Bass Driver Size - how much better is an extra inch?

I was thinking it really mattershow many inches you’re already working with...

Honestly, bass drivers should be 8” or bigger in my opinion.  10” or 12” is even better.  Thats why you should just augment the low end with a sub but many 2 way speakers today with 6” drivers produce sufficient bass.

If you sit there though and go up a line of speakers, the drivers get bigger and the sound fuller.  I’ve found that no 5” drivers can cope with the abuse I want to throw at them.  It’s got to be at least 6” if not 7”.  I learned this early on in the Paradigm line.  The difference between dynamics between studio 10’s and studio 20’s was pretty substantial.  The bigger driver on the 20’s vs the 60’s would even play louder.

So yes, with regards to bass drivers, bigger is better!

Im not sure that Im tracking that last post...??

Anyhow, yes, 6” drivers, especially dual, can produce a good amount of bass if high quality.  But a high quality 6” driver vs the same high quality 10” driver, and the larger driver will put out more bass.  This is just physics, right?  More cone surface area...

This is like saying a built 2 liter, 4 cylinder turbocharged engine can outperform a V-8.  Well sure, but can it outperform a built, turbocharged V-8?  No.


I’ll buy that a 10” driver isn’t as fast as an 8” driver, but all other things being equal, a 10” driver will put out more bass, lower bass etc.

Just look at speaker manufacturers.  As you move up the line they get bigger... Most flagship models within a speaker line are there largest.

I do believe though that you can overpower a room with speakers to large for that room but the room needs to be small, like my 11x13 room, and the speakers have to be rather large.