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size of the driver

Coming from the "old school" and being a complete (or almost) novice here - in the old days back in 1970-75 we thought that the big (read - wide) driver will have better capability to produce more realistic sound, talking about lower end of the spectr at least. But nowdays I am seing 6 inch drivers stated as "bass". Just curious how well those perform or in another words what is the secret behind those if they really can perform at the same level as the 12 inch ones?

And another question which I guess is too simple and too basic around here that's why I couldn't find some point to point answer - when we speak about sensitivity - would that be a true statement to say that higher level (say 92-95 db) will allow to extract "fuller" sound spectr at a lower level of volume? My feeling is that with somewhat lower 89 db or less you need to increase the volume in order to have more visible lower end?

Thank you for your time
avs9

Showing 2 responses by ngjockey

ngjockey
1,042 posts
 
Bigger isn't always better. I keep telling myself that.

For example, there are 12" drivers that sacrifice bass extension for efficiency and midrange performance and there are 6.5" drivers that do the opposite. A lot of the difference since the 70's is how they match drivers to the cabinet and control resonance.

Fact is that "hifi" stereo is a small fraction of the sales of home theatre and LFE subwoofers has become the defacto standard. There is, simply, very little demand for big speakers and the assosciated shipping costs.

Although bass extension is generally less with smaller drivers, some of the dynamics can be equivalent or even superior with multiple drivers.
ngjockey
1,042 posts
 
All you have to do is go to Parts Express or Madisound websites and look up the specs on various drivers of different sizes and types, including "pro". Some have detailed frequency response and impedance graphs. You can go further by plugging some of those T/S numbers into a speaker box calculator.

For example, plain and simple...
http://www.bcae1.com/spboxad2.htm

Some of you might be in for a shock. The evidence speaks for itself but interpretation varies.
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