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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
russbutton's avatar
russbutton
429 posts
 
There's no replacement for displacement.

You can get some very good low end with small drivers in a transmission line enclosure.  But you can't get level and transient response.   Can't do it.  

Which is why you want sub-woofers.  And not just one or two.  Each sub creates standing waves in a room.  So the frequency response is uneven throughout the room.  So what you want to do is to have multiple subs, so that their respective standing waves even things out in the room.   I have three subs for that reason.

If you want more level, you need bigger drivers.  If you don't need higher levels, you can get away with smaller drivers.  My subs have 10" drivers for instance, but with three of them, it meets my needs.
danvignau's avatar
danvignau
935 posts
 
I have two sets of speakers with 2 pairs of six inch drivers.  They are great, but in my current listening room, my 25 x 30 living room with high ceilings,  subs are a must on much music. One pair is duplicated in my 12 x 12 bedroom with no subs needed, even without tone controls. I have actually considered using a big sub cabinet wired for stereo sets of 6.5 inch drivers, maybe 3 or 4 per channel, depending on the leftover crossovers I am still playing with.
jjcalvillo
3 posts
 
My pair of EPI Model 5s agree with you. If you set a speaker up right, usually explained in the owner's manual, you get what the speaker was designed to do.


desktopguy
367 posts
 
I agree with Erik, not based on measurements, but my own ears. I do all my listening via a complex desktop audio setup. I've had 5-6 different powered speakers + passives here, and the top of the heap is the ATC SCM12 Pro passives. 

These have 6" woofers and easily the best tweeter I've ever heard. The bass is astounding, also the volume and fullness of sound. I do have a sub (always did) which handles notes below 70 Hz. But down to that cutoff, the bass is concussive & very detailed. The mid-bass in particular is rich & full, just like real music. 

Until the ATCs I wouldn't have believed bass this good could come out of a 2-way.
jfuquay
107 posts
 
I think it’s worth noting that the prototype Magnepan “30.7 for condos” recently shown uses multiple smaller woofers for its bass component. All the options available and that’s what they chose. You can argue that the company is trying to keep up with the speed of its ribbon driver, but that responsiveness strikes me as a plus itself.
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