# Walmart Ribbon Tweeters... I had to try them!



## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

I picked up pair of these while out at Wal-Mart. For $50, I simply had to find out what they are capable (or incapable) of. I'm going to try to get them installed in my car ASAP. 

You know what's great about working with these things? IF they suck or not serve their purpose very well, they are returnable as easily as anything else Wal-Mart sells. 

Anyway, here's some pics of the little bastards:


































































So there you go. 

I'll power them up and test them later, and post up how it all goes.


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## MarkZ (Dec 5, 2005)

I'm a little shocked they even carry something so nice.

They could completely suck...when I say "nice", I mean at least they don't hang on a peg hook.

Looking forward to see how it turns out.


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## bassfromspace (Jun 28, 2016)

So they come with their own x-overs?


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## thephallicphantom (Jan 11, 2009)

interesting


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Looks like a fun project to me.....


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

I'm watching. Curious.


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## James Bang (Jul 25, 2007)

sweet. lol, they come with high quality HAT-like push terminals


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

James Bang said:


> sweet. lol, they come with high quality HAT-like push terminals


You noticed ... Ha Ha 

He outdid you > So they come with their own x-overs? 

Ha ha


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## 92blacktt (Dec 18, 2008)

damn...we need results ASAP! lol

any idea on who manufactured them?


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

It says VR^3 Virtual Reality Sound Engineering

And yes, I plan to test them tomorrow. I'll probably forgo their crossover and run them off my PPI DCX 300.4 actively controlled from my RF 3sixty.2. I'll take notes on my settings and what I hear sonically. I think it'll be fun!

All for you guys, of course


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## j2slk (Feb 22, 2009)

It would be interesting to know how well these actually work...


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## SQfreak (Feb 13, 2007)

I'm sure this has been posted before but...

http://roadmasterusa.com/manuals/VRT18_eng.pdf 


Oh and if you read it, is say it has an induction transformer so, no clue that the ribbon impedance is..could be pretty low.


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## el_chupo_ (May 27, 2007)

Love the manual. 

FAQ section:

One of my ribbons isnt working, what do I do?

Why would 1/2 of a product not working be a FAQ?

Should be good


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## michaelsil1 (May 24, 2007)

Anxiously waiting.


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## drtool (Nov 26, 2007)

Looks like the xover cost more then the driver.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

After looking at the company website they have a few amps that are very interesting. Yes they look like they are made of cheap plastic, but the price and watts seem tempting for someone to try. 

VRA 4.0 D = 50w X [email protected]Ω for $180
VRA 2.0i = 100w x [email protected]Ω for $100


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## 92blacktt (Dec 18, 2008)

elvisjer said:


> After looking at the company website they have a few amps that are very interesting. Yes they look like they are made of cheap plastic, but the price and watts seem tempting for someone to try.
> 
> VRA 4.0 D = 50w X [email protected]Ω for $180
> VRA 2.0i = 100w x [email protected]Ω for $100


whats the point of trying these amps? u can get ED amps for around this price and they will put out more power!


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## Jtejedor (Dec 19, 2008)

Back in the day I used a V3 cap. The cheap hardware that came with it never really secured the wire so when I went over a bump I would get a very nasty spike through all the speakers. Good thing walmrt takes back like anything. Very interested in these are they $50? For that price might just buy a pair to mess around with.


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## SQ_Blaze (Sep 29, 2008)

The joys of DIY audio... This is what it's all about!

It will be cool if they are usable and actually provide some quality sound.


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

I love the stand up brackets...


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Glad to see the true spirit of this forum coming back.


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## W8 a minute (Aug 16, 2007)

Oh please tell me they have little LED's that flash to the beat of the music.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Ok, I just finished up a testing session with them. I threw out of my mind the fact that they were from Wal-Mart, and focused entirely on the sound quality aspects of them. And you know what? They are AMAZING!

