How do small woofers produce large bass?


Hi All,

I am looking at loudspeakers... I currently own the Arendal 1723 THX Monitors. 2 8" woofers each. I listen to probably 80% home theater and 20% pure two-channel music of all sorts. I am contemplating upgrading the speakers, and there are a number that I am very interested in. The Arendals are killer for music and home theater. In fact crazy amazing at home theater. I have also 2 SVS SB-3000 subs. 

But as we all know, wanting to upgrade. blah blah ad nauseum.  :) 
 And most everything I’m looking at has 6.5" bass drivers, usually 2 per speaker. I am looking at the Acoustic Energy Corinium, the KEF R11 Meta, the Dali Opticon 8 MKII, and the PSB T600.

I have a fear that the bass will be plenty for two-channel music, but won’t have that bad-ass slam of the Arendal’s dual 8" drivers. So my question is sort of a scientific one or a physics one. I am baffled as to how the 6.5" drivers in all of these new speakers are going to produce home theater sized bass. I’ve watched every video, read every article about those 4 contenders (above) - and everything/everybody says essentially "no worries, the woofers are lighter and faster, and since there are two of them, they make a great deal of bass. I just think I’m not seeing the "science" or "physics" of that. Like how are these 6.5" drivers going to handle something incredibly powerful/dynamic (bomb blasts/gun shots/thunder/explosions etc etc???  I’m afraid I’ll be let down by something like the PSB T600’s or the KEF R11 Metas when head to head with the dual 8" drivers in my Arendals. I’m hoping people can assure me and/or run through the science....  thanks to all.    Oh, and yes, I do cross over to my two subs at 60Hz.   

audiotruth

So the 1723's are listed as dual 6.5", not dual 8". 

The answer is usually in the room and damping.  A modest room with good damping of the mid to high frequencies can sound much larger than you'd think, even with single 6.5" drivers.  

If you ask, can they go loud enough if high passed for a modest room? Sure.  Will they produce effortless sub-20 Hz? No. 

Of the speakers you mention, the Dali's are the most troublesome.  Some are tuned with a deliberate high frequency shelf, which can be great for low level detail listening but can also be too bright and tiring otherwise, so listen for extended periods of time and don't be fooled by "I can't believe I never heard this" kind of effects. 

If you want something fun, maybe try the Klipsch Heresy's.  That will be a night/day experience compared to what you are listening to now. :) 

Usually, they can't.  You could get more bass from a smaller driver by pushing it to a longer excursion limit.  But that usually takes a lot of power and/ or EQ'ing of the signal to get that deep bass.  This is how small subwoofers like the KEF offerings produce deep bass.  They have a big amplifier and a lot of EQ built into the control board of the sub.

Also, a smaller woofer, such as a 6.5" unit could produce a 20Hz tone....but maybe only at about 60dB, rather than 90dB+ like a 15" subwoofer driver could.  A headphone driver can produce a 20Hz tone that you can hear as long as you're wearing the headphones.  From a meter away?  No.  Not even close.

Most speakers today have smaller woofers due to design choices.  This keeps the cabinets narrow and not as wide as something like a Klipsch Forte.  So to compensate, multiple smaller drivers combine to try to add up to the piston area of 1 larger woofer, like a 12" woofer.

But if you're running a crossover at 60Hz, you're somewhat neutering the main speakers anyway, so it might not matter, in your case.  Some people run their speakers full-range and then use a sub or subs to augment the extreme lows, underpinning the mains, instead.

Basically mentioned above, but also the larger driver exhibits less distortion at higher levels.

 

There should be some videos of a guy testing just this, comparing various driver sizes and building various cabinets sizes to make them equal.

 

I find slam is generally associated with mid-bass (~60Hz) and above because the wavelength is shorter. Deep bass has a longer wavelength so it’s smooth bass or felt as pressure. Then again it’s relative because Arendal can use an 8" driver and a smaller cabinet to get more slam but sacrificing lower extension.

 

Generally though you’ll find an 8" driver in a floor standing speaker will be more smooth than a 6.5" driver above 30Hz. That's likely due to a larger cabinet and lower extension design.

 

With a 60Hz crossover, it’s probably a discussion of preference and there’s no way to really answer which speaker sounds best to you in that range. You also have to factor your preference in the high frequency, which is huge.

 

Personally for mixed movie / music use in a general living room, I like speakers that offer the most flexibility, which means larger drivers and a bright sound signature.

Post removed 

Almost any well-deigned floorstanding speaker will have no problem getting you down to 50Hz, so bass is probably the least of your worries in terms of things to worry about in terms of upgrading.  Two speakers I think would be an across-the-board significant upgrade would be the ATC SCM40 or Joseph Audio Profiles just to name a couple.  The 40s in particular have their muscular dome midrange that’ll likely up dynamics from the lower mids on up significantly over what you have now (assuming you have the amp for it), and here’s a link for the 40s just fyi, and best of luck. 

https://thesourceav.com/products/atc-scm40