Open Baffle Bass

[kctess5]

Considering that OB drivers don't actually pressurize the room would it be a reasonable assumption that the low frequencies from open speakers wont travel through the house and be as audible downstairs as just a bass line like closed or ported speakers?

As I have before mentioned my mother really hates bass, and I was thinking OB speakers might be a way to have it travel through our house less

[Nelson Pass]

It's a reasonable assumption. Don't count on it too much.

[CLS]

Yes.

Listening in the next room, OB speakers sound natural and balanced as in front of them, just lower in overall SPL. While boxed speakers just sound very boomy in such situation.

Pressurization aside, its directivity also contributes. In fact I'm not sure which is more significant in this regard....

[kctess5]

Ok thanks. I budgeted out my next few ideas for projects and the open baffle came out to a minimum or around $300 which is a bit more than I want to spend but I will keep it in mind for the long term for sure. I've been making some money from selling my high school friends car subwoofers and if that picks up a bit I could actually have enough money for some nicer drivers and electronics which is cool. I have to work for all the money I spend (i.e. my parents dont buy it for me) which gives me an appreciation for the cost of these systems, but also makes finding budget tricky.

I think next I'm going to make some needles with some fostex drivers and keep it around $200 and use it as a secondary system in my room. I want to get into veneering and the needles look like a great place to start, plus theyre small, relatively speaking.

Then after that I think I might look into a diy tube amp and get my hands on a nice D/A converter....

So many projects, so little time. I need rehab

[Charles Darwin]

Originally Posted by CLS

Yes.

Listening in the next room, OB speakers sound natural and balanced as in front of them, just lower in overall SPL. While boxed speakers just sound very boomy in such situation.

Pressurization aside, its directivity also contributes. In fact I'm not sure which is more significant in this regard....

Don't over generalize.
I have heard many and own boxed speakers where there is nothing boomy about the sound when listened from the another room.

[paulspencer]

I think I know your problem. Elderly can lose the rest of their hearing but still retain bass. So it seems to annoy them even more.

I don't think open baffle is going to help you in the way that you hope. You will get less bass, and that is probably the only way an open baffle will help. The dipole nulls in the room will have little effect on the bass getting out of the room. In theory a dipole can give some reduction, but in practice I doubt it will amount to much.

Headphones, limiting the bass and volume are your solutions ... unfortunately!

[croat47]

Related, but can be ignored if too OT: What about something like a medium-sized church sanctuary? Say 2000 sqft. Musical instrument cabinets are at one end. Bass gets bounced around and turns muddy.

Could a couple of symmetrically placed U-frames for the lower registers help minimize the problem? Maybe a standard 1x12 or 2x10 for the mid-upper registers? Wonder if a U-frame Alpha 15 could handle the situation and minimize the pressurization/room mode issues?

[paulspencer]

Aaron,
For that situation I would say you want to control directivity in the midranage - Synergy horn is ideal. In the bass if you have problems with excessive reverberation times then acoustic treatment is needed.

[Jay]

Originally Posted by Nelson Pass

It's a reasonable assumption. Don't count on it too much.

I also think that it is a reasonable assumption. But from outside the room, the room itself is the box. It is just that with vented box, the out-of-room response has more possibility to go out of control.

Low power amp will help here.

[croat47]

Originally Posted by paulspencer

Aaron,
For that situation I would say you want to control directivity in the midranage - Synergy horn is ideal. In the bass if you have problems with excessive reverberation times then acoustic treatment is needed.

That was my other thought. Can I contact you offline about horn size and frequency range? I would expect to really only want 80hz and up as it can get muddy below that in a non-PA and non-treated room.

Peace.