I had a large disadvantage going into the test. My RF3sixty.2 was inaccessible for tuning purposes because RF's site is down, and my new laptop didn't have the RF software I needed to get into it. So, I had to use my pre-tuned setup. This was at 2500hz, 24dB/oct, with 6" time delay on the left, and a smooth dropoff at the upper frequencies to tame the tweeter harshness found in my metal dome tweeters at flat levels. Just a dB per 1/4 octave, nothing crazy. So, forgive me for not being able to fine-tune them, but I felt it was a fairly accurate setting for the average DIY'er w/ a processor.



















Because it was a rough test, I threw in NIN, Tensta, Rob Zombie, Deftones, Bring Me the Horizon, and a few trance CD's I covet (Armin's stuff, and some other goodies from a few no-names.) I had my wife sit in and directly compare the tweeters and tell me her thoughts too.

These things has no trouble making a literal WALL of sound right across my dashboard. The tonality was perfectly clear, there was no harshness (though I would have loved to access my processor and tweak them just a tad), and they really made me smile ridiculously. 

They are very critical and as such they can be almost too clear. Rock music is very sharp and needed a bit of simple head unit "treble down a tad" work, but overall they are some of the most amazing little bastards I've heard. I fiddled with different places to put them, but the place you see them in the pics is where I was most happy. They did work on the door as well, but there was less of an airy feeling about them, and they had some coloration due to reflections and funny positioning I think. 

With Rap and trance vocals, as well as Trent Reznor's stuff, these really shined. The weather started turning foul so I wrapped it all up and returned back to my regular tweeters, but there is certainly a difference between these and my metal tweets. The difference could be described as unveiling of the music to a small degree. 

IMO, for $50 easily returnable bucks, you can't go wrong in at least testing these boys out. I am going to keep my set and install them in that project car you see in the pics. That is my gutted and really rough 1977 Capri I bought for near nothing. That car will be getting a 3 way up front, and subs in the excuse for a trunk. Now I have my tweeter! I think if you were going to install these properly, you'd have to consider making a flush mount and use the lip provided on the enclosure of the ribbon's front face. That's what I think I'll be doing with them, probably in the kicks of my Capri one day.


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

What did you run before? What section of Wally world do I head to?


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

Sweet!!! I might have to see if the store here has them, I can hide ribbons behind my door panels.

Any comments on off axis response? Or do you think it was more reflections that changed the sound?

Thanks for the review.

Actually it seems hard to find VR3 stuff cheap as it is. I looked the other day and could not find the amps. The one is a class D full range, maybe an ICE amp not sure.


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## bigabe (May 1, 2007)

Ribbons don't typically do well too far off axis.... you might wanna be careful putting them in doors. I've never really heard of anybody doing it.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Mless5 said:


> What did you run before? What section of Wally world do I head to?


The comparison was created off an alloy-dome tweeter from Canton. 

I trotted over the car audio section, and they had a huge stash of these things along with other VR3 products. IMO, they are worth your time to at least audition.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

sqshoestring said:


> Sweet!!! I might have to see if the store here has them, I can hide ribbons behind my door panels.
> 
> Any comments on off axis response? Or do you think it was more reflections that changed the sound?
> 
> ...



Off axis wasn't a problem for actual output, but the excessive reflections definitely colored the sound. FYI the ribbon's mouth shape tells me that they have excellent horizontal axis response, but not so hot vertical response. So, I'd mount them more like I had mine in testing, or perhaps angled from the kickpanel area if you have a car that works that way.


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## King Nothing (Oct 10, 2005)

What about mounting them wider like in the sail panels instead of at the A pillars? What are the measurements on them, Length, width, and depth if you dont mind


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## brownmoses (Jul 23, 2008)

YouTube - VR3 Elite Ribbon Tweeters 150 Watts
this guy likes them i bet. get ready for a laugh when you see where they are.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

King Nothing said:


> What about mounting them wider like in the sail panels instead of at the A pillars? What are the measurements on them, Length, width, and depth if you dont mind



I don't have sails big enough to work but I played with areas around there and wasn't as pleased as the spot I took a pic of.

