Would ported or sealed enclosure be best for this driver in small PA system?

[The Paulinator]

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=295-130


The Ported volume is 4.61 cu. , the sealed volume is just over 2 cubic feet. What would most likely be the most beneficial design when using this driver in a small PA 3-way speaker?

[Nappylady]

Sealed! The sealed version is smaller and less likely to be driven into overexcursion than the ported one.

If I could suggest, though, a driver that is only 89dB efficient is probably a poor choice for PA. I just built a couple of subs based on Parts Express 290-380, in a 2 cubic foot box tuned to 40hz, and they are VERY nice, and inexpensive too. For about the same amount of money, you could use two of these 10" drivers and get likely the same amount of output as the one Dayton, and not have to drive your amps nearly as hard. The downside would be an increased risk of overexcursion below the tuning frequency, and that some people might look down their nose at you for using inexpensive 10" drivers.

The dayton driver there is really more suitable for home theatre or studio work than for PA.

[sreten]

I agree its probably a good idea to give up some bass extension
for more efficiency, the "Pro" trade-off is different to Home use
and its this that fundamentally seperates the types of drivers.

However using home units in multiples for more efficiency means
you can end up with parameters very comparable to Pro drivers.

The bass extension you can achieve at home will be next
to inaudible with single 15" drivers used in large spaces.

Reflexing to around 40 Hz and a bass filter below
say 35 Hz is a good idea for a standard PA 3-way.

I'll also note you shouldn't use a driver without response data.

This is a lot more like it :

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=295-080

sreten.

[electroaudio]

Originally posted by The Paulinator
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=295-130


The Ported volume is 4.61 cu. , the sealed volume is just over 2 cubic feet. What would most likely be the most beneficial design when using this driver in a small PA 3-way speaker?

I wouldnt go for that driver at all.
the maximum SPL is only 94dB @ 10m

http://www.stageaccompany.com/splcalc/splcalc.html

Why not something like this one instead? you will save three quarters of amps for the same spl and have a lot more to give after that, 103dB@10m.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...=290-454&DID=7
The total cost for this amp-speaker combo will also be much lower.

[Stephen D]

Agree with sreten. The Dayton he linked to would be a much beter choice... or 4 of these - http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=295-550
... in a 3.2 cub ft ported tuned to 38-40 Hz would kick but.

I would never concider sealed for a PA sub/woofer. Sealed generaly takes roughly 2-4 times as many drivers as ported to equal the same output in the bottom octave!!!

[The Paulinator]

Here's the deal:

I really needed some PA speakers, pronto, and on a fairly limited budget. I actually already had one of these Dayton 15's so it was easy on that budget to just get a second one.

I am not really too concerned about the speaker needing too much power, because I already have way more power with this system than I know what to do with (over 2000 watts RMS per side). The reason I didn't go with something like the Eminence woofer is that this Dayton had over twice the Xmax of practically any of the medium priced PA drivers I looked at. For example, that Eminence has 3mm, the Dayton had 8mm. Since these speakers, being used most often by themselves, might be demanded a bit more of on certain occasions, I figured some extra usable travel might help. I know Xmax can be overrated, but in this case, the driver will not be used full range like in many PA cabinets so I wanted a driver that could put out. Did I totally blow it? Or could this work out if I play my cards right?


Won't using a sealed enclosure help that sensitivity problem, as well?

[The Paulinator]

I must not have a full understanding of this. Why would that Eminence be capable of more output? Also, the Dayton 10's are just a smaller version of the same driver basically, arent they? Or are they alot more sensitive because they are for automotive use?

[kelticwizard]

Ported and sealed will yield equal sensitivity in the midband.

Ported will yield superior low end extension.

From my experience with DJ's, a normal DJ cab is around 3 cu ft with a ported 15 in speaker and a tweeter crossing over around 2,000 Hz. The tweeter is often a piezo, for anti-blowout purposes.

If this is basically what you are looking at here, I would suggest ported for a yet unmentioned reason: the cone excursion in a ported enclosure is greatly reduced, preventing the lows from muddying the highs too much.

A PA cab is about high output, so you can be sure the bass will be pumping. With one speaker carrying the bass, the midrange and even part of the treble, you can be sure the bass notes will be muddying up the midrange notes, where most of the music is.

I suggest you go ported. A 3 cu ft box should do you nicely, and it only a little bigger than an average house hifi speaker of 2 cu ft.

[Stephen D]

Originally posted by The Paulinator
I must not have a full understanding of this. Why would that Eminence be capable of more output? Also, the Dayton 10's are just a smaller version of the same driver basically, arent they? Or are they alot more sensitive because they are for automotive use?

The Dayton Series II you are interested in would be capable of more SPL than that Eminence. If you were going to go with a Pro 15 the Dayton sreten linked to would be a better choice. With as much power is you have you could get by with the inefficiency of the Series II but it just doesn't model very well for higher port tunings (38-42 Hz) more appropriate for PA. It's more optimize for tunings below 25 Hz appropriate for HT. The 10" Dayton Quatro I linked to isn't the same at all. It models very well for PA & 4 of them will work in roughly the same size box as 1x15" & have more total cone area & higher sensitivity with significantly greater max SPL than the Series II 15". Here's a graph comparing the max SPL of the Series II 15" to 4 of the Quatro 10" in roughly the same size box. The Series II in green (3 cub ft/36 Hz) & the 4 Quatro's in yellow (3.3 cub ft/40 Hz).

[The Paulinator]

Should I maybe put it in a sealed enclosure to up the sensitivity and tune it to slightly higher bass frequencies?