40hz ratings/speaker response

I have recently read an article that stated that even if a certain low frequency fundamental tone is not reproduced by the speaker, if 2 or more higher harmonics of that fundamental are heard, the brain will psychoacoustically hear the fundamental tone. I have not actually verified this by testing, but it seems interesting. It may actually be the reason that some accurate mini-monitors seem to produce more bass than they should theoretically be capable of. It is common that mini speaker owners seem to be quite satisfied with the bass response of their speakers that are rated only down to 100Hz or even higher. Naturally, room loading and other factors may play into this. Anyone else heard about this phenomenon?

Clueless, thanks, that was where I read it. I just couldn't remember where it was. Also, I noticed he was pretty rough on quarter wave pipes in that article. But, if you really tear any design apart that far, then nothing will really hold up too well to that kind of scrutiny. I'm still thinking that I can get a "happy medium" of decent bass-boost, and limited notch-effects from comb-filtering, from the Voigt Pipes. He didn't even mention the "baffle-step" effect of the Voigt Pipes, where the narrow baffle reinforces the higher freq's and you get a drop-off where the baffle is no longer wide enough to reinforce the lower ones. I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve to handle this, without resorting to a compensation circuit that destroys efficiency.

Clueless, pipes are already made with a S0 of zero. Drivers are on the way, but not here yet. Everything is ready to just plug in the drivers. Apparently, Brines is really hot on the Mathcad program, but not too interested in using the right drivers for the Voigt pipes. He used everything but the Lowther, and these were designed to use the Lowther. So he takes these pipes, and plugs a much smaller driver into them and complains about the results. Now, I don't doubt for a minute that I will have issues with dips at the resonant points. But, whether the problems will be as bad as he says remains to be seen. If they are, then I'll try a few things, and may even shorten the pipe to open up the S0(narrow tip)area. But, I have read alot of testimonials that this pipe design sounds good. So we will have to just try it out and see.

In a DARPA project during the 70s and 80s, a guy by the name of Patrick Flanagan was researching alternative communications techniques. He discovered and later patented a device called the "Flanagan Neurophone". The D.O.D. kept him from marketing it for 20 years. It is a device worn around the neck, kind of like a fat necklace. It receives sound and transduces it into the bone structure of the clavicles. It can make totally deaf people hear. Apparently, the bone structure can be vibrated in such a way as to simulate the activity of the ear, and is interpreted by the brain as sound. This leads me to agree with others that the "feel" of music in the body is important to the experience as well as hearing through the ears. I once tried headphones for primary listening, and found that the lack of "feel" was unsatisfactory for me. I gave up the headphones.

Joeb, it is not my theory. Just reporting the facts. From what I've heard about the Flanagan Neurophone, it doesn't rely on the ear at all, or the ear's neurology, but instead creates an entirely different path for the brain to interpret the sound. You may be able to find something about this on the web. The product is no longer squelched by the D.O.D. The man's name is Dr. Patrick Flanagan. I don't know if he is still alive or not. I heard the information on a radio show with Dr. Nick Begich, who was a friend and associate of Dr. Flanagan. Perhaps Dr. Begich has some info on how this device operates and how to get one.