After reading a couple of threads, mainly centered around the slot-loaded open baffle design, I wondered if there was a sealed design which would allow drivers to be mounted facing each other.
The only real reason for this was instead of having a line source of drivers that resulted in a tall box, could the effective height of the box be halved using, say, a 2x2 arrangement rather than a 1x4 line source? The volume of the box would need to be compensated elsewhere, so maybe this hasn't been explored much.
The only real reason for this was instead of having a line source of drivers that resulted in a tall box, could the effective height of the box be halved using, say, a 2x2 arrangement rather than a 1x4 line source? The volume of the box would need to be compensated elsewhere, so maybe this hasn't been explored much.
Yes, it has been explored and there are examples.
It sounds as though you want many drivers for their excursion, but don't want them to take up space.. whereas a line array deliberately uses space for the acoustic effect. Where are you wanting to draw the line in this case?
It sounds as though you want many drivers for their excursion, but don't want them to take up space.. whereas a line array deliberately uses space for the acoustic effect. Where are you wanting to draw the line in this case?
Thanks Allen, that's a pretty straight-forward answer, which I appreciate 🙂
I was thinking along the lines of the increased sensitivity due to using multiple drivers, but if the acoustic effect is not achieved in any other manner than deliberately using space, then that's that.
I was thinking along the lines of the increased sensitivity due to using multiple drivers, but if the acoustic effect is not achieved in any other manner than deliberately using space, then that's that.
As a general rule,a larger, single driver will give you more bang for your buck (Vd) than multiple smaller ones.
One of the lesser-known routes to good quality LF reproduction is to Move a lot of Air - GENTLY!
One of the lesser-known routes to good quality LF reproduction is to Move a lot of Air - GENTLY!
You might start with the low frequency limit and desired SPL you want to achieve at that frequency. Using those two numbers you can calculate the total cone displacement required to produce that SPL at that frequency. Now you can look at driver displacements to figure out how many of any kind of driver you will need. I also look at the ratio of driver displacement / required box volume to help select drivers that require a minimum box volume to get the displacement needed. Displacement / $ is also interesting to look at, as this determines how much cash you will spend to get the required displacement. I created a few spread sheets that help me select woofers that include these calculations. You are welcome to use it. Driver Selection Spreadsheet, Displacement, SPL, Cost, Box volume
You can get the increased sentitivity without spreading out the drivers, so go ahead and cluster them if you like.
The acoustic effect of the array, which I mentioned, is unrelated. It manages directivity, or in the case of subs it manages room modes.