Do we really need anything more than 8" woofer and 1" tweeter for medium size room?

I have very nice 6" woofers in mine, sub is for movies only.

The trick isn't the electronics, it's the room acoustics. A lot of people try to get more bass with bigger speakers, and it sounds terrible.

A well designed 6 or 8" woofer in a good enclosure, with proper room acoustic treatment is a real marvel not enough get to hear.

Best,

Erik

@gvasale

In absolute terms you are right. There's no way to get high dynamic range and low distortion bass without moving a lot of air, which means driver diameter.  However....

With proper room treatment, placement and tuning a good 6" to 8" woofer has much better bass and dynamic range than most people realize. Also, the lower in response the speaker goes, the more listeners get into trouble with room modes. The quality of the bass output doesn't align with the quality of the mid and treble anymore.

In car terms, what good is power if you can't turn on a dime? :)

Of course, how much one values each of these qualities is very much subjective. If chest thumping is your nirvana, then inches are your salvation.

As always, it's your hard earned money, get what you like!

Best,

Erik

@james633

Show me music that has that much content below 40 Hz. Show me an affordable speaker that goes down to 20 Hz with measured low distortion. Show me a modest living room that doesn’t have significant room modes below 80 Hz.

So, I think for a lot of people, properly set up, 6" to 8" is a sweet spot.

Is it perfect? No, but, properly set up, it’s magical. For specmanship not so much, but spec’s don’t listen to music.

Getting that last octave right is a challenge financially, aesthetically and effort.

I have a Hsu 15" 1,500 watt subwoofer sitting right next to my main speakers with 6.5" woofers right now. It's not even going to be plugged in until I have guests over for movies. Why? Huge pain in the butt to get right. :) I've experimented and carefully calibrated it for music in the past.  It was honestly a "Meh" experience.

Depends of course on what part of music you want to experience. If that last octave is where you live and breathe of course this would be unnaceptable. 

By the way, these speakers have convincing output to 30 Hz in room and can play much more loudly than I care to listen.

Best,


Erik

Here by the way is a really good 2 way speaker kit with a 10" woofer, would run you around $1k to build it yourself.

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/2-way-speaker-kits/seas-a26-10-2-way-kit-pair-based-on-the-cla...

I have no financial interest in whether anyone here buys them or not, just thought I'd offer it up to any who might be reading. One of the big advantages to building this kit is you can set the treble balance exactly how you like it. :) 

Best,


Erik

@oleschool

Not sure what you are differing to. ;)

I was making two different statements.  One, noting that we didn't really discuss transmission lines yet as another way to get more out of smaller drivers.

All things being equal, 2 drivers does not double the bass though. :)

Best,

Erik

We never did discuss Transmission Line enclosures either, or dual woofer scenarios.

Dual woofer's aren't quite as good as more diameter inches, but they don't hurt. :)

@oleschool is right, but I think the issue isn’t small vs. large, it’s more about bass limiting.

I can set up 15" subs with any planar speaker and make them sound lightning fast. They will have measurably deeper bass, lower distortion and less compression than small driver alternatives.  However, "proper setup" is a really gigantic pain in the ass. It's like the mythical girl next door. Often read about, rarely dated.

Speakers with multiple small woofers (which I like) tend to have more dynamic range, but also, less deep bass (i.e. higher -3dB or -10dB points). That keeps them out of trouble where larger speakers would require much more effort to make sound as good.

So, goes back to my own reasons for being in the small woofers are beautiful camp. Nothing wrong with giant subs, it’s the setups that tend to fail.

Erik

I think that the idea that you want to keep the crossover out of a certain region has more to do with the quality of integration. It's fair to call it a dangerous, but not impossible task. Looking at the crossover frequency alone is not a definite indicator of quality or seamless integration. I'm not sure how much of this also has to do with horn speakers, where a conventional speaker cabinet was used for the low-mids and a horn in the treble. This type of avoidance may have made more sense.

Still, not all speakers do this as well.  One truth is adding a midrange can really add dynamic range in the mid-treble region.  A midrange can be used with an 8" woofer just as well as a 12". :)

Im with you @ba