I just measured them for you:

3/4" deep

1 7/8" width

2 7/8" length


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

For basically the same price sans the killer x-over, fyi: Parts Express:Beston RT001A Ribbon Tweeter


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

Looking at the amplifier manual is funny

*Tools needed for installation*
• Nail Set/Center Punch
• Phillips Screwdriver
• Safety Glasses
• Marker/Pen
*• Hammer*
• Wire Cutter
• Electrical Tape
• Electric Drill with 1/16" bit


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## ca90ss (Jul 2, 2005)

AAAAAAA said:


> Looking at the amplifier manual is funny
> 
> *Tools needed for installation*
> • Nail Set/Center Punch
> ...


What's wrong with the hammer? How else are you supposed to use the center punch?


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

^Nothing wrong with it, to me, it's the only required item out of that list


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## King Nothing (Oct 10, 2005)

fourthmeal said:


> I don't have sails big enough to work but I played with areas around there and wasn't as pleased as the spot I took a pic of.
> 
> I just measured them for you:
> 
> ...


Sweet, a little but smaller than they look in your pics. thanks


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

ca90ss said:


> What's wrong with the hammer? How else are you supposed to use the center punch?


I just push my center punch and BAM, a detent.


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## ca90ss (Jul 2, 2005)

chad said:


> I just push my center punch and BAM, a detent.


Spring loaded?


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

hells yeah, the only way to go! Just buy one, you will use it more than you think!


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## smgreen20 (Oct 13, 2006)

I'd use mine on my wife when she asks "Make it hurt!"


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

fourthmeal said:


> Off axis wasn't a problem for actual output, but the excessive reflections definitely colored the sound. FYI the ribbon's mouth shape tells me that they have excellent horizontal axis response, but not so hot vertical response. So, I'd mount them more like I had mine in testing, or perhaps angled from the kickpanel area if you have a car that works that way.


I might be able to do kicks, but prefer hidden. I can angle them some, current 1" domes are on brackets and aimed close to opposite passenger's shoulder was about far as I could get. These might be thinner and angle more.

A hammer, lol, do they tell you to watch out for the gas tank behind where you are drilling?


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## Grim0013 (Nov 4, 2008)

FoxPro5 said:


> For basically the same price sans the killer x-over, fyi: Parts Express:Beston RT001A Ribbon Tweeter


_The RT001A is perfect for compact 2-way and 3- or 4-way designs_

Not leaving anyone out, are they?


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## W8 a minute (Aug 16, 2007)

Aww crap..I guess I'll be spending 50 bucks tomorrow.


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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

W8 a minute said:


> Aww crap..I guess I'll be spending 50 bucks tomorrow.


That's if you can find them. Nothing on their website and I've been to 2 WalMarts - no luck.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Why oh why must there not be a Walmart in Seattle?! They are all on the outskirts that with traffic makes them seem states away!


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

I have no problem sending these babies out to a tester who has the tools and procedures to validate their performance. At that point I can go out and purchase these by the bulk (as many as i can afford to pop for) and you guys can pay me if you want. 

But I think we should validate them first.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Id be more than willing to test, I have an RTA setup and some good software, but if anyone else had better equipment thats totally fine with me.


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## SQfreak (Feb 13, 2007)

RMAT and I just stopped by a local Wally World and I grabbed me a set. I will be trying these out this weekend too with my CDT es-05 mids. Pretty excited about it!


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## ocuriel (Oct 7, 2005)

They look promising. Are they 4 ohms?


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## nubz69 (Aug 27, 2005)

Would you be willing to test these out again but place them on the floor in the kick panel area? I have been planing on leaving my new truck stock but at $50 a pair with crossovers it may just be worthwhile for me to disconnect my door tweets and put these in my kick panels.

