Anybody have experience with this driver...

[chrish]

The one in question is the Tang Band W4-657SH, the link is below. Being that school just ended for the semester I need to begin working on a pair of computer speakers for my brother as a gift and these looked like sexy little drivers. Was curious as I'm not sure if I really trust the specs put up by TB. Was thinking of mating them with some aura tweeters I have lying around in a mini mtm. Any info or suggestions is appreciated.

[Wolf]

> The one in question is the Tang Band
> W4-657SH, the link is below.

If the TB reference is good, it should be well-constructed. It has the same frame as the 1337SA titanium driver, 1320SD Bamboo, etc. Judging by the pictures, I think it's a larger than 1" VC, even though it's stated as such. I would think there'd be a breakup due to the aluminum cone, and a rolloff shy of 20kHz for certain. I don't know if anyone's measured them yet, but it is on my list to try in the "3CR" style cabs.
Later,
Wolf

[patrickm]

sorry to respond to an old thread, but the closeout sale got me thinking about this project. The 3CR project looked like an interesting one to start with, and at $17 per driver, i'd be interested in any impressions anyone had of the W4-657SH in that cabinet, and what a good budget filter would be. Granted, these won't turn out as well as the titanium drivers, but for a project that's intended as a low-cost gift, i think it still might be worthwhile. I ran some models in SW with traced response curves, and am considering the (tweaked) notch filter below to run with it.

Any suggestions on the filter or modifications to the cabinets based on this driver? I've never used it before, and heard it has more distortion than the 1337 Ti, but that seems like a reasonable tradeoff to get the parts cost down from $150 to about $60. I didn't particularly like the sight of the dip from 2k-4k, but I didnt see a straightforward way of fixing it without significant cost increases.

thanks.

[Wolf]

sorry to respond to an old thread, but the closeout sale got me thinking about this project. The 3CR project looked like an interesting one to start with, and at $17 per driver, i'd be interested in any impressions anyone had of the W4-657SH in that cabinet, and what a good budget filter would be. Granted, these won't turn out as well as the titanium drivers, but for a project that's intended as a low-cost gift, i think it still might be worthwhile. I ran some models in SW with traced response curves, and am considering the (tweaked) notch filter below to run with it.

Any suggestions on the filter or modifications to the cabinets based on this driver? I've never used it before, and heard it has more distortion than the 1337 Ti, but that seems like a reasonable tradeoff to get the parts cost down from $150 to about $60. I didn't particularly like the sight of the dip from 2k-4k, but I didnt see a straightforward way of fixing it without significant cost increases.

thanks.

I say give it a shot! You can always tweak it in a bit. Is the FR from TB? If it is, then you might be closer than you think anyway.
If you have any questions about the enclosures, just ask!
Wolf

[patrickm]

thanks for the quick response, i appreciate the advice from one of the experts. yes, the FRD and ZMA data i used were SPL-traced from the TB data sheets. if i get some more time and build a mic and jig for SW, i'll post some measurements, but that may have to wait until after thanksgiving.

i guess my only question about the enclosure would be whether anyone's found a good way to model it in SW. i think it's a clever idea, and wouldn't mind learning about the math behind it without doing too much of it long-hand. i could see a scenario where you estimate it by using the ports as "drivers", maybe with a physical offset to add delay, then add them all back together, but i'm not sure how accurate that could be without a lot of time spent accounting for filtering effects from the port, etc., and it might not be worth it vs. just trying it out.

I don't think the enclosures should be too tough of a task to build, but i do need to figure out a good color scheme. I personally liked the black & rosewood look, but these are a gift, and that may not fly... i may look into some gray or silver water-based stain and use real wood for the sides, and go silver & white.

[Wolf]

thanks for the quick response, i appreciate the advice from one of the experts. yes, the FRD and ZMA data i used were SPL-traced from the TB data sheets. if i get some more time and build a mic and jig for SW, i'll post some measurements, but that may have to wait until after thanksgiving.

i guess my only question about the enclosure would be whether anyone's found a good way to model it in SW. i think it's a clever idea, and wouldn't mind learning about the math behind it without doing too much of it long-hand. i could see a scenario where you estimate it by using the ports as "drivers", maybe with a physical offset to add delay, then add them all back together, but i'm not sure how accurate that could be without a lot of time spent accounting for filtering effects from the port, etc., and it might not be worth it vs. just trying it out.

