2. speakers
  3. 129586-77454

Bass distortion before tweeter distortion with a monitor at high volume?

I am looking at getting a set of monitors for a second system in a small room (12' x 10') , but I would also like the flexibility to play them in my main system in a room that is larger (13' x 25') with cathedral ceilings.

Let's assume that the small speaker I end up with won't be able to produce enough volume without distorting in the larger room.  Most of what I have read indicates that a subwoofer would solve the problem.  My understanding is that I would want to high-pass the bass on the speaker before it reaches the point of distortion, solving that issue.

If that is true, that leads me to believe that generally the tweeter would not be distorting unless the volume is at a higher level.  Is this normally the case?  If not, it seems there would be no point to using the sub. 

To restate the question:  With a high quality monitor, is it safe to say that the tweeter can play at higher volume without distorting compared to the woofer?  I am speaking in general terms here - I am sure there are exceptions.  Thanks.
abnerjack

Showing 1 response by avanti1960

avanti1960
1,411 posts
 
I measured the KEF ls50s in my room and they seem to have a low pass crossover built in- the smooth drop off starts at 80 hz.  
If these are your reference speaker then you need not worry (and do not want to) add your own crossover.  they can play as loudly as you want up to a large conference size room as long as your amp is not driven into clipping.  You will want at least 100 WPC and 150 would not be too much power for them.  
they also integrate well with a subwoofer- i used the JL audio D110 and had a flat, smooth freq response down to 20Hz in room.  
to answer your original question a given speaker driver can handle more power the higher it is crossed over -say in an active system.  
however the distortion you would hear is from the amplifier distorting, not the speaker.  
i saw a demo of the ELAC small monitors where they were over fed power and the speaker voice coil bottomed out into the magnet core and mechanical noise resulted, not clipping.  

More to discover