midwoofer diffraction

[mazurek]

I'm sorry if this has already been covered, some things are hard to search for because of closely related topics.

I've seen the standard diffraction stuff for tweeters on baffles of different widths at linkwitzlab.com, and in the loudspeaker design cookbook. I was wondering if baffle diffraction, specifically the waves in frequency response (baffle step correction is another matter which is easier), is actually an important factor for 7" drivers?

My next project will have a waveguide tweeter, and two subwoofers. I was wondering if I could put the midwoofer on the same baffle width as subwoofers. The tweeter should be protected from diffraction effects by its waveguide.

Lee

[Svante]

Try the Edge in my signature and you will see how much the effect the baffle step has on your particular design.

[mazurek]

Awesome program. Here is my simulation of the 7" woofer on the loudspeaker, Curve 1 is bookshelf alone, Curve 2 is the bookshelf on the subwoofer, and Curve 3 is the proposed 13.5" wide baffle. The response does not look terrible, but it does have a 2db boost over a wide frequency.

I'm curious how closely this will match reality, in those frequency ranges the woofer has a really wide polar response, so I assume it would be close to simulation. However, subjectively, the speaker never needed 6db of baffle correction to sound right.

Thanks for the link, now I know what type of tradeoffs I'll potentially be making.

Lee