It looks simple, but it is not. It sounds better, under certain conditions. You like it, or you don't 😉
The benefit is that the radiation pattern is a figure-eight, which is closer to omnidirectional than a box speaker.
Ed
Ed
There are several advantages. One is, when doen right, contant directivity from 20 Hz on up. Benefit of this is better in room power reponse. The other benefit is the lack of box colouration. Disadvantages are they need room. In contrary to boxed loudspeakers that have more bass output as you move them against the wall, open baffle loudspeakers have less bass when moved towards the wall and more bass when moved away from the wall. Open baffle loudspekers look simple but are difficult to get right, but once you do there is simply no going back to boxed speakers anymore.
One benefit is there's no box and because of that, no boxy character. Now that of course gets replaced with a different character, which to some is an improvement. The standing baffle board can still resonate in a way that detracts; you'll see some "naked" designs with just drivers hanging in space to be rid of even that. I have two such systems and tried to make the standing boards non-resonant; one by adding mass to the back, the other by making the board a constrained layup of wood, cork, wood.
Another is the bass wave isnt pressure. This has a different feel to it, which some listeners simply dont like. The non pressure wave has a couple of benefits; where a P wave can literally roll across the countryside, the OB's bass wave cancels at distance. This is advantageous for the neighbors, should you live in a shared building. It's also advantageous for being placed in a room, as it's going to interact differently with the room volume due to this property. Certainly you sense bass at the listening position, but its "different". Like a Mac to a PC...
To get a sense of that, Martin King once told me in an email he can be rockin' out to CCR upstairs with his OB system, while is wife can comfortably watch TV in the room directly below, with zero issues over his sound upstairs. Closed cabinets / subs would not be able to do that; the bass could be just as loud in the room underneath. Just something he mentioned, when we were chatting about the P wave thing a couple few years ago. Martin, being a fairly well renowned speaker designer, I believe his experience with his OB system is true. I live in a single story home...
Another is the bass wave isnt pressure. This has a different feel to it, which some listeners simply dont like. The non pressure wave has a couple of benefits; where a P wave can literally roll across the countryside, the OB's bass wave cancels at distance. This is advantageous for the neighbors, should you live in a shared building. It's also advantageous for being placed in a room, as it's going to interact differently with the room volume due to this property. Certainly you sense bass at the listening position, but its "different". Like a Mac to a PC...
To get a sense of that, Martin King once told me in an email he can be rockin' out to CCR upstairs with his OB system, while is wife can comfortably watch TV in the room directly below, with zero issues over his sound upstairs. Closed cabinets / subs would not be able to do that; the bass could be just as loud in the room underneath. Just something he mentioned, when we were chatting about the P wave thing a couple few years ago. Martin, being a fairly well renowned speaker designer, I believe his experience with his OB system is true. I live in a single story home...
Yes, that's definitely a big advantage! In my own setup, I’ve compared the difference between boxed speakers and open baffle speakers in terms of how much sound escapes into other rooms. With open baffles, I was able to turn up the volume by about 10-12dB louder before my wife in the next room started to notice and complain. This makes sense from a scientific perspective—open baffle speakers produce a more directional figure-eight sound pattern, reducing sidewall reflections and minimizing how much sound leaks into adjacent spaces also beacuse they do not pressurize the room. To me, as a moderatly loud music lover this is a very big advantage.
"open baffle" is not same as dipole. Dipole radiation pattern is rather easy to achieve 40-2000Hz, but even that requires narrow baflle for mid. Other problem is low freq needing lots of surface area and excursion. Best dipoles are 4-way with dsp.
Benefits ? The sound is different from box speakers in many ways. A 2-way wide open baffle is easy to construct.
Benefits ? The sound is different from box speakers in many ways. A 2-way wide open baffle is easy to construct.
the benefit is it's cool. same benefit as you get with transmission lines, vacuum tubes and so on.
there are no professional open baffle speakers ... but there are professional cardioid speakers.
there are no professional open baffle speakers ... but there are professional cardioid speakers.
Main benefit is that due to side cancelation, there is almost no sound thrown to the side walls. Main pattern is figure eight, main signal is more directional. Narrower main beam brings more clarity, as there is less side wall sound arriving too early to smear the sound. Thus main benefit is clarity.
Second benefit is spaciousnes. Back radiating signal is delayed and bounced many times before it reaches listener. Brain recognizes this signal separately from the first front arriving signal, giving information about the room. This is beneficial unlike first front reflections from the wall and floor/ceiling, which are detrimental, arriving too soon within first ten milliseconds or so.
Late arring diffused sound adds to feeling of space, some say it even image better. Well executed open baffle sounds 'open' as opposed to 'boxy' sound of box speakers, where back wave gets bounced inside to flat back panel and reradiated through the cone. Although hard the measure, quite easy to recognize boxy sound.
Although professional open baffle speakers make no sense, since sound mixing has completely different primary objective, there is quite a lot of commercial open baffle speakers. Some may be semi-open baffle, making a compromise in lowest frequencies with closed box.
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About this "no sound to the sides" is rhetorical in normal rooms. If I listen to a dipole indoors, I must put my other ear to less than 20cm to the speaker and close my other ear to sense cancellation.
With low freq dipole, lateral and vertical room modes aren't excited as much, but they exist. Still, speaker placement and room dimensions are most important.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ectivity-patterns-couple-to-room-modes.45518/
With low freq dipole, lateral and vertical room modes aren't excited as much, but they exist. Still, speaker placement and room dimensions are most important.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ectivity-patterns-couple-to-room-modes.45518/
I attend CAF (Capital Audio Fest) almost every year. Used to travel to Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. But CAF got good.
