Open baffle speakers
Open baffle speakers design is the simplest , to get bass response similar to other design , like ported, the baffle size must be huge to avoid low frequency degradations . Tipical size the baffle width 10-20" got weak bass performance. I am wondering how open baffle speakers design became so popular ?
Like box speakers, every OB is unique. People are referring to OB’s as if each is the same simply because they’re OB’s. I fail to understand the logic in that. Those I posted were each created by one custom builder. They’re not a speaker for everyone. But I found them to duplicate music very accurately, especially the bass. I’ve never heard more authentic bass from a speaker as those OB’s. |
@Coltrane1 our experiences seem very similar. The bass is sublime. Way more textured and detailed than any box speaker I’ve heard. I honestly don’t know why a certain segment of the audiophile community has made it their mission to denigrate a particular speaker design. Variety is the spice of life and all that. I wish there were more commercially available open baffles (excluding ribbons and quasi ribbon dipoles). As it stands they are quite rare. I guess that’s the reason you and I have gone the custom route. |
Maybe the bass is "way more textured" because open baffle speakers tend to use an accordion rather than foam surround? I use JBL 2241H (18") and 2251J (~10") woofers in ported cabinets and these have accordion and double roll, respectively, rather than foam surrounds and are extremely textured in the bass. I am not a fan of foam surrounds even if they go a bit lower. I have JBL AlNiCo 2235s (foam edge 15") in my L200/300 cabinets and the texture of the bass, especially things like stand-up string bass, can’t compare.
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Who knows. Here’s the 15” woofer my new build gets. https://www.sbaudience.com/index.php/products/open-baffle-drivers/bianco-15ob350/ It does seem to have the same surround as the JBLs.
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No not quite, though it appears to be a "double roll" rather than a simple foam. It would appear that your selected surround is "applied" to the cone whereas the JBLs are a "part" of the cone and of different material. Of course the JBLs also have bigger voice coils, more tesla, higher BL, etc., but I don't think they are suited to open baffle mounts. Another qualifier when I put these together was that there would be no foams to rot and replace, again at the expense of deeper bass. |
