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Does size matter? I mean 15" cabs...u dummy

R

rotagen

Mar 19, 2009
13
0
#1
OK just curious, I recall reading somewhere that for reproducing basss freqs, the amount (volume) of air trapped behind your 15" speaker is important. Something to do with driver dampening or some such.

Just wondering if this is generally true, or if "modern" drivers can be put in smaller encosures without losing low end, etc.

I certainly don't have the knowledge to comment, thanks.
 
#3
You can design a driver to do good lows with only a relatively small amount of air behind it but it'll cost you in sensitivity. The air behind the driver acts as a spring pushing back on it, and the less air back there, the harder the spring gets. And the harder the spring gets, the higher the resonance of the system is pushed, thus the less the amount of bottom you get out.

Alex
 
#9
alexclaber said:
You can design a driver to do good lows with only a relatively small amount of air behind it but it'll cost you in sensitivity. The air behind the driver acts as a spring pushing back on it, and the less air back there, the harder the spring gets. And the harder the spring gets, the higher the resonance of the system is pushed, thus the less the amount of bottom you get out.

Alex
Click to expand...

OK makes sense to me, I'm wondering if anyone one knows what horns, front or back, do to this equation ?

thanks for the responses.
 
#12
OP, search the forum. This topic has already been discussed in great depth.

alexclaber said:
You can design a driver to do good lows with only a relatively small amount of air behind it but it'll cost you in sensitivity. The air behind the driver acts as a spring pushing back on it, and the less air back there, the harder the spring gets. And the harder the spring gets, the higher the resonance of the system is pushed, thus the less the amount of bottom you get out.

Alex
Click to expand...
That's one of the best, and simplest, explanations I think I've ever heard.

CrUiSeR said:
Every thing sounds better through a 15:D
Click to expand...
Indeed. Still waiting to fund my homemade cab...I miss my 18. :(
 
#13
rotagen said:
OK makes sense to me, I'm wondering if anyone one knows what horns, front or back, do to this equation ?
Click to expand...

Horns suffer just the same problems the horn has to be long enough and the mouth large enough to act as a horn down to the lowest required frequencies. If you're willing to carry a really big cab and can always corner load it then you have have huge lows and high sensitivity from a horn, or if you're happy to forego your deeper lows and able to EQ up the bottom you can get big sensitivity from a horn that acts as direct radiator in the lows. In my opinion bass horns are an excellent route for mid to large PA systems because you can design subs with long paths but small mouths that then cluster to get a big mouth size and thus excellent horn loading and consequently very high max output.

Alex
 
#14
I rock this on a regular basis w/ no probs; they are hard to find though. Notice how small the cab is compared to the old Kustom head...

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