# Tang Band 25-1166S 1" Neodymium Tweeter



## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

So I bought a pair of these tweeters to try out, since I also bought some of the Dayton RS125S-8s on sale from PE ($17! ea, but that's a subject of another review), and thought I might build a low cost set of mini speakers for my computer.

Turns out that these speakers may fit well in someone's car audio setup, so a review is in order.

First some pictures:

Simple packaging....









Rear view of the driver:









Front view with protective shipping cup installed:









View of the front, bare dome:









When I first received these drivers and started really looking at them (and I actually looked at the driver specs) I noticed a few things that could make these suitable in a car audio setup:

1) Small Size: I didn't think they were this small until I held one in my hand. I think they could be mounted relatively easily in many car audio installations. If you are brave enough to machine off the flange like chad did, the are not much bigger than a standard compact dome. Take a look at them compared to the Seas Neo compact dome:

























2) Damped Rear Chamber/Low fs: Resonant frequency is pretty low, (921Hz) so you could probably run these things below 2 KHz safely.

3) High Sensitivity (93dB, 2.83V/1m) w/4 ohm Impedance: though sensitivity isn't that important in a car, those who wish to play loud and best utilize their car amp's available power (or if you have a tiny tweeter amp) will be happy.

So unfortunately, I can't provide any measurements, but you can always go to Zaph Audio for that data. My review will just be my subjective evaluation of the tweeter after listening to it both with and without a crossover, in my home. My summary of observations:

+ Very laid back sound. This is esp. true at the top octaves; if you don't like tweeters with a strong top end, this one may suit.
+ Warm lower octaves, providing a very forward biased vocal presence. I found these tweeters to really bring out both male and female voices from music, making them sound closer to you than with most other tweeters.
+ Relatively high efficiency and ability to play loud. More efficient than the Seas Neos in the pics above, and these played plenty loud. Near field they played louder than I could stand listening to.
- Lack of detail on the top end. They don't play very high. Metal instruments such as cymbals fall into the background, and aren't very articulate either.
- "Damped" quality: well, this is the flip side of the (good) "laid back sound". I found that these tweeters didn't sound lively at all. Another word to descibe this is that they were somewhat dull in character.
- Unprotected dome not good for the car. If you choose to use them, be careful; there's no grill available for these.

So to sum things up: Honestly, I didn't really care for these tweeters, personally. They don't fit my tastes. I found classical music to lack all the precision and detail I expect in a musical performance. I think the Seas Neos at $10 more per driver are leaps and bounds better if you are looking for a more articulate and accurate sound. LPGs are also still a great option too.

On the other hand, I was impressed by the ability of these guys to play low without *that much* strain. I do realize that Zaph's measurents of harmonic distortion indicate these shouldn't be played very low, but I think many could get away with it and be plenty happy. In fact, people may find the warm, midrange presence (which I think is contributed to by some degree from distortion) to be quite pleasing. I say this because I played a variety of vocal music (both male and female, good and poor recordings, with the crossover turned off) and they did quite a decent job reaching down low and projecting. If you click the link to the mini-speaker project above, there are some reviews of that design, which may provide some further insight. All in all, I think these tweeters are pretty forgiving of bad recordings, and will always project voices out close to you. To me that says that if you primarily like rock & pop vocals, these tweeters are worth checking out for sure!


----------



## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

Thanks for the review....I picked up a set as well when on sale but haven't finished playing w/my HUGE NorthCreek D25s that I'm running in dash in my van (and still haven't gotten to the BG Neos yet)....

I'll still pop them in sometime but I prefer a tweet w/some top end extension and sparkle (and detail)...

Sounds like these aren't that but since I own them, we'll see I guess....perhaps mucho EQ at 16khz??  


Jeremy


----------



## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

Yeah, I hear ya. So many speakers, so little time! 

I've been interested in hearing the North Creek's too, but never got around to acquiring a set before they shut down.... This hobby can get expensive, even if the drivers are of relatively low cost!

In that light, the Tang Bands went back to PE this morning. I just received a set of Seas 22TAFGs too, and they will be going into the mini-monitors. Much better tweeter, IMO. Hearing these Seas tweets also makes me realize how good the Seas Neo compact dome is. I'm still pretty darn impressed with those!

Anyhow, have fun auditioning the Tangs! Yeah, you can definitely hear the 16 KHz peak, but surprisingly, I didn't find it too annoying due to the laid back nature of this driver. YMMV. After you hear them, let me know if you agree with my assessment! And for the $14 per I paid, I think they were a great bargain. But of course I still had to let them go....


----------



## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

It looks identical to the diyma tweeter at first glance.

-aaron


----------



## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

I didn't realize you could return products if you don't like them.....I've considered some of the Seas neo tweets that everyone's raved about (just watch those terminals!) but I've also been thinking of some of the Vifa XT19 and/or 25s....  

Jeremy


----------



## GRexer (Jul 18, 2005)

Now that u've mentioned, it does look a bit similar on the back


----------



## legend94 (Mar 15, 2006)

ArcL100 said:


> It looks identical to the diyma tweeter at first glance.
> 
> -aaron



when is the diyma tweeter coming out?


----------

