How do small woofers produce large bass?

I think it's very sad main speakers have decreased the diameter of their bass drivers over the past 20 years. Ultimately this led to creating a subwoofer market. Apparently to get great sound you have to buy a pair of subwoofers because the main speakers no longer have adequate base.

It's a marketing gimmick. Subwoofers can make really good tables. 

@josepad 

Wgat does your amp have anything to do with this?

You mentioned you need power to make bass.

@emergingsoul 

It's a marketing gimmick. Subwoofers can make really good tables. 

Some guys are suckered to spend 90% of the budget on subs for 0.006% of the bandwidth (120Hz/20,000).

I’d hate to see people reading stuff like this and spend their money thinking full range speakers can replace subs and find out it’s not true. I still advocate full range + subs is the way to go.

I also can’t stand the girls in AVS and ASR who think a 650" subwoofer and a 1" speaker is high quality music. To them, SPL is quality bass. It’s physics and science they say. That’s like saying a 650" subwoofer cone is quicker, faster and more detailed than a beryllium cone. It’s grade F science.

@bartsw 

I never mentioned anything about power is needed for bass, you must be confusing your posts and which your reading. Most subs today are powered subs so they have their own amps, usually class D amps in the case of SVS. My SB2000 are rated at 500 watts RMS and 1100 watts peak, more than enough.

Although I do agree that subs are generally needed to get a full frequency range performance. Many subs don’t even rate to 20Hz, but about 30Hz is where they are rated. The internal xover of the SB2000 only goes to 50Hz, for me to use them and integrate them properly I need an external crossover that will go to 20Hz setting. If I use them with my Canton Vento 100, I’ll be cancelling some low frequencies and just cause myself issues.

I’ve tried for years to like certain speakers, especially recently when I was speaker shopping, but none of them gave me the low end slam, details that I was looking for. Not until I demo the Canton Vento 100.

Regardless, in general whatever speaker you get, to get deep sub 25Hz full range you will need subs.

I stopped reading ASR years ago, as he (they) are 1000% about specs, not about how the gear sounds or system synergy.

@josepad 

The internal xover of the SB2000 only goes to 50Hz

That's easy. You can wing it and put the subs in the opposite side of the room. Better if you have digital eq, room measurement software, or room correction, you can knock down the overlap.

Acoustic Energy Corinium, the KEF R11 Meta, the Dali Opticon 8 MKII, and the PSB T600

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.

Acoustic Energy Corinium: 38Hz – 25kHz (±3 dB), 2 x 6.5" cone woofers

KEF R11 Meta - 46Hz - 28kHz (±3 dB), 4 x 6.5" cone woofers

Dali Opticon 8 MKII: 38Hz – 30kHz (±3 dB), 2 x 8" cone woofers

PSB Synchrony T600: 24Hz – 33kHz (±3 dB), 3 x 6.5" cone woofers

Honestly, the only pair that really impressed me with its bass extension is the PSB Synchrony T600, reaching down to 24 Hz—almost full-range. The other three pairs weren’t as remarkable, so I didn’t go into detail on them. Their bass performance could easily be achieved by a good bookshelf or standmount design.

I would attribute the T600’s hefty bass response primarily to the combination of its triple-port tuning (for low frequencies), three 6.5″ woofers, generous cabinet volume, and stiff internal bracing with thick wall and damping materials. The port dimensions behind each woofer were carefully optimized to achieve low tuning frequencies. In fact, you can block or partially plug some or all of the ports to adjust the low-frequency response for different room acoustics, and the resulting changes could be substantial.

All of these contribute to the so-called low-Q alignment, enabling smooth extension down to 24 Hz. The three 6.5″ cone woofers have an effective radiating area equivalent to two 8″ woofers, and roughly halfway between a single 10″ and 12″ woofer. The high excursion of each woofer also allows the system to move more air than average drivers, enhancing low-frequency output.