Is it possible for these to be klippel tested? I am curious if these are the new "t-amp" of the tweeter world.


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## Ziggy (Nov 29, 2007)

chad said:


> I just push my center punch and BAM, a *detent*.


I didn't know... So Wiki education:blush:: Detent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## chargedtaco (Feb 27, 2008)

Nice.....hehe.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

nubz69 said:


> Would you be willing to test these out again but place them on the floor in the kick panel area? I have been planing on leaving my new truck stock but at $50 a pair with crossovers it may just be worthwhile for me to disconnect my door tweets and put these in my kick panels.
> 
> Is it possible for these to be klippel tested? I am curious if these are the new "t-amp" of the tweeter world.


 
My truck doesn't have any room for kickpanel or floor mounting, so I can't judge that. I packed them up and have them ready for their next adventure, whatever that may be. The crossover is a weak 12dB/oct, @ 3kHz style, so you might want consider running active.


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## nubz69 (Aug 27, 2005)

well if you get bored and need something to do it would be awesome for you to just toss them in their brackets on the floor and tell us how it turns out. If not I guess I will have to wait until someone else does 

Wish I could go active again but since my last install was stolen I don't have the equipment or the money to do so.


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

nubz69 said:


> well if you get bored and need something to do it would be awesome for you to just toss them in their brackets on the floor and tell us how it turns out. If not I guess I will have to wait until someone else does


Or you can buy them and try it yourself. If you dont like them you can return them to Wal-Mart or sell them here and probably only be out a few bucks


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## nubz69 (Aug 27, 2005)

I was thinking about that but wanted a bit more info before I bought anything. I also don't have the tools or materials to do a proper install where I am currently living so if I did buy them and wanted to install them to see how they sounded I would have to beg/borrow/steal just to put them in.


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Agh i need to get a pair then i'll try them out wherever you guys want since im such a nice guy  Ill try and head to walmart tomorrow if possible.


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## Stealthsounds (Feb 9, 2009)

Walmart ! I love that place

we use to be real bad many years ago when we visited. We would buy what we want and then return it that day. They have a policy of returned stuff been sold cheaper etc. This stuff is put in large bins and sold cheap Then after about 30 mins my friend would buy it back from walmart saving me about 30%


God bless them !


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

brownmoses said:


> YouTube - VR3 Elite Ribbon Tweeters 150 Watts
> this guy likes them i bet. get ready for a laugh when you see where they are.


 
Why is it that almost EVERY time you see someone trying to do a "video demo" online, they are doing it to some horrible rap stuff?? I mean there is some really GOOD rap out there and they pick the crappyest crap out there??? LOL (it's retorical)


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

On topic, these might be a great way to "open up" my horns, should I need it...


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Ziggy said:


> I didn't know... So Wiki education:blush:: Detent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Wiki this, I have a spring loaded device that when you place it on the surface to be drilled and push down it makes a pecker pock, this pecker pock keeps the bit from walking when you begin drilling the surface 

In a way, in it's application, it is kind of a detent... because it resists the rotating drill from walking all over hell and back


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## falkenbd (Aug 16, 2008)

How much power did you put on them?

We need to get these to the klippel (sp?) machine


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## Hispls (Mar 12, 2008)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Why is it that almost EVERY time you see someone trying to do a "video demo" online, they are doing it to some horrible rap stuff?? I mean there is some really GOOD rap out there and they pick the crappyest crap out there??? LOL (it's retorical)



Too true, and one of life's great mysteries.


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## rockinridgeline (Feb 2, 2009)

WTT: My Dynaudio MD100's for Wallyworld ribbons....

or a pecker pock-er. First come first serve.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

Punch?
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

I hardly ever drill holes in a car, and especially for an amp since I've never mounted one on metal. But for steel a punch is essential, though you can improvise with a small phillips/etc if you need to. Problem with a car is its often thin sheetmetal, and a screw holds better if you don't drill it. Unless I hit a thick area I never do, and then I often grab a self-drilling screw for that.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Well my DCX 300.4 is plenty powerful, but I suspect I was only using a few watts to power them.

