Horn Loaded Sub Recommendation

[DrWho]

On 8/3/2016 at 4:56 PM, Chief bonehead said:

 

you know doc, i am beginning to think that you really dont know me all....but thats ok...i still like you.

 

Haha, you're no fun. One of these days I'm hoping you'll take the bait 

[DrWho]

On 8/3/2016 at 5:27 PM, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said:

 

Who on earth wants to listen to 100 hz at 153 db?   35-40 hz at 153 and you've got you a respectable car audio system.  100 hz is a strange frequency for them to brag about.  

 

Haha, I certainly don't!

 

Btw, there is a difference between 153dB with distortion limits and 153dB without distortion limits. The thing about distortion is that most of the non-linearities in a system get worse as you get louder. If you follow those trends back the other way, then you'll find that the distortion gets less as you get quieter. Generally speaking - a system that can go louder with the same amount of distortion will have less distortion when played back at a lower SPL. In other words, low distortion designs tend towards high SPL capability. However, high SPL designs don't necessarily tend towards low distortion.

 

I've been thinking about what Roy has been saying (or more like not saying) and I think it's important to remember that distortion curves aren't linear. In other words, you hit a point in the output where the distortion starts getting bad very quickly (like when you bottom out a driver). Once you're below that knee, there are different distortion mechanisms at play. Perhaps that's what Roy means by talking about sound quality, but then I think maybe that gets into a conversation about design targets. Perhaps the high excursion drivers are giving up some performance at lower SPLs? I haven't seen that in the plots that Ricci has posted, but then the drivers Ricci has been measuring are in the over-priced category.