Gains from going with higher sensitivity subwoofer?

[Chris Hammer]

So I have my budget build if you haven't seen it, 4 kenwood 12's single 4ohms, BK1300 for my sub amp.

Honestly dislike the way these look but for how cheap I got them I can't complain, I think I paid 160 shipped for 4, I can't remember. Anyway I was in another thread and someone mentions the boston G1's. 12" single 4ohm and about same power handling. They look much better too IMO. And 50$ shipped each. I could sell the kenwoods for the same on craigslist.

While looking at the specs I noticed the sensitivity is 6db higher then the kenwoods. Would this a be an audible difference on the same power if I switched to the bostons? Also they have higher xmax and peak to peak excursion.

I'm just looking for an answer to my questions, and some math or reasonign to back it up would be nice.

Don't tell me more power, I'm not going to, I don't want to go with a H/O alt or more batteries right now, just looking for some explanation and advice on sensitivity and the actual difference it makes.

I remember talking to someone in a thread on tweets/mids for active to try and stay close sensitivity wise on the tweets/mids.

[bkolfo4]

Need more than just that one parameter to make a good guess.

Download a decent modeling program (something as simple as the spreadsheet at diysubwoofers.org) and model the two drivers in your box and see how they compare.

One example could be that the driver does have a louder peak, but it might be at a much higher frequency. This could make for a higher meter peak, but not as loud to the ear.

[SnowDrifter]

Can't say how much of a difference, if any there would be. But I will say this: The sensitivity test is carried out at 1kHz at a distance of 1 meter. The sub is not in a box - it's just sitting on the floor.

So how much of an emphasis you want to put on how loud the sub gets at 1kHz is up to you.

[purplesyrup]

Can't say how much of a difference, if any there would be. But I will say this: The sensitivity test is carried out at 1kHz at a distance of 1 meter. The sub is not in a box - it's just sitting on the floor.

So how much of an emphasis you want to put on how loud the sub gets at 1kHz is up to you.

yea, I never understood this, you would think they would measure "sub" frequencies, on a subwoofer, lol

in most of our cases, 50-60hz and down is all that is important to us

[SnowDrifter]

Can't say how much of a difference, if any there would be. But I will say this: The sensitivity test is carried out at 1kHz at a distance of 1 meter. The sub is not in a box - it's just sitting on the floor.

So how much of an emphasis you want to put on how loud the sub gets at 1kHz is up to you.

yea, I never understood this, you would think they would measure "sub" frequencies, on a subwoofer, lol

in most of our cases, 50-60hz and down is all that is important to us

It's tough to measure true sensitivity since everything is so box/vehicle dependent.

The test is more for midrange and tweeters since there isn't much you can do to change the sound like you can with a subwoofer enclosure.

You can kind of get an idea for efficiency by finding the motor force: Bl^2/Re

Then dividing that number by the Mms.

(Bl^2/Re)/Mms

And it only works for subs that are the same size. Tbh that's about the best you are going to get for subwoofer effeciency

[Joe X]

Here is a quick read on the subject:

http://www.salksound.com/wp/?p=56

Other than that there are at least two ways to measure sensitivity and that is power or voltage and them Pioneer apparently has come up with a new one that is almost laughable, The in-car sensitivity.

[BoomZoom808]

Once you start going up in power I don't think sensitivity makes a very big difference for subs. For door speakers as Snow already mentioned if you were trying to run them off deck power a higher sensitivity would matter more but off an amp not so much.

I would run those Boston subs over those Kenwood's. Buy a couple Fierce prefabs and throw them bitches up on craigs.

[Chris Hammer]

Can't say how much of a difference, if any there would be. But I will say this: The sensitivity test is carried out at 1kHz at a distance of 1 meter. The sub is not in a box - it's just sitting on the floor.

So how much of an emphasis you want to put on how loud the sub gets at 1kHz is up to you.

yea, I never understood this, you would think they would measure "sub" frequencies, on a subwoofer, lol

in most of our cases, 50-60hz and down is all that is important to us

It's tough to measure true sensitivity since everything is so box/vehicle dependent.

The test is more for midrange and tweeters since there isn't much you can do to change the sound like you can with a subwoofer enclosure.

You can kind of get an idea for efficiency by finding the motor force: Bl^2/Re

Then dividing that number by the Mms.

(Bl^2/Re)/Mms

And it only works for subs that are the same size. Tbh that's about the best you are going to get for subwoofer effeciency

THANKS man this is the kind of answer I was waiting for..i know there is no exact way to tell if one or the other will be louder but I was trying to gain a better understanding of specs and see if its worth the small gamble. Thanks again man.

[bkolfo4]

If you model the 2 different drivers in the box you plan to use and look at the comparison, you will get a decent idea of the performance between them.

I like to compare a driver I have preciously used in the car to a new one. Knowing how a "known" driver responded in the vehicle and then seeing how a new driver compares, even though it is not taking into account cabin gain, is a good way to compare.