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There's a lot more bass in a 6.5" driver than most of you think

One topic of discussion I often see new audiophiles touch on is whether to get larger speakers for more bass.

I usually suggest they tune the room first, then re-evaluate. This is based on listening and measurement in several apartments I’ve lived in. Bigger speakers can be nothing but trouble if the room is not ready.


In particular, I often claim that the right room treatment can make smaller speakers behave much larger. So, to back up my claims I’d like to submit to you my recent blog post here:

https://speakermakersjourney.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-snr-1-room-response-and-roon.html


Look at the bass response from those little drivers! :)


I admit for a lot of listeners these speakers won’t seem as punchy as you might like, but for an apartment dweller who does 50/50 music and theater they are ideal for me. If you’d like punchy, talk to Fritz who aligns his drivers with more oomf in the bass.


erik_squires
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
12,536 posts
 
My mission Cyrus 781 have a 6 inches bass driver with a potential so good that I dont give a damn now to connect the Kreisel subwoofer I bought 2 years ago... :)

My tweaks, Helmholtz resonator, and room treatment, with an audio system at his highest potential level is more than sufficient... Who needs 20 hertz or even 30 ? The important thing is the clarity all across the spectrum for me....
theaudiotweak
2,769 posts
 
Subs when properly implemented increase midrange clarity, solidify  and  increase soundstage dimension and space. The Purifi driver itself has a resonant frequency of 30 hz.and can be used in a rather small box. This driver will be a drop in replacement for most Seas and Scanspeak  6.5 in. drivers. Tom
kenjit
1,771 posts
 
This driver will be a drop in replacement for most Seas and Scanspeak 6.5 in. drivers
no it will not. Its unlikely to fit the exact size hole and every driver must be custom tuned to the box. No such thing as a drop in replacement. 
kenjit
1,771 posts
 
and erik is wrong again. 

A 6.5 inch woofer must not do bass. Its too small. You need big 15 inch woofers to do bass. And doing bass and mids is a horrible compromise. Erik is all wrong. 
prof
3,436 posts
 

Yep, Erik.

As an owner of the Joseph Audio Perspective speakers I know what you are talking about.  Their (even smaller) dual 5.5" long-throw woofers continue to blow me away, often seeming to sound even deeper and punchier than the big Thiel 3.7s the replaced (3 way with 10" woofers).

As John Atkinson, a man not unfamiliar with the performance of many speakers, said in his review of the Perspective2:

----  "When the kickdrum was doubled with synth dropped-bass notes, I was astonished by how much clean, low-frequency energy four 5.5" woofers could pump into my room. " -------
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