Two medium size woofers Vs One big size woofer


Hi,

Wondering what are your thoughts on the differences between a full range 3-way speaker with -let's say- two 5" woofers versus a 3-way with just one single 10" woofer? Which one would provide better bass response and more accurate bass?
*Assuming both are the same make, same quality drivers and cone materials.

Best
mamifero76
Well, the first thing you need to do is make sure the smaller drivers move the same amount of air.  You can do a coarse guess-estimate by computing the area of the cone using the diameter divided by 2, squaring it, then multiplying by two.  A more accurate formula is using the volume of the cone - google it to see how to measure and compute it.   However, once you have the two areas the same, you will find the smaller drivers are much more expensive than one larger sub.  The advantage is smaller can mean faster and better resolution.  The disadvantage is they have to be matched otherwise it might blur the wavefront.   If the drives are in one speaker, then one could assume the manufacturer has matched the drivers.  For your example here, one would need about four  5 inch drivers to about equal one 10 in terms of moving the same amount of air.
IMHO I think the 2 smaller woofers would present a better mid bass quality with a little more dynamics. While the one larger woofer would provide a lower frequency sound but perhaps not as dynamic.
That being said, 5" woofers are pretty small.

ozzy
Thanks you all for your comments.
I currently have a pair of 3-way Sonus Fabers (one tweeter, one midrange and two 7 inches woofers). So I've looking into a new pair of speakers that could keep up with the space (1000 Sqft former factory loft, 13ft height ceilings, open space, no walls). *Room has some minimal treatment.
Aesthetics are somehow important, so that's why I've considering thinner towers over boxy (JBL type speakers).
the key specification is a thing called acceleration factor.

the smaller driver has a larger acceleration factor.

two smaller drivers with the same swept area as a single larger driver..the two smaller ones (~7") will create a notably more articulate bass and have better integration with say, a electrostatic panel- vs that of lets say..a single 10".

eg:

www.audiotechnology.dk

C-Quenze 15 H 52 06 13 SD (5")
Acceleration factor: 674
C-Quenze 18 H 52 17 06 SD (7")

Acceleration factor: 499

C-Quenze 23 I 52 20 06 SD (9")

Acceleration factor: 423


So you get more cheap thump with the larger single driver, but you don’t get articulation. Articulation requires a high acceleration factor. Which is generally with smaller drivers, due to lower mass smaller cones.

IIRC, a tweeter runs near 1000, or just above it, maybe. Thus the 674 of the audio technology driver is crazy fast. This is a difficult spec to find as many driver manufacturers might be embarrassed to print it.