Another, less technical, way to think of it- not that any of the above is incorrect, its not-
The sound coming off a driver doesn’t just come out the front and into the room. It goes off the back and into the speaker cabinet as well. So now just imagine if there was another mini speaker playing music inside the cabinet. For sure some of the sound it makes is gonna come out through the driver and you will hear it.
Well, that is exactly what happens with every speaker cabinet. The drivers send just as much sound back into the cabinet as out to the room. The sound that goes into the cabinet, by the time it bounces around and comes back out the front there’s only one word for it: distortion.
Now sometimes at certain frequencies this distortion is just right to actually reinforce the same frequency coming off the front. When this happens, if it brings up a dip in response then we are happy and say the speaker is flat. But if it reinforces a peak we complain and say the speaker is boomy. So another example of how people can prefer even something as seemingly obviously bad as distortion.
But its not just the low bass that comes out. All the sound at all the frequencies bounces around in there, and the less that’s attenuated inside by stuffing the more that’s gonna come out the front.
Any one particular individual might like this distortion. With his ears. His music. And equipment. In his room. Speaker builders usually try and design for a wider appeal. That means designing for lower distortion, less color, more neutral tone, etc. That’s why they stuff em.
The sound coming off a driver doesn’t just come out the front and into the room. It goes off the back and into the speaker cabinet as well. So now just imagine if there was another mini speaker playing music inside the cabinet. For sure some of the sound it makes is gonna come out through the driver and you will hear it.
Well, that is exactly what happens with every speaker cabinet. The drivers send just as much sound back into the cabinet as out to the room. The sound that goes into the cabinet, by the time it bounces around and comes back out the front there’s only one word for it: distortion.
Now sometimes at certain frequencies this distortion is just right to actually reinforce the same frequency coming off the front. When this happens, if it brings up a dip in response then we are happy and say the speaker is flat. But if it reinforces a peak we complain and say the speaker is boomy. So another example of how people can prefer even something as seemingly obviously bad as distortion.
But its not just the low bass that comes out. All the sound at all the frequencies bounces around in there, and the less that’s attenuated inside by stuffing the more that’s gonna come out the front.
Any one particular individual might like this distortion. With his ears. His music. And equipment. In his room. Speaker builders usually try and design for a wider appeal. That means designing for lower distortion, less color, more neutral tone, etc. That’s why they stuff em.