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Bass distortion before tweeter distortion with a monitor at high volume?

I am looking at getting a set of monitors for a second system in a small room (12' x 10') , but I would also like the flexibility to play them in my main system in a room that is larger (13' x 25') with cathedral ceilings.

Let's assume that the small speaker I end up with won't be able to produce enough volume without distorting in the larger room.  Most of what I have read indicates that a subwoofer would solve the problem.  My understanding is that I would want to high-pass the bass on the speaker before it reaches the point of distortion, solving that issue.

If that is true, that leads me to believe that generally the tweeter would not be distorting unless the volume is at a higher level.  Is this normally the case?  If not, it seems there would be no point to using the sub. 

To restate the question:  With a high quality monitor, is it safe to say that the tweeter can play at higher volume without distorting compared to the woofer?  I am speaking in general terms here - I am sure there are exceptions.  Thanks.
abnerjack
sfall
346 posts
 
" My understanding is that I would want to high-pass the bass on the speaker before it reaches the point of distortion, solving that issue. "

Its not so much a distortion issue. You're just letting a different part of the system handle certain frequencies. That said, you can make just about anything distort if you push it hard enough. If you don't install a sub, that doesn't mean the lows are going to distort. If its a small speaker, its just not able to reproduce really low notes.

" To restate the question: With a high quality monitor, is it safe to say that the tweeter can play at higher volume without distorting compared to the woofer? "

No. At least for the most part. If your amp is struggling to drive a whole speaker and you use it just for the highs, you may be able to get more volume.

Here's a link to a very good article on subs, and everything you need to do for best results. No stone is left upturned, and its written so that anyone can follow it. You don't need years of experience to understand it.
http://vandersteen.com/media/files/APJ%20Files/APJ_2_rl.pdf
abnerjack OP
208 posts
 
sfall,

Thanks for the response and for the link. 

Here is what I don't understand.  If I try to play a small speaker in a too large room and have to supply too much power to it, it will distort.  True?  It just can't play that loudly.  So simply adding the subwoofer would not relieve the "strain" on the drivers, it would only provide more bass, but I would still have to live with the distortion, both from the woofer and from the tweeter (I'm talking about a two-way speaker).

If I did relieve the speaker of much of the bass load with a high pass filter, you are saying that you believe in most cases the part of the signal that goes to the main speaker would still be distorted?
sboje
38 posts
 
Assuming that you aren't amp limited...

I believe you would increase the headroom of the system significantly with a high-pass. This calculator (below) indicates that the necessary excursion of a driver producing 40hz is 4X greater than the same driver at 80hz. This would probably clean up your bass and midrange also.

If your speaker manufacturer uses the same tweeter in a larger 3 or even 4-way design, I would expect it to breeze along just fine.
http://www.baudline.com/erik/bass/xmaxer.html



abnerjack OP
208 posts
 
sboje,


"If your speaker manufacturer uses the same tweeter in a larger 3 or even 4-way design, I would expect it to breeze along just fine."

Thanks for an excellent common sense answer.  To find a real world example, I went to Kef's web site and looked at their Q series, which utilizes the Uni-Q driver in the Q100 bookshelf.  The next speaker up in the line, the Q500, uses the same tweeter along with three other drivers for the frequencies below the tweeter's capability. 

In this example, it seems I could use the bookshelf along with a quality high pass and a sub(s) to achieve the flexibility I am looking for.  Sounds like a great solution.  I know I could take this exercise only so far , but can it be that I am actually having my cake and eating it to?  Thanks again. 
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