I have tried a few Tang-Band 4 inchers recently and thought they interesting, but I couldn't really take them seriously. Maybe that's why I have not sprung for Fostex yet, even after seeing the interesting designs coming out around here. I just always figured that they could never really replace a good 2-way, especially in the bass and high end.
But I had this surplus box that was just the right size for two W4-656S fullrangers in a typical vented box. It was all black, and made for smaller drivers, so I cut up the front some and mounted a 19" long piece of 1x6 pine. With some stain and polyurethane, it looked nice and actually kinda matched the PPM cones. One driver was mounted near each end of baffle, sharing the same box space with a single vent in back to take it down to at least 70 Hz.
I figured it might be good enough to use with the TV. The rising high end lead me to believe that just using a 1.3mH air-core coil in series with the driver might work good enough for my tastes. I hooked it up, checked the vent tuning and listened some... nice!
Over the last week or two, I tried it in different situations and then tonight, I hooked it up to my main system and just sat down with some of my favorite acoustical music. This has been one of my most pleasant listening experiences.... ever.
Granted, the bass was not as extended as the big speakers. The high end clarity was maybe not as impressive, but I didn't really notice the loss, it was not sibilant at all, and seemed quite clean.
In fact, the entire midrange seemed less strained, more natural than I can ever recall. It was especially noticed on voices, which the human ear is very atuned to. In fact, over-dubbing of voices are much more easily seperated.
For the small baffle, there seemed to be no loss of lower midrange or upper bass, it was a very full bodied sound. They did not sound at all like small speakers. I don't know if you can tell, but I'm still having trouble believing all this. It's like everything I knew was wrong. Twenty Dollar drivers in a mini-box just blew everything away.
Dang it! You people must have hypnotized me or something....
But I had this surplus box that was just the right size for two W4-656S fullrangers in a typical vented box. It was all black, and made for smaller drivers, so I cut up the front some and mounted a 19" long piece of 1x6 pine. With some stain and polyurethane, it looked nice and actually kinda matched the PPM cones. One driver was mounted near each end of baffle, sharing the same box space with a single vent in back to take it down to at least 70 Hz.
I figured it might be good enough to use with the TV. The rising high end lead me to believe that just using a 1.3mH air-core coil in series with the driver might work good enough for my tastes. I hooked it up, checked the vent tuning and listened some... nice!
Over the last week or two, I tried it in different situations and then tonight, I hooked it up to my main system and just sat down with some of my favorite acoustical music. This has been one of my most pleasant listening experiences.... ever.
Granted, the bass was not as extended as the big speakers. The high end clarity was maybe not as impressive, but I didn't really notice the loss, it was not sibilant at all, and seemed quite clean.
In fact, the entire midrange seemed less strained, more natural than I can ever recall. It was especially noticed on voices, which the human ear is very atuned to. In fact, over-dubbing of voices are much more easily seperated.
For the small baffle, there seemed to be no loss of lower midrange or upper bass, it was a very full bodied sound. They did not sound at all like small speakers. I don't know if you can tell, but I'm still having trouble believing all this. It's like everything I knew was wrong. Twenty Dollar drivers in a mini-box just blew everything away.
Dang it! You people must have hypnotized me or something....
I'm using a $20 driver sold buy a guy who had a bunch of 'em made to his specs. It looks to work very nicely, and I'll have my speakers for them (PAWO horns, check 'em out at http://www.audio-resolution.com/zhorn/fr125s.html)
done within a few days.
As an added bonus, the PAWOs can be built out of $25 worth of laminated-hardwood plywood - a single 4-by-8-sheet. Heck, I've even mapped it out so that you can get Home Depot to cut the parts for you - just clamp and glue.
done within a few days.
As an added bonus, the PAWOs can be built out of $25 worth of laminated-hardwood plywood - a single 4-by-8-sheet. Heck, I've even mapped it out so that you can get Home Depot to cut the parts for you - just clamp and glue.
Sorry, can't do picture at the moment, but I hope to change that soon.
I had not seen the PAWO page before.... that's interesting!
I have not tried a 3" driver yet, just 4" (to get some bass). At the time, the options were the 656 or 654 (in 4"). Tried both, then settled on the 656. Since buying those, they have many more options I see! Maybe I should consider the 871??
Anyone have ideas about how these compare to other inexpensive drivers (including Fostex)?
I had not seen the PAWO page before.... that's interesting!
I have not tried a 3" driver yet, just 4" (to get some bass). At the time, the options were the 656 or 654 (in 4"). Tried both, then settled on the 656. Since buying those, they have many more options I see! Maybe I should consider the 871??
Anyone have ideas about how these compare to other inexpensive drivers (including Fostex)?
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