General Speaker Questions...From a semi-organize Noob
|
Silver Member Username: AfroopuffPost Number: 263 Registered: Jan-06 | Okay, so I am really trying to learn ABOUT speakers and subs in general and not just particular subs and how good they are. My goal is to try and understand what makes them good. There are some statistics I dont quite understand: Sensitiviy: The rating of a loudspeaker that indicates the level of a sound intensity that the speaker produces (in dB) at a distance of one meter when it receives one watt of input power. This sounds sensible, but what i dont understand is, when i look at the sensitivity raiting of certain speakers i see 94db. This does not sound sensible to me, as to that with 1 watt of power, 83-94 db can be reached, but with 1200 watts of power, only 120 can be reacher or so. even on a logrithmic scale, that doesnt sound possible. any explanation and what is good for a sub? what is good for a speaker? Actually, Now that i reasearched, thats really the only question. Most was answered by this website: for anyone else who wanted to learn: http://www.electronixwarehouse.com/education/speakers/main.htm Although one thing on that website that was a lil hazy was when it spoke about what the speaker was made of. It said the new metals that are used are neodymium, strontium, and barium, while old have less magnetic potential. Some high end MB Quarts and what not that i was looking at seemed to be made of titanium, and others were made of aluminum. Are these included in this list? Maybe better? What are advantages and disadvantages of the different types? Thanks |
|
Gold Member Username: Basshead86Try Google Post Number: 8191 Registered: Aug-05 | sesnitivity ratings are like car salesmen, dont trust them. some are 1W/1M, and others are a 2V, not the same thing. the 2V is always a few db higher. when doing that ghey logarithmic scale, a BOX is not taken into consideration, neither is cabin gain, and the vehicles resonant frequency. those metals you listed are magnetic. used for magnets. i wouldn't worry too much about them. minus the titanium and aluminum, those are used for cones and VC formers, and the differences vary. |
|
Silver Member Username: JohammbassIRL Post Number: 512 Registered: May-06 | Well as far as dome or cone material is concerned then the material's choice has the biggest effect specifically on tweets. If we talk about midrange/midbass cones then it's more about motor construction and basket because you can have a very accurate mid driver with aluminum, paper, poly, wood fiber, glass fiber and many other cones, so the cone material does not play that big of a part in mid/midbass driver construction (well it does, but all I am saying is - there is loadzz of different ones). With tweets it basically comes down to soft dome and metal dome. With soft dome you will most likely get dome break-up at 12Khz and above, that's why you want a coated/treated fabric ar silk dome, that helps prevent cone break up. With metal dome you will most likely get "ringing" at some frequencies so it's basically trading since there is no perfect tweeter, however, great results can be achieved with both - soft and metal domes with a proper price tag . Tweeter should have some kind of damping in the rear chamber to prevent wave "fighting" in the back. Top shelf high end tweets don't have ferrofluid cooling for the VC, because it affects dynamics, but then you pretty much have to cool it with air and it's not that simple, that's why those tweets cost a bit more If driver's sensitivity is say 90db at 1w/1m then: 2w = 93db 4w = 96db 8w = 99db 16w = 102db 32w = 105db and so on, get the picture? Double watts = +3db. And again, just like Muddy was saying - without box. Well even with tweets you have to consider that you will be sitting off axis and hopefully more than 1m away Anyway, I don't look at drivers sensitivity and actually I like less sensitive mids - they tend to be more accurate, now I AM NOT saying that ALL sensitive mids are bad. I mostly look at Fs (the lower the better), I also like large diameter VCs - 3" , mid also has to have rubber surround (real cheap ones do come with foam surrounds). I also like mids with Qts in 0.30's and 0.40's, you should also look at Max linear xcursion (Xmax) how much air it will move when it's doing that. HOWEVER, da most important thing is listening to a set and judging it with your ears, enjoy |
|
Silver Member Username: AfroopuffPost Number: 264 Registered: Jan-06 | Digging the smilies on this page, haha thanks btw! Thanks, I have a much better understanding. The two of you own Love it when good information is passed around. I really want to take an EE class when I get a chance, but I dont know if the school I want to go to will have it:/ |
|
Gold Member Username: Tdeaton1021Near Tampa, Florida USA Post Number: 3156 Registered: Sep-04 | I'll just let someone else do the explaining lol here ya go... http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=141 |
|
Gold Member Username: Basshead86Try Google Post Number: 8209 Registered: Aug-05 | if you have anymore questions man, don't hesitate to ask. we are all here to help!<~~~just for you |
|
Silver Member Username: AfroopuffPost Number: 268 Registered: Jan-06 | actually i do have a question, i tried to ask it earlier but i donno it got erased or something from the speaker forum, so whatever: I am a little confused about the idea behind a midbass and a tweeter. I mean, i understand the difference and all. But for me, i already have my 2 subs (arsenals) and so for the rest of my car I am looking more for SQ and hi's. I hear the AA 6.5 poly is pretty nice for SQ but it says its a midbass excursion or something. Would the "6.5 poly" be more of another sub type or is it going to hit the mid's nicely. Also, i heard that it is bad to mix companies and speakers when it comes to making a component set. I really would like components in the front and Coaxals in the back. So i was thinking maybe a pair of poly 6.5's and some tweeter for the front? workable? |
|
Silver Member Username: AfroopuffPost Number: 269 Registered: Jan-06 | wait...fucked that up..... hahaha |
|
Silver Member Username: AfroopuffPost Number: 270 Registered: Jan-06 | wait....it just let me say the f-word...whats going on? |
|
Gold Member Username: Basshead86Try Google Post Number: 8229 Registered: Aug-05 | definitely workable. the only problem is that the AA Mids don't come witha crossover, so you will either have to make one, or buy one. if you want some NICE SQ components, a man by the name of Alteraudiousa can hook you up with some CDT's. he frequents the speaker forum and is an authorized seller, he can get you exactly what you are looking for. |
|
Silver Member Username: AfroopuffPost Number: 272 Registered: Jan-06 | ya, acutally i talked to him and he was telling me about the EL components and some CL coax for the back. What do you think about that? |
|
Gold Member Username: Basshead86Try Google Post Number: 8332 Registered: Aug-05 | sounds good to me |
|
Silver Member Username: AfroopuffPost Number: 274 Registered: Jan-06 | The only problem is, I have the Nine.1 and 2 arsenals, and then i am planning on getting the pioneer 4800MP....but when i wire my arsenals i am going to be wiring them down to 1 ohm, cuz they are dual 4 ohm's. Does that mean that for speakers i have to do the same? or since its a different amp it doesnt matter? The plan is to run from the pioneer head unit, some CL coax in the rear, and then have 2 amps. One that will run my arsenals and then the other that will run the components for the front. Do the 2 amps have to match in ohms, or whats the rule of thumb on that? |
Main Forums
Today's Posts- Home Audio Forum
- Home Video Forum
- Home Theater Forum
- Car Audio Forum
- Accessories Forum
- All Forum Topics