GWklipsch Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 I wonder if a few of you who know about subwoofers could discus why they are often built with a cube shape. I ask this because after reading a few books on speaker building they all seem to agree that a cube is the worst shape to build a speaker.My guess is that it has something to do with getting more low end output with less power. I would really like to understand this better.George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 Mine are tall and refrigerator-shaped. A cube is nearly a sphere and encloses a lot of volume for its size. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klewless Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 My thoughts, The cube is a bad shape for the listening room because of the sharp resonance at one particular frequency. But in a sub box this would seem to be an advantage. It would amount to a strong controlled resonance which would complement the sub's woofer. That's my take on this subject. I do realize that there is a lot going on between the driver, it's box, and it's operating room. A lot more than this simple explanation. It is about getting more output as well as providing good control. ------------------ John P St Paul, MN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stig Posted February 24, 2001 Share Posted February 24, 2001 I beleive it depends on the wavelength of the frequency being produced inside the box. A 200 cycle freq. is approx. 5.5 ft. long. The higher the freq. the more critical the enclosure becomes due to resonance. Stig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Saldutti Posted February 24, 2001 Share Posted February 24, 2001 I understand the idea of a box, of course with corners would seem very wrong for a sub woofer enclosure. I always felt that a tubular ported design seem very natural. But as physics plays all parts of the critical and theoretical design process such as porting or not, fold cavities and space and volume design practices all come into play. Terminology such as "orders" by design as far structure and crossover configurations etc. I have read books and attended classes on speaker design and still I have reservation. I have experimented using CAD programs and design software and still it comes down to bang for the buck. What works best for the total cost of getting the product to market and having the end users ecstatic about the product? Kurt ------------------ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted February 24, 2001 Share Posted February 24, 2001 A lot of subwoofers (SVS, Hsu, Gallo) don't use cubes, they use cylinders or spheres. I think it comes down to fact that if you're a speaker manufacturer, and you've got tooling to build other cabinets, it's cheaper and easier to build a square box than some other shape. Also, square boxes look more "normal" which helps with acceptance by other family members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted February 24, 2001 Share Posted February 24, 2001 I think Stig has the answer. It is more a question of why a cube is not used elsewhere. In other direct radiator speakers, i.e. where the bass cabinet and driver are used up to, say 600 to 2000 Hz, we want to make sure that the internal dimensions of the box H, W, D are different. To some extent, the inside of the box will form a resonant tube (closed on each end) with a length equal to the H, W, and D. (This is a simplied explanation.) The worst case would be if all three dimensions are equal to effectively form three "tubes" of identical length. With a sub though, there is little or no high frequency power being provided by the driver. Therefore, the relative dimensions don't make a difference, as long as they're a small fraction of a wavelength. Even if there is a potential for resonance, it is not excited. As pointed out above, the wavelengths fed to sub are just too long. There is something to be said for avoiding long panels in the sub. The cube shape avoids this. Of course, if you are designing a ported sub, you may wind us using a long pipe. So then you need a longer container in which to fit it, or will have to fold the pipe. That is my read. Gil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oosting Posted February 24, 2001 Share Posted February 24, 2001 For a given volume of a box, the cube has the smallest surface area, using the least amount of materials. Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stone Posted February 25, 2001 Share Posted February 25, 2001 Well, first of all my M&K isn't an exact cube, but what do you propose is better? A Tube? a sphere? a pyramid? The tube is probably the best of the three(maybe over all) but integrating an amp in could be tricky, and a large portion of subs are powered now-a-days. Aesthetics plays a part as well as the fact that multiple drivers and large amps are easily fit into a "cube" configuration. It's not something your kids knock over either. Plain and simple - They are practical but not necessarily the sole best. It depends on what one wants to achieve... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.