Last years best speakers hands down. Not for everyone 🙂
Post in thread 'Dahlquist DQ 10' https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/dahlquist-dq-10.394542/post-7843954
Last years best speakers hands down. Not for everyone 🙂
Post in thread 'Dahlquist DQ 10' https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/dahlquist-dq-10.394542/post-7843954
Example of great sounding well regarded semi open baffle are NOLA.
Post in thread 'Dahlquist DQ 10' https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/dahlquist-dq-10.394542/post-7843310
Post in thread 'Dahlquist DQ 10' https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/dahlquist-dq-10.394542/post-7843310
At last show, i noticed these semi open baffle speakers. They sounded exceptionaly clean. I guess four way active crossover with dsp and four classD amplifiers had something to do with it too. If i will build another speaker, which i have way too many already, it will be clone of this one.
Post in thread 'Ultimate Open Baffle Gallery' https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/ultimate-open-baffle-gallery.123512/post-7713068
Post in thread 'Ultimate Open Baffle Gallery' https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/ultimate-open-baffle-gallery.123512/post-7713068
Well said and I think when I sense a sound is "someone's stereo" it's the boxy sound of commercial MDF speakers that gives it away. Now if you build a box where the interior is comprised of a rectangular matrix of panels, all with the "swiss cheese" holes such that no one volume is isolated - an internal structure strong enough to set the wheels of your car upon 4 such boxes - how would that sound re "boxy"?
So there may be boxes that dont do that, but they're effortful to construct, heavy to ship and hence a very high percentage of commercial stuff cannot realistically use such a construction. I wouldnt know; I've never heard one.
An OB isnt quite the ship-building job; a relatively effortless way toward solving the "boxy sound" problem.
Open Baffle can add a sense of spaciousness - probably due to reflections from the rear radiation being late enough to perceive as separate from the front/direct radiation. It also has the potential to reduce too-early (smearing/muddying) reflections from sidewards radiation due to the nulls there, depending on baffle width vs wavelength. So OB is (sonically) perhaps mostly about the directivity characteristics of the design/arrangement.
Though of course that sense of space from rear reflections is somewhat false (i.e. not derived from the recording/music itself); essentially an added effect, which ultimately comes down to many things like individual room/positioning characteristics and personal taste. Someone (maybe Geddes?) once said something like many people agree directivity is important, but not everyone agrees on what it should be. Personally I find OB can be fitting with many recordings of live music or events, which would have occurred in large spaces, though I'm less keen with the effect being overlaid onto all types of music (which obviously it is). But either way, one needs sufficient space around the OBs for them to shine - too close to rear walls or corners and the benefits get lost or at least compromised.
Anyway, (IMO) OB can sound spaceous in the right situation and work well for the right music (and/or preferences). It can also look absolutely lovely without all the geometric constraints of horns or big boxes etc; very satisfying. But it can also be quite dependent on circumstances and music. Sadly I found that much too limiting for my own situation and personal preferences, there isn't enough control. But of course it works for a lot of people, and alternatives that do give more control can be more complex.
Though of course that sense of space from rear reflections is somewhat false (i.e. not derived from the recording/music itself); essentially an added effect, which ultimately comes down to many things like individual room/positioning characteristics and personal taste. Someone (maybe Geddes?) once said something like many people agree directivity is important, but not everyone agrees on what it should be. Personally I find OB can be fitting with many recordings of live music or events, which would have occurred in large spaces, though I'm less keen with the effect being overlaid onto all types of music (which obviously it is). But either way, one needs sufficient space around the OBs for them to shine - too close to rear walls or corners and the benefits get lost or at least compromised.
Anyway, (IMO) OB can sound spaceous in the right situation and work well for the right music (and/or preferences). It can also look absolutely lovely without all the geometric constraints of horns or big boxes etc; very satisfying. But it can also be quite dependent on circumstances and music. Sadly I found that much too limiting for my own situation and personal preferences, there isn't enough control. But of course it works for a lot of people, and alternatives that do give more control can be more complex.
Well said Kev06. Stereo is about creating an illusion and there is no absolute truth. Listener's experience/history/habituation is important and some recordings suit dipoles, some don't. Sound engineers don't use dipoles at work.
I would not use dipoles for HT multichannel/Atmos because in those 3D space illusion is based on sending direct radiation from multiple speakers.
I would not use dipoles for HT multichannel/Atmos because in those 3D space illusion is based on sending direct radiation from multiple speakers.
"Control" is an interesting word in Audio, could have several meanings. Perhaps elaborate on control that OBs dont have enough of in your view and contrast with a competing design that does have it. Example could be control over speaker placement, due to size. I'm pulling at straws obviously, guess what's meant by that. I've heard control used in place of what would also be called "damping factor". Up there with speed and pace...
in your dreams. you're not going anywhere.
i have a genius design for you. instead of mounting in a box or baffle mount in a large diameter tube ( like 2 foot diameter vertical tube ) and then stuff the tube and drill holes in it on the sides and back but with more holes on back than sides.
that way you will truly get a hybrid between box and open baffle.
for bonus points you can put a second smaller tube inside the bigger tube but without any holes in it. it will force the sound to travel in the gap between the two tubes so more of it is pushed outside through the holes and cancelled. in this design the two tubes will basically form a horizontally curved symmetrical pair of transmission lines but instead of having a single point of exit at the rear the resistive vents will be spaced along the side to shape horizontal directivity.
if tuned optimally it should act as a cardioid - avoiding reflections from the side AND back walls.
the tube will also eliminate baffle edge diffraction.
if you want a more reverberant sound in the room you can always add some surround speakers.
to my best knowledge i have invented this myself but i can't guarantee it has never been done before.
you should build it and report on whether it works or not.