I always laugh my ass off when people say "I got 100w to my tweeters!" No you don't. You may have that much power available but your tweeters aren't requiring it, ...and really neither are your speakers. If wattage doubles for every 3dB, and double the volume (10dB) requires 10 times the wattage, that means that you are likely only using ~10-20W to your speakers 95% of the time. The tweeters (especially designs like this) take 1/2 that or so for most apps.

*These are generalizations and there will always be exceptions to the rule. For the most part however you don't need much power to drive the volume you want*


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

^^^ I can't remember the install now, it's 10yrs old (it was in a magizine), but I saw one where they had a HUGE PPI "surfboard" on the tweets.. I don't remember PPI's model numbers well, but I think is was one of the 250x2 versions.


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## SQfreak (Feb 13, 2007)

fourthmeal said:


> Well my DCX 300.4 is plenty powerful, but I suspect I was only using a few watts to power them.
> 
> I always laugh my ass off when people say "I got 100w to my tweeters!" No you don't. You may have that much power available but your tweeters aren't requiring it, ...and really neither are your speakers. If wattage doubles for every 3dB, and double the volume (10dB) requires 10 times the wattage, that means that you are likely only using ~10-20W to your speakers 95% of the time. The tweeters (especially designs like this) take 1/2 that or so for most apps.
> 
> *These are generalizations and there will always be exceptions to the rule. For the most part however you don't need much power to drive the volume you want*


You didn't happen to dmm them did you to see what the average impedance was did ya?


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## BTA (Nov 5, 2005)

Alrighty, keep in mind this was a very quick demo and I did not put that much time into fine tuning things.

I picked up a pair last night. They had 3 sets, all of the boxes looked like they were beat up pretty bad, so I picked the least bashed in/least opened box. Inspected them last night and everything is fine.

Played around a bit with them today. I'm running the JBL 660gti set right now, with the passive xover bi-amped. The xover point is 2500hz. I didn't feel like taking the passive out since I already have things pretty well tuned with the passive in mind. My H701 has a little bit of T/A on each tweet, which I did not touch. However T/A on the tweeters in my car does not tend to make too huge of a difference. I did not nit pick the staging or imaging too much because of this factor. But you can get a general sense of how things are anyway.

Music selection was mostly various SQ tracks that I am familiar with.

I initially tried them in the corners of the dash of my mustang, like fourthmeal had his aimed. They are pretty bright compared to my JBL tweets, so I had to bump them down on my 701 a bit, like 5 I think. With the nudge down they sound pretty good, at least for my tastes.

I also tried a few different positions and locations. Tried flopping them horizontally on the dash, laying flat reflecting off the windshield, in my sail panels (where my normal tweets are), down on the door panel near the woofers, and in the kick areas just sitting on the floor. In the kicks I tried aiming them at opposite headrests as well as flat straight across.

For me, they were best in the dash corners, vertical, aimed at center of car between the headrests. But, keep in mind I generally don't care for tweets in kicks. I like them higher. Also of note, when I tried them in the sails, they actually imaged better for me laying horizontally. Not sure why this is, but my Mustang is weird sometimes like that.

Kick area positioning I had to bring them back up a bit on the 701. They sounded fine down there as well. Flat against the kickpanels firing straight across imaging wasn't so great, but is probably very car dependent.

Overall they seem like a fine pair of tweeters. With the right install location and position for your car and tuned properly they'd be pretty top notch imo. If I had more time to screw with them fully active, I'm sure I'd actually be quite happy with them. They're probably better suited with a xover point around 3500hz. Not to get people's hopes up and make them out as the end all be all of $50 tweeters, but for the price they are definitely not garbage. 

