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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
deep_333
2,440 posts
 

There are other designs and enclosures he does around that 21 inch driver. Here's an example. I guess you could tell him what you want. 

 

I assume  you've seen the regular one, which is the one i currently have.

 

@phusis wrote

Is the 21" variant also horn-loaded? I also crave those larger woofers of higher efficiency, but the important aspect to me is the specific design in which they're implemented; for sub duties I prefer those larger drivers to be at least partially "hidden" and not direct radiating, as the latter seems to more readily expose the sense of a large woofer cone, not as much for giving the feeling of an effort being made as for having a "cone sound."

phusis's avatar
phusis
1,396 posts
 

@deep_333 wrote:

There are other designs and enclosures he does around that 21 inch driver. Here’s an example. I guess you could tell him what you want. 

Oh, I know Mr. Ricci’s Othorns and the driver the design is built around, the B&C 21SW152. Great subs, arguably some of the best around within their frequency range. They are the ones I originally wanted a pair of in my speaker setup, but eventually opted for another tapped horn option with a smaller, 15" B&C woofer. 

I assume you’ve seen the regular one, which is the one i currently have.

Classic ported design. What’s the tune of this?

mswale
382 posts
 

Single small woofers will have issues, but a few small woofers can be magical. Martin Logan made small sub arrays with 6in and 8in woofers. They hit hard, and deep! 

It's mostly about surface area. 3 8in woofers have more surface area then a 15in one. Of course the smaller woofers can move faster, be more ridged, have more control at high excersion. 

Generally for bass you need surface area, proper cabinet, long throw, and power.

ditusa's avatar
ditusa
2,447 posts
 

The surface area of one15’’ woofer is 139 square inches.

The surface area of one 8’’ woofer is 32 square inches. 

It’s mostly about surface area. 3 8in woofers have more surface area then a 15in one.

Mike

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