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From: seifert@hammer.UUCP (Snoopy)
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: subwoofers and xovers
Message-ID: <1556@hammer.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 11-Oct-85 23:30:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: hammer.1556
Posted: Fri Oct 11 23:30:05 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 13-Oct-85 02:30:10 EDT
References: <1395@teddy.UUCP>
Reply-To: tekecs!doghouse.TEK!snoopy
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Organization: The Daisy Hill Puppy Farm
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Xref: tektronix net.audio:06464 
Summary: You can't Phool Phather Fysics

Before everyone runs off and builds subwoofers with two 8" drivers,
I'd like to point out that this isn't going to be much of a subwoofer.
I've seen specs for so-called "subwoofers" that doen't even go down
as far as my AR-11s. (-3dB @ ~35Hz)  A subwoofer should go down to
at least 20Hz, if you're into organ music there's one last note down
around 16Hz or so.  Producing these frequencies at any sort of volume
means pushing LARGE volumes of air around.  The AR-9 has two 12"
woofers each, and the -3dB point is 28Hz. (sigh)  You can go to larger
drivers, but transient response will probably suffer.  The enclosure
is also going to have to be fairly large.

Yes, there are subwoofers on the market with a single 12" driver
in, say a 14" cube that go down to 20Hz.  A friend of mine has one.
It won't play very loud before running into problems.

Of course you could set up the system in a smaller room, like a
walk-in closet... :-)

Physics by any other name presents the same restrictions.

(BTW, no I don't have a subwoofer.  Maybe someday...)

Snoopy
tektronix!tekecs!doghouse.TEK!snoopy