Also a note on the crossover that comes with them, in case others like me don't realize it, it comes with one crossover, and it is for both tweeters. There is no lowpass network for a mid hookup or anything.

I'm actually fairly impressed for $50 from Walmart. They aren't replacing my JBL's...but I'd consider using them in another install without hesitation.

Also they are way smaller than you'd imagine from the pictures.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

Back in the day I put together a lot of big systems with SS D60 on tweeters, they worked great and were 2x30. Many ran LP 3002 and 5002 on subs. They seemed to pair ok with mid size amps between.

Positive review #2! I love cheap stuff that works.


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## W8 a minute (Aug 16, 2007)

sqshoestring said:


> Punch?
> Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
> 
> I hardly ever drill holes in a car, and especially for an amp since I've never mounted one on metal. But for steel a punch is essential, though you can improvise with a small phillips/etc if you need to. Problem with a car is its often thin sheetmetal, and a screw holds better if you don't drill it. Unless I hit a thick area I never do, and then I often grab a self-drilling screw for that.


Thieves use those to break car windows also.


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## Hispls (Mar 12, 2008)

rockinridgeline said:


> WTT: My Dynaudio MD100's for Wallyworld ribbons....
> 
> or a pecker pock-er. First come first serve.


This would be my sig but the pecker-poker sounds really gay.


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## Jtejedor (Dec 19, 2008)

I was able to score a set of these. As stated they are smaller then they look in the pictures. I may ghetto mount them in the car for the time being to see how they sound. One thing to people that bought them is the mesh part on front the actual ribbon or is it just a mesh to protect whats behind it?


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

It's protective, the "ribbon" is prolly mylar...


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## Thrill_House (Nov 20, 2008)

fourthmeal said:


> The comparison was created off an alloy-dome tweeter from Canton.
> 
> I trotted over the car audio section, and they had a huge stash of these things along with other VR3 products. IMO, they are worth your time to at least audition.


Would those be the canton aluminum magnese tweets?


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> It's protective, the "ribbon" is prolly mylar...


They are KAPTON, as referenced in the manual and on the box.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Thrill_House said:


> Would those be the canton aluminum magnese tweets?


They are RS line, RS 2.160 - Car Audio Systems - CANTON pure Music (en) , 1" Aluminum


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## Gas Is Expensive (Aug 26, 2008)

Bought a set of these tonight and mounted them in my kicks. They're being powered by 2 channels of my PDX 4.100 and actively crossed by my 3Sixty.2 at [email protected] I have them paired with the ID OEMs and they sound fantastic! What a sweet surprise. For 140 bucks I cannot imagine a better mid/tweet setup!


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## jkilla (Feb 25, 2009)

amazing to hear walmart would even carry something like this!


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## lowpoke (Jun 1, 2008)

jkilla said:


> amazing to hear walmart would even carry something like this!


And even more amazing that they sound good!


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## dakar8 (Apr 23, 2008)

I might have to try these out. or should i just save my $50 to put toward l1pros.....hmmm...


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## old_skool_noma (Jan 15, 2009)

im tempted to try these out mounted horizontally in front of my sun visors, to attempt to hide them better, that is if i can even find them or find the money to spend on them


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## greg_b (Feb 2, 2009)

i was skulking around walmart tonight, waiting on my malaria pill prescription to get filled- the Tomball Texas wal-mart did not have them. 

they did have some other stuff that didn't look too hot...

I did pick up a rear camera so i can stop the forward-reverse dance when i go to hitch up to the boat or one of the trailers... the display is very small and sucky- i may give it to my father in law after a while, and make my own little setup with some cheap ebay camera and monitor...

there were some '_bangin'_' speakers with little lights in them, some amplifiers, a pioneer sub... some amp wiring kits, 'pro install tools', a 'learn to install like a pro' DVD...

they have LED sticks of various colors... 

'build your own box' kit- pre fabbed and carpeted box you scrwe together, and put a sub into....

