2. misc-audio
  3. 194095-11297

There is no substitute for cubic inch or in this case surface area

After listening to quite a few speakers, my conclusion is that if you want large enveloping soundstage, you need a lot of drivers.  

I once had a speaker with two 12in. drivers and the soundstage is just floating in the air.  None of my other speakers could do that.

Currently I have a pair of Thiel CS2.4.  It is a very good speaker but with small drivers there is really limitation to what it can do in term of soundstage size.  I really miss that.

andy2
andy2 OP
1,577 posts
 

Most newer speakers have multiple smaller drivers so you could have speed and low bass.  But which one would you rather have: two 8in drivers moving violently or one 12in driver moving gently?

inna
7,923 posts
 

Speaking of soundstage, one 8" woofer can do it very well. It very much depends on electronics, including tubes. I had some vintage GE 12AX7 tubes in the preamp of VAC integrated when I bought it. Then I replaced them with vintage Mullard long plates. The difference was big in every element, and it wasn't really bad even with those GE. Tubes matter, a lot.

As for scale, dynamics and impact, well, that's different subject.

bassbuyer
443 posts
 

Good question.  At face value 12 inch drivers will put out a bigger soundstage than 3 inch drivers.  I find it depends on the listening room.  Large tower speakers with multiple 8+ inch drivers will put out a large soundstage if properly designed and built but can over power a smaller room.  By the same token a pair of bookshelves with 6 inch drivers that are a great match for a smaller room can be limited in a larger room.  I have both types of speakers in two different rooms and matched well they each sound excellent with a soundstage that fits the room.  

knotscott's avatar
knotscott
1,108 posts
 

There are a lot of variables in play, very few absolutes, and pros and cons with every choice.  Freedriver touched on the fact that larger drivers become directional at frequencies that are larger than the surface diameter.  

Implementation, setup, the listening space, phase coherency all play a large role in the outcome.

 

larryi
4,266 posts
 

I prefer the sound of low excursion woofers--I like their ability to reproduce tonal nuances instead of just delivering deep, punchy bass; they sound more natural to me.  This does come at the cost of not being able to go very deep in frequency response.  This is admittedly a big price to pay but it is a personal preference.  Among the better modern woofers I've heard are custom woofers that are 18" in diameter and have pleated fabric surrounds that limit excursion and the thiele-small parameters require use of a very large enclosure.  A local builder who got a manufacturer to build drivers to his specifications uses twin 18" drivers in some of his bigger speaker and is proud that they go down to 35 hz.  I really don't miss the lower frequencies when I hear these systems.  Another modern driver supplier who sells 18" field coil woofers also makes them with low excursion and they are even more limited in deep bass response but sound very agile and clean; this builder uses these drivers too for customers looking for its signature, but, these drivers cost more than $20k per pair.

More to discover