Which type carries bass furthest?

[ßart West-VL.]

Walking around the house I noticed that the bass from my small bandpass sub (deathbox 10" from Decware) diminishes fast as I walk away, especially when I'm going to another room and outside it's barely noticeable.

Is this dependent on the type of sub or size driver in it or is it always like this, no matter what, because of the distance for example?

[JoeDJ]

It a property of room acustics and sub placement.

[bear]

could be a benefit in an apartment or similar situation!?!?

[cyclecamper]

Overcoming barriers is mostly a matter of how low and how loud it is. In free air, how far it carries is a matter of its wavefront shape and dispersion pattern. Inside a house and between rooms it has a lot to do with the acoustical shapes and paths presented.

[ßart West-VL.]

What do you mean with wavefront shape and dispersion pattern? I don't see this changing if the enclosure changes.
So it doesn't matter what kind of enclosure I use, it will always fade fast with the distance?
Still, iirc, bass from a big box with a big driver seems to have less trouble carrying the signal further then my small bandpass box.

[derwhalfisch]

lower frequencies will travel around more corners and be absorbed less by stuff in the way... perhaps your big sealed box is producing lower frequencies than the bandpass?

[ßart West-VL.]

That sounds plausible, my small bandpass struggles to churn out some sub-40hz tunes. Thanks.

[mashaffer]

In answer to the thread title...

[ßart West-VL.]

LOL, good one.
There's even a fire extinguisher at hand, haha.

But I do believe a horn is the ultimate bass producer, if built large enough.
Just too bad most homes are too small to house them.

[Keriwena]

Originally Posted by ßart West-VL.

What do you mean with wavefront shape and dispersion pattern?

A 10" woofer will create a hemisphere of pressure with a 10" diameter. A 15" woofer will create a hemisphere with a 15" diameter. A these "balls" of pressure expand, at 20' (for example) the pressure of the 10" driver's wavefront will have been divided more times to cover the increased area than the 15"s, so yes, the falloff of a smaller driver at distance is greater.