Im headed to China next month, I want to see if i can go to some stereo shops over there and see what kind of intereting stuff they have- in the 80's they sold amplifiers in 3-packs because apparently build quality wasn't that great...

....ramble...



Greg


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## drtool (Nov 26, 2007)

The Wally-mart at Beltway 8 and I-10 No have. In Houston.


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## finbar (Feb 1, 2009)

sqshoestring said:


> Punch?
> Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
> 
> I hardly ever drill holes in a car, and especially for an amp since I've never mounted one on metal. But for steel a punch is essential, though you can improvise with a small phillips/etc if you need to. Problem with a car is its often thin sheetmetal, and a screw holds better if you don't drill it. Unless I hit a thick area I never do, and then I often grab a self-drilling screw for that.


please pardon the "off topic", Jack nuts (sounds painful) help with light gauge sheet metal anchoring woes,
Threaded Inserts - Nutsert - Rivnut - Thread Inserts - Rivet Nut - Hanson Rivet.com
or googleate "jack nuts" for a location near you. That auto center punch is a fine piece of tat.
Just scored a pair of VR3 tweets, epray, this breaks my ribbon cherry. Joy.


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## Hispls (Mar 12, 2008)

Someone sniped me on a pair that closed on eBay this morning, wonder if it was one of you guys?

No walmart within 50 miles of me, so that was my best chance.


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

Stealthsounds said:


> Walmart ! I love that place
> 
> we use to be real bad many years ago when we visited. We would buy what we want and then return it that day. They have a policy of returned stuff been sold cheaper etc. This stuff is put in large bins and sold cheap Then after about 30 mins my friend would buy it back from walmart saving me about 30%
> 
> ...


I blame Walmart for our economy along with the other off-shoring corporations. 


I didnt find those ribbon tweeters at my Wallyworld


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

finbar said:


> please pardon the "off topic", Jack nuts (sounds painful) help with light gauge sheet metal anchoring woes,
> Threaded Inserts - Nutsert - Rivnut - Thread Inserts - Rivet Nut - Hanson Rivet.com
> or googleate "jack nuts" for a location near you. That auto center punch is a fine piece of tat.
> Just scored a pair of VR3 tweets, epray, this breaks my ribbon cherry. Joy.


 Those work nice, but once you get a little rust on them you can never remove them...not good here in a snow state, just try to get a mirror off the door of an older Ford truck. I don't know what you guys are mounting, I did my baffle with four 12s all with screws, maybe every 4-6 inches all the way around with .75 to 1.5" deck and drywall type screws since none can be seen. I used SS ones if they went outside. It is more solid than the car. Just how I prefer to do it I guess, I rather use many small fasteners into weak material. I love ramming screws in with my cordless too, and its fast, maybe that is partly my habit. Also makes it harder for someone to remove in the dark if you know what I mean. I put a few torx or allen screws in the important things.

Was going to WMT yesterday but didn't make it there yet. Yeah I don't go there that much either, everything is China made and food prices are not that great. But if I buy China, I give them the least money I can. I would imagine they will never put tweeters on sale unfortunately, but I try to hit the closeout aisle when I go, lol, you never know what you might find.


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## sqshoestring (Jun 19, 2007)

No tweeters like that at my WMT. All they had was the 2x50 VR3 amp and not much else that brand. Had some speakers and empty shelving, the only tweeters were real cheap. It is not spring yet here maybe why not much was there.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

Well if you need me to, I can snap up all the pairs in my store and ship them out. But, let's make that a backup plan, since it costs more that way (shipping.)


