Hi there.
As per title, do horns become more sensitive (louder) the harder you drive them (more input power to the driver)?
I’ve been wondering about this for a while. I think it might be the case that there is a minimum amount of excursion in some designs before the horn starts to load significantly.
Specifically, I’m thinking about differences in response between Tapped horns, back loaded horns and transmission lines (and perhaps super planars for that matter).
Thanks
As per title, do horns become more sensitive (louder) the harder you drive them (more input power to the driver)?
I’ve been wondering about this for a while. I think it might be the case that there is a minimum amount of excursion in some designs before the horn starts to load significantly.
Specifically, I’m thinking about differences in response between Tapped horns, back loaded horns and transmission lines (and perhaps super planars for that matter).
Thanks
I do not think so, but if you are driving the speaker hard, with a voltage amplifier, the VC heats up and you will get compression so it may seem to be playing louder.
dave
dave
No, voice coil heating at higher levels increases impedance, reducing sensitivity.
Generally, harmonic distortion increases with excursion, which can give the impression of "sounding louder".
The TH cone is under more stress at the same input voltage than a BR (bass reflex), this results in slightly more distortion, and the distortion spectra is at different harmonic points- the TH sounds "louder" when driven hard.
The BR looses LF output due to "port compression" (turbulence) relative to upper level. The TH does not suffer from "port compression", but suffers from more upper pass-band "power compression" than the BR. The net result is the TH sounds a bit more "aggressive" (more 45-100 Hz output) at low drive levels compared to the BR, but at high drive levels, sounds "fatter" due to the LF range not reducing, while the upper range is "compressed".
These two differences are program dependent, music with wide dynamic range won't reveal the thermal problems, while compressed and droning LF content will increase both, subjectively and measurably.
Art
