myths about sub sizes

[FlexnInLa]

So when you go see a metal band live you think that double kick is being mic'd and sent to a bunch of tens in the PA system, since they are "faster?" No sir. I can play bass pretty **** fast if I so desire, and I've never heard an 18" speaker cab miss or delay a note I've played lol

[Steveopevo]

So when you go see a metal band live you think that double kick is being mic'd and sