multiple drivers smooth response by how much?

[billfitzmaurice]

One of the reasons for this is to see what else is out there and why, other than the simple sealedback fix. What does the damping do to "percieved" sound quality?

For damping to be required the distance from the rear of the cone to a boundary must approach 1/4 wavelength. When that distance is only 1/2" or so as with a sealed back driver the lowest frequency that could be affected would be around 6500 Hz, making damping the inside of a sealed back midrange of limited value. OTOH with an open back driver and a cone to sub-chamber back distance of four inches the lack of damping would result in a response hole at 850 Hz some 24dB deep, with a corresponding peak an octave above that.

 

[will33]

OK, there's the answer, now back to the charts and graphs and math to figure out why. It's obvious to my ear what padding/damping does to a typical bass cab or woofer, the mid stuff is just a higher set of numbers I guess.