Problems with "shallow" cabinet design?

[mfellman]

Hello there,
I'm planning on constructing my first own pair of speakers, and I consider just for the fun of it taking the risk of designing them myself completely (after, of course, studying the subject intensely during the summer). My rudimentary plan is a pair of full-rangers: Fostex FE126En in a bass-reflex cabinet. 10.5 liters is suggested by Fostex.

Now, to the actual question: what are the problems with a "shallow" cabinet design, i.e. having the element close to the back wall of the speaker? Nowadays most speakers are designed with a lot of space behind the element, is this mainly a matter of taste (of looks) or is there a (weighing) physical reason for this?

Thanks for your answers!
Martin

 

[planet10]

Very shallow cabinets (and very narrow cabinets) can both suffer from early reflections off the near panels back thru the cone.

Fostex is still recommending a BR for the FE126? Don't expect much bass.

The new FE126En looks like is "wants" the same boxes as the older FE126e -- a horn of some sort.

dave

 

[Tristanc1]

I was wondering the same thing! Is there any way to counteract this? Maybe a 'V' shaped brace on the back wall and a wider than normal box? You'd lose a lot of volume though..

You see a lot of shallow speakers(inwall, on wall) these days in the home theater world, wondering how the professionals cope, or if they bother? Seem to use passive radiators quite a bit, but I don't think that would help sound being reflected back out through the cone...