playing with them.
If I was putting together a lounge-friendly system, a mini-sub and a small wide-range unit per side would be a nice way of getting a big sound from a couple of smallish boxes.
I decommissioned those speakers because I didn't like the Fostex drivers, and couldn't find another driver that fit the same cutout. The TB 6"s are on a shelf for now. I have a pair of 10" PRs somewhere, so might do something with that lot. Perhaps a 30Hz-20kHz boombox.
For what it's worth, these: Sub120_vHP-F | .Kartesian
Are a good attempt at a compact subwoofer. They're more like 4" than 5", but have high-tech motors and suspension which makes them surprisingly HiFi, even when you can see the cones moving.
I've got a pair of those and a pair of SB65s in some test boxes at the mo.
Chris
It's difficult to describe the sound quality beyond "a bit of harmonic distortion". Slightly muddy, perhaps, but bear in mind that this is in comparison to big (and fairly expensive) sub drivers. For the size of them, how much bass they put out, etc, these are really cool little drivers and I think you'll have a lot of fun playing with them.
If I was putting together a lounge-friendly system, a mini-sub and a small wide-range unit per side would be a nice way of getting a big sound from a couple of smallish boxes.
I decommissioned those speakers because I didn't like the Fostex drivers, and couldn't find another driver that fit the same cutout. The TB 6"s are on a shelf for now. I have a pair of 10" PRs somewhere, so might do something with that lot. Perhaps a 30Hz-20kHz boombox.
For what it's worth, these: Sub120_vHP-F | .Kartesian
Are a good attempt at a compact subwoofer. They're more like 4" than 5", but have high-tech motors and suspension which makes them surprisingly HiFi, even when you can see the cones moving.
I've got a pair of those and a pair of SB65s in some test boxes at the mo.
Chris