advertisement


speakers that go below 20hz

You need a BIG cabinet!

Doubt this is really necessary. Bear in mind that if you expose your internal organs to anything approaching 14Hz you will start to feel queasy. If you then turn the wick up, death is a distinct possibility. The British Army experimnented with a 14Hz cannon in WW1, apparently it was very effective at killing people. The only snag was it killed its own operators just as effectively as the enemy.
 
you also need a very big room to get the benefit, but speakers that do it well are

Naim DBL
ATC SCM 100 ASL and bigger

Short list wasn't it!

Also the big Genelec subs do a good job in conjunction with sensibly sized speakers, ie the 7060 and 7070

And of course I really mean down to rather than below.

PS the Mythbusters have now busted the "brown note" myth so you won't be able to embarrass your (ex) friends and neighbours.
 
TDL Monitor and Reference Standard both went below 20Hz. Dynaudio Consequence Ultimate Edition goes to 17Hz. Wilson Alexandria 2 v2 goes to 19.5Hz. Hansen Grandmaster goes to 15Hz and King v2 goes to 18Hz. The Focal Grande Utopia EM goes to 18Hz. There are probably more.

Of the current speakers, the Dynaudio is the 'bargain' of the pack. The others cost over £100,000.
 
You don't need a big room or large cabinets. However, you will need loudspeakers with drivers capable of massive displacement and amplifiers capable of controlling them. The easiest route to sub-20Hz performance is to get a Linkwitz Transform circuit to EQ the signal fed to the power amp, but make sure the driver can handle the task.

As for genuine, unassisted sub-20Hz performance, I remain skeptical that any domestic loudspeaker system can do it properly.

James
 
...due to a lack of drivers whose Fs is below 20 Hz. Even dedicated sub drivers such as the Peerless XXLS series have their Fs around 20 Hz, so electronic EQ is the only option.
 
Check out the Exodus subwoofer drivers, and build, or have someone build some cabinets. You can easily achieve 20hz. You will probably need a pro style amp to drive it, the QSC PLX2 series are quiet enough and plenty powerful.

Few drivers are suitable for this task.

What is your source? If you are running a turntable, this low of output can create a problem in the form of amplifying undesirable noise, and possible feedback problems. There is very little programming below 35 30hz unless you listen to the newer electronic music.

Home theater is a whole different ballgame though..

Check out the Exodus drivers, the Tempest and the Maelstrom...
 
I can’t explain this, but using a Hifi News test disc with my previous small Shahinian Super Elves (-3dB 48 Hz ), there was an audible signal/rumble at 19hz with the Naim preamp volume at about the 10 o’clock position.
 
Yup, briks with a Bingo are flat to 20Hz as are Keltiks. The KEF 107 reference was flat to down there too.

CJ
 
This is one of hi-fi's big 'stupids', IMO. The best speaker position for good midrange and HF response in room is rarely the same place where you get good LF performance. And yet big speakers dominate and hardly anyone buys a 2.1 (or better still 2.2) system.
 
RustyB said:
...due to a lack of drivers whose Fs is below 20 Hz. Even dedicated sub drivers such as the Peerless XXLS series have their Fs around 20 Hz, so electronic EQ is the only option.
Click to expand...

If i remember well, in a transmission line you can have output below Fs of the driver.
 
CJ1045 said:
Yup, briks with a Bingo are flat to 20Hz as are Keltiks. The KEF 107 reference was flat to down there too.

CJ
Click to expand...

I was curious how a speaker (not containing a dedicated sub-woofer) could provide a flat frequency response down to 20hz.


Kef 107's manage it (according to the manufacturers website) by significant amounts of EQ:



Model 107

The KEF Reference Series Model 107 is a remarkable loudspeaker.

This innovative model provides quite outstanding performance with an unusually high degree of user convenience. This has been achieved by combining many of the tried and tested Reference Series features with a new concept in active low-level equalisation. KUBE (KEF Universal Bass Equaliser). The result is a unique combination of bass extension down to a genuine 20Hz,



From what little I can see of the Linn ''bingo'' it also achieves a similar goal through EQ.

Taking a 6 or 8 inch mid-bass unit and using EQ to artificially tailor it's response to provide low bass is a low-fi solution, easily bettered by a two hundred quid subwoofer IMO.
 
CJ1045 said:
Yup, briks with a Bingo are flat to 20Hz as are Keltiks. The KEF 107 reference was flat to down there too.

CJ
Click to expand...

Flat you say?
So they can produce 20hz at 106dB without exceeding the xmech of the B139 driver? I think you'll find many larger speakers will 'do' 20hz but not at a level anywhere near the main output.
Physics dictates the kind of displacement needed for a 20 hz to be 4x that at 40 hz and feeding a ported speaker with high levels of lf below the port tuning freq will kill your bass driver.
Any peq for flat bass will be taking room gain into account(+8dB@20hz in average room).
The 209 sub has an 18" driver with an xmax of 30mm, 1000watt amp and is -6dB@12hz and a max output of 120dB.
 
Evil Emperor said:
This is one of hi-fi's big 'stupids', IMO. The best speaker position for good midrange and HF response in room is rarely the same place where you get good LF performance. And yet big speakers dominate and hardly anyone buys a 2.1 (or better still 2.2) system.
Click to expand...

I've never heard a single sat / sub system I've felt works. They always seem to have some doubling / suck-outs, I assume due to the inevitable phase-error of having the bass speaker in a location unpredictable to the speaker designer.

My current speakers, 15" Tannoy Monitor Golds in a sealed floor-standing box, negate this completely as all sound emanates from a single point source. In their current cabs they are only good to about 35Hz, the bass drops off steeply below this point so technically they have no place on this thread I guess. The drivers should get to 20Hz in a larger back horn loaded cab though.

Tony.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top