10"s/ 12"s Vs. 15"s/18"s For Sq ?

[Fish Chris]

I'm sure this has been discussed about 100 times before...... But not when I was here ;-)

Anyway, I was reading a thread last night, where a guy said > 18"s are not that great for SQ, except with certain types of music, and that you (pertaining to the guy he was advising) would probably find yourself choosing a handful of songs, because only those songs sounded great......

Now, I know somebody is going to want to tell me that its all about the enclosure. Hmmmm. I'm well aware that this does make a BIG difference with the SQ of any subwoofer. But does this make "the whole difference" ?

I mean, with all things being equal, lets compare a 10" or 12" sub in a box well designed for SQ, to a 15" or 18" in a box well designed for SQ.

How tight, and clean can 15"s and 18"s really sound ? I'd have a hard time believing they could be "just as" tight and clean. "Very close" would be nice.

Anyway, this guys words just struck a chord with me, as in my one experience with an 18" sub (It was one of the old RF Punches... like 250 wts rms), way back in the day, it was exactly like this guy was saying..... It was really LOUD ! Louder, in fact, than any other subwoofer, or even combination of subwoofers that I have had. (louder even, than my four 12"s). But even though the box was built and tuned exactly to RF recomendations, it only played a handful of songs really well. The other 95% of my music sounded much tighter, and cleaner, with my 10"s or 12"s.... which is why I eventually went back to them.

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I guess this might be another way to ask about this >>> Does anybody ever use a single 15" or 18" {I don't even care if it was in a sealed enclosure} for a super SQ type of system ? ..... and if so, have they "ever" won an SQ competition this way ?

Your thoughts ?

Peace,

Fish

[Noobtastic14]

gah.

personal prefrence.

good box, good woofer, good power will sound good.

-Drew

[AI James]

most people opt for smaller woofers for the fact that its alot easier to match the output of a 10 or 12 on the front end then it is a 18.

I'm not saying it cant be done but most pf the people with 18s are drowning out other freqs coming from smaller comp or coaxial sets that cannot keep up

[Charger]

An 18 has the best SQ.

[Eskii]

http://www.audiopulse.com/know-how/subwoof...out-subwoofers/

#8

Eat ya heart out fella!

[Charger]

Well my reply was kinda taking the piss...

It's kind of like asking what amount of cylinders make the fastest motor...

It depends on the individual circumstances.

[Eskii]

On the money charger!!!

It's pretty hard to answer general questions...

If you're looking for an answer, study different drivers, their T/S parameter etc. and how they respond to certain enclosures.

Just remember that the enclosure is the hey to the sound you get!

[Fish Chris]

Hey Eskii

It's pretty hard to answer general questions...

No its not.... Your link gave just the answer I was looking for.

# 8 Smaller drivers sound better than bigger driversOne of the biggest myths about woofers is that 8’s and 10’s are “tighter” and “cleaner” than 15’s or 18’s. Nothing is further from the truth. What tends to happen is that the smaller drivers have lower Q’s because manufactures tend to put large cones on smaller motors to increase SPL and sensitivity but not BL product. Well unless the motor can compensate for the extra mass it has to push, then the Qts will not be the same as the smaller drivers and ultimately the driver may not be suited for the same kinds of alignments and could ring too much and compromise the perceived sound quality. Having said that, high Qts drivers are not any less “tight” or “musical” than well dampened drivers, it’s just they require larger boxes and less internal pressure to prevent ringing. Ultimately there becomes a point where a driver really should be used in an infinite baffle where its actual Qts and Fs becomes the system Qtc and Fc. As enclosure volume decreases, Qtc increases and it will take a driver with a low Qts to make for an average Q system. So in conclusion, the only reason to use a smaller bass driver is for space, weight and potentially power considerations, but likewise, it is inappropriate to try and fit a larger driver into a space smaller than it is ideal for.

Thank you :-)

Peace,

Fish