Baffle design

[jonkun227]

I've read several pages about baffle design but the wording left me somewhat confused. I couldn't tell if it was saying that straight segments and hard angles were better or worse than curved segments and rounded edges.

Or is it not that universally simple?

Or is it entirely irrelevant?

I'd love to find out that it really doesn't matter. I'm designing an acrylic enclosure which obviously requires bracing and want to understand the effect of different shapes inside the case. Because the enclosure is entirely transparent the shape of the bracing will impact the overall visual appearance of the project.

So go ahead and tell me I can make it whatever shape I want and the only thing that matters is the actual volume of the airspace. Otherwise break it to me gently.

Thanks!


- Jon


P.S. I am a graphic designer and photographer. Form over function is acceptable to me to some degree. Also, this is an upgrade from an off-the-shelf Sony receiver with powered sub of unknown specs.

[Svante]

The biggest effect comes from the shape of the baffle, rounded edges only make a small difference at the highest frequencies.

If you are modelling a flat baffle you can download "The Edge" in my signature and play with it to see the effects of the baffle size and shape on the frequency response.

[Geoff H]

Hi Jon. Are talking of the shape of the baffle viewed from the front, or how the baffle merges into the sides?

Geoff.

[jonkun227]

Sure. Whatever you have to tell me is great. But mostly I'm talking about overall coverage and the shape of the openings. Because the baffle will also serve as a brace I want it to connect all around the walls for support. So the opening(s) are the issue here.

Thanks!


- Jon

[tinitus]

Every design and used material has their own flaws and compromises and its important to know how to handle that

You are not making quite sense to me .... connect baffle to the walls ...baffle serve as a brace .... shape of openings .... ??????

[jonkun227]

Yeah, I don't understand me either. Seriously.

[tinitus]

Ahh, I see .... you are asking about the design of internal bracing and its influense on the sound .... inside the box, right ???

You say that you are a graphic designer, so if you could show a design, it would be yeasier to comment on that

I would make a structure like this on all internal surface

[jonkun227]

I'm getting there. But first I need some idea how much of an opening I need. Is there some figure, like ___% of the surface area of the baffle or the same total area as the surface area of the actual cones or something like that?

Thanks!


- Jon

[Tenson]

I think you are referring to bracing as a baffle? The baffle is generally only the front of the speaker.

The internal shape of the cabinet does have an effect but not one to worry too much about. You want to avoid anything that will directly reflect the sound from the back of the driver back at the driver. You should really have a sound absorptive material in the cabinet as well but since it is see-thru you can't really do that.

A company called Waterfall make some see-thru speakers and have some absorptive material wrapped directly around the back of the driver and then also a base at the bottom of the cabinet that has some absorption in.

The size of the gaps in any bracing inside the speaker should be at least 1 Sd - have an area equal or greater than the area of the cone.

If you really are talking about the baffle (front of the speaker) then the main factors are the width and length of it as well as the corners - they should be chamfered or rounded.

[jonkun227]

Originally posted by Tenson
[B]I think you are referring to bracing as a baffle? The baffle is generally only the front of the speaker.

You're absolutely right. I'm thinking of baffle the way the term is used in most of the world, like the plates inside a muffler or an oil tanker, designed to slow the movement of the air or fluid inside the container.

I guess if I spent more than 2 seconds thinking about it I would have linked terms like "infinite baffle" in my head with "the part where the drivers mount on the cabinet".

My bad. You've answered my question perfectly. Thanks for the help!


- Jon