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## splicer (Oct 4, 2008)

Not sure why it is being assumed that these are any good. A lot of ribbons aren't. In fact Zaph said one of the ribbons he tested was the worst tweeter he'd ever seen.
here is the test : Zaph|Audio


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## King Nothing (Oct 10, 2005)

splicer said:


> Not sure why it is being assumed that these are any good. A lot of ribbons aren't. In fact Zaph said one of the ribbons he tested was the worst tweeter he'd ever seen.
> here is the test : Zaph|Audio


its not being "assumed" that they are good. they were bought and tested by a member here who took a 50 dollar chance and came out allright


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

True, but these sound really good. I'm all up for some testing and listening reviews from some of the more "seasoned" ears here.

Npdang, you want me to ship them out for critical listening?


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## elvisjer (May 13, 2008)

Someone please do a more in depth test!!! I don't want to go to walmart if i dont have to since they apparently are afriad of being to close to white collar areas because there are none within 30 miles of Seattle central!


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## splicer (Oct 4, 2008)

King Nothing said:


> its not being "assumed" that they are good. they were bought and tested by a member here who took a 50 dollar chance and came out allright


I did not see any test results. I saw some people liked the sound but that doesn't mean a whole lot compared to the fact that most ribbons are far worse than a cheap dome and cannot be crossed over very low. This one is 3500/12db, which is on the high side for a 2-way, so even if it's a great tweeter you have to ask yourself how well it's going to mesh with your mid.

I support people taking a gamble on what looks like a good deal and I am grateful for the info people have posted, but until there are some real test results these tweeters are still firmly in the "gamble" department. 

Here is what Zaph had to say:


> I often hear people babble on about the shimmer, sparkle and air of ribbon tweeters. These tests show where these "special effects" are coming from - distortion. Ribbons do have a unique distortion profile that many will find enjoyable with some music. That's OK, and it does not have to relfect badly on your "golden ear" status. However, if accuracy to the original signal is what you are after, one of these ribbons may not be the best solution. Ribbons are certainly not the best solution if you want to build a high-value system. Those building line arrays may want to take a good hard look at one of the longer B&G elements.


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## bassfromspace (Jun 28, 2016)

splicer said:


> I did not see any test results. I saw some people liked the sound but that doesn't mean a whole lot compared to the fact that most ribbons are far worse than a cheap dome and cannot be crossed over very low. This one is 3500/12db, which is on the high side for a 2-way, so even if it's a great tweeter you have to ask yourself how well it's going to mesh with your mid.
> 
> I support people taking a gamble on what looks like a good deal and I am grateful for the info people have posted, but until there are some real test results these tweeters are still firmly in the "gamble" department.
> 
> Here is what Zaph had to say:


Here's what Zaph had to say about the BG Neo 3 tweeter:



> The B&G and Silver Flute are both planar designs, but they are also polar opposites. The YAG20 is probably one of the worst performers I've ever seen, *while the B&G performs on level with the best domes*. It's hard to say what went wrong and what went right in their designs.


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## nubz69 (Aug 27, 2005)

I think someone needs to do a full review of these if possible. Even better would be a klippel test of these drivers. My guess is that you will find what zaph found and that these drivers will not measure well but will have a sound that some people enjoy. I am also willing to bet that these, mounted in small kick pods, will sound better then 90% of stock tweeters and possibly 50% of cheap tweeters mounted in stock locations due to it's dispersion.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Great thread...gotta love Walmart! They have everything!


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

MY set is freely up for grabs for testing when the machine is ready, or if someone who would like to critically compare them to other tweets wouldn't mind paying shipping. They were purchased for the purposes of DIYMA, think of it as my way of contributing back to the forum.



nubz69 said:


> I think someone needs to do a full review of these if possible. Even better would be a klippel test of these drivers. My guess is that you will find what zaph found and that these drivers will not measure well but will have a sound that some people enjoy. I am also willing to bet that these, mounted in small kick pods, will sound better then 90% of stock tweeters and possibly 50% of cheap tweeters mounted in stock locations due to it's dispersion.


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## mobeious (Jan 26, 2007)

my local walmart has 4 sets on the shelf ... ill pick them up if someone wants to pay to ship them out.... i want to try a set but id like to see a review first


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