# Some Q's on full range speakers



## BoomieMCT

Other then Fostex, who makes a good full range speaker? I see some by Pioneer and Tang Band for sale but I want people's real experiences with them. I'd like to get some to experiment with but I need a starting point. Since this is for fooling around, I'd prefer to get something cheaper then a Fostex or Manger.


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## RAW

Have a look at the FR125S.
Put them in a .25cft cabinet and these will surprize you:holycow:


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## kano32

Check out www.zaphaudio.com

Zaph has a couple of full range driver's that he tested and used in small designs.


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## Bob in St. Louis

Hey Boom, we've chatted before about my toys so I may not be telling you anything new....
That being said, I've stopped searching for the perfect driver since I found these:

http://www.hawthorneaudio.com/drivers.htm

Bob


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## BoomieMCT

Bob in St. Louis said:


> Hey Boom, we've chatted before about my toys so I may not be telling you anything new....
> That being said, I've stopped searching for the perfect driver since I found these:
> 
> http://www.hawthorneaudio.com/drivers.htm
> 
> Bob


Those do look neat, but I'm not looking for the "perfect" speakers. I just have a hankering to play around with some full range ones because I never have before.


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## Bob in St. Louis

For the strick use of "playing with", maybe RadioShack :yikes: I've never messed (or even looked at) any of thier drivers, but I would think they'd be cheap enough to play with???
I've seen a few guys try them out, with the same intended use as you have, and they were pretty happy with them.
I would think it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway :bigsmile: ) We all know they aren't audiophile grade, but might be fun to play with none the less.

Bob


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## BoomieMCT

Bob in St. Louis said:


> For the strick use of "playing with", maybe RadioShack :yikes: I've never messed (or even looked at) any of thier drivers, but I would think they'd be cheap enough to play with???
> 
> Bob


Man, Bob. I thought we were friendly here. Radio Shack? :time-out: 

j/k

Right now I'm interested in trying out a set of these Tang Band 4"ers. Reviews I have read online seem to say they are good - not Fostex or Lowthier good, but they aren't $160 each either. I have heard they don't exhibit high end rise (a problem I had in some Hi-Vi tweeters) and since I'm trying to keep the network as simple as possible that appeals to me. Although I know I'd probably be wasting my money I am also kind of interested in these 1" full rangers - especially in something like a 3x3 series/parallel line array. I didn't find any full range drivers that I liked on MCM and I haven't checked Madiasound yet. I don't think any of the Radio Shacks near me sell drivers.


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## Bob in St. Louis

BoomieMCT said:


> Man, Bob. I thought we were friendly here. Radio Shack? :time-out:


I'm so ashamed.








I've heard good things about the Tang Bands, but have no experience with them.
R/S by me (it's been awhile since I saw them) sells/sold bare drivers. 6 and 8"ers and several types of tweets. At the time they seemed resonable. I won't push them on you anymore. I had only mentioned them since you were looking for something to play with, wasn't sure how much you wanted to spend.

Bob


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## BoomieMCT

I finished my Tang Band 4" full rangers. When Sony sends me my (fixed) digital camera I'll take pics of them and all my other projects that have been floating around. The quick synopsis is that I made 5 liter vented enclosures tuned to 64Hz. I'm *very* happy with the result. The performance I'm getting is very very close to what they modeled as and what Tang Band advertises. I think you'd be hard pressed to make better $40 speakers ($80/pair). Yeah they can only take 45 watts each but I have them hooked up to a 30 watt / channel PsAudio amp so that isn't a big deal to me. Given the extreme placement constraints of my living room they are a perfect fit.


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## sepi6

I made set of 5 speaker for surround use from 3" TangBang W3-871S full range elements. These are project pictures of them, they made from 12mm MDF and they are waiting for veneer finish.Reflex box tuned to 85Hz.
I'd say you need to have sub (with mid bass)..IMO not for main speakers, for computer speakers or surround back yes. I have 4" TangBang's for main speakers.










So how they sound ? clear , directional. response from 6" distance look a like this










They are small ( w5" h10" d6") and easy to put any ware in the room. There is only bi-polar capacitor to protect element, no crossover.
Not "absolutely hifi" but nice speakers for around 25USD/pcs.


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## jackfish

Pioneer B20FU20-51FW 8" full range driver

http://fullrangedriver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=16538

http://melhuish.org/audio/DIYBX16.html

http://www.passdiy.com/pdf/cs-amps-speakers.pdf

http://melhuish.org/audio/DIYBX8.html
I'm currently building a variation of the Quasi.Mo.D.O. with the Pioneer B20FU20-51FW 8" full range driver, a Motorola KSN-1005, and an L-Pad. The tuning frequency is 34 Hz and the piezo is crossed at 15kHz. The Pioneer will receive a phase plug (helps off-axis and upper midrange) and the piezo dammar on the cone and rope chalk on the sides and back.


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## BoomieMCT

Well, since I started this thread seven months ago I've had the chance to experiment with the Tangband W3-593SF, W4-656SC, W3-1364S, W1-1070, W4-1320 as well as the Hi-Vi B3N and something that looked just like an Aurasound NS3 but was being sold on Parts Express without a name in their clearance section (gone now).

I have to say that although each had their strengths and weaknesses I hadn't really been disappointed with any of them. I think the Tangband W4-1320 in a mass loaded transmission line did the best job all by itself. The Hi-Vi B3Ns got mated with some clearance 12" drivers and became a set of dipole speakers that I probably listen to more than any others. I have to agree that the Aurasound NS3's (if that is in fact what I have) have great bass response (for their size) but the treble is a bit brittle though.

When I get some time and money (no time soon) I'd like to play with those Vifas. I'd also like to try out CSS's FR125S. At $70 each they are a bit expensive just to screw around with.


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## BoomieMCT

DS-21 said:


> (There are also some "surplus" Aura 3" drivers floating around that cost less. They are worth far less, as well.)


What's the story on those?


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## BoomieMCT

DS-21 said:


> Don't know. They look an awful lot like drivers Aura used to use in their long-discontinued computer speaker line, but that's complete speculation.
> 
> The NS3's that you have are the lesser ones. Most of 'em have a paper cone and phase plug, though some had the inverted dome of the "better" NS3 as well. The ones that are ~$20 at Madisound (I think they've gone down a bit) have better motors, smoother and more extended treble more similar to the copper-cone HiVi driver, and I think 5x the xmax. (1mm for the surplus ones vs. 5mm for the better ones.)


Hmm, I think PE stated the xmax of the ones I used as 3mm. I've had pretty good experience with their products matching up to their stated specs (except once when the driver cutout was off - doh!). As I said before, they actually have pretty good bass for a 3" driver. I'm pretty certain they are moving more than 1 mm p-p. I made a RLC circuit for the surplus ones that took much of the brittleness out of the treble. I am interested enough I may have to get some of the $20 ones at some point and compare.

Question - do you get beaming with the treble on your 8" full rangers? If so, how do you fix it? I've noticed the difference in beaming between 3" and 4" and I've always wondered about anything larger.


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## ronbon

For Cheap drivers you could consider Goodwill. I have bought a few there. Look for ones in heavy boxes. I think those are usually better quality. Of course you won't really know what your getting. But, that's half the fun.

Still outside my box, Ron

Just bought a pair of KLH 283s for $40, two Onkio S-37s for $31, and two little Pioneer SB-ch10s for $17 All at various Goodwills in Santa Cruz Co. Ca.


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