I don't think the enclosures should be too tough of a task to build, but i do need to figure out a good color scheme. I personally liked the black & rosewood look, but these are a gift, and that may not fly... i may look into some gray or silver water-based stain and use real wood for the sides, and go silver & white.

Keep us posted, those should look nice that way!
Wolf

[patrickm]

Well, I finally got some time to finish these up, and just wanted to post a few pictures and say thanks for the help, and for the innovative design.

The white/silver set may still be on the way, but I decided to make the first set for my parents' new room, which has mainly black furtniture, and still tie them back to the walnut-cabinet stereo my dad built in the 70s. So I reversed the wood sides / MDF baffle idea, and went black with walnut accents. The "walnut" is actually pine with about 6 coats of minwax polyshades antique walnut on it, which sounds like more trouble than it was. Once you sand the first coat with steel wool, you can just keep painting over it with more stain every 4-6 hours.

Performance-wise, I'm still breaking them in, and i think the dip in the 2k-4k range is audible off-axis, but the bass is more than I've ever heard from a single 4" speaker. On axis, they sound great, given that I spent a grand total of about $34 per speaker/filter/terminal block/ports and used MDF and pine sitting around in my stockpile. I was a little concerned with the upper end when I clamped things together for a test run before staining and sealing (i knew the bass would improve), but a layer of weatherstripping around the back edges of the chambers made all the difference.

total punch list for parts:

driver
TB W4-657SH - $17 (on sale)

filter
.15 mH 20ga - $2.59
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=255-022
4uF poly capacitor - $2 http://www.parts-express.com/pe/psho...Number=027-421
20 ohm (low-inductance) resistor - $1.25
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...tnumber=004-20

misc
Binding posts - $3.50
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=260-303
PVC pipe & elbow from home depot - about $7

[dubbreak]

Those look great! Sounds like an awesome bang for the buck.

[Wolf]

Well, I finally got some time to finish these up, and just wanted to post a few pictures and say thanks for the help, and for the innovative design.

The white/silver set may still be on the way, but I decided to make the first set for my parents' new room, which has mainly black furtniture, and still tie them back to the walnut-cabinet stereo my dad built in the 70s. So I reversed the wood sides / MDF baffle idea, and went black with walnut accents. The "walnut" is actually pine with about 6 coats of minwax polyshades antique walnut on it, which sounds like more trouble than it was. Once you sand the first coat with steel wool, you can just keep painting over it with more stain every 4-6 hours.

Performance-wise, I'm still breaking them in, and i think the dip in the 2k-4k range is audible off-axis, but the bass is more than I've ever heard from a single 4" speaker. On axis, they sound great, given that I spent a grand total of about $34 per speaker/filter/terminal block/ports and used MDF and pine sitting around in my stockpile. I was a little concerned with the upper end when I clamped things together for a test run before staining and sealing (i knew the bass would improve), but a layer of weatherstripping around the back edges of the chambers made all the difference.

total punch list for parts:

driver
TB W4-657SH - $17 (on sale)

filter
.15 mH 20ga - $2.59
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=255-022
4uF poly capacitor - $2 http://www.parts-express.com/pe/psho...Number=027-421
20 ohm (low-inductance) resistor - $1.25
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...tnumber=004-20

misc
Binding posts - $3.50
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=260-303
PVC pipe & elbow from home depot - about $7

I actually had light fill in the lower chambers, and a wad in the top one. This may account for slightly strong bass you are hearing. I'm glad you like your rendition! I had planned on doing this eventually, and maybe the W4-1320SD as well.
You're welcome, and thanks for posting them!
Wolf

[patrickm]

yes, there's an R-13 insulation fill in all three chambers, i got lazy and it just wasn't in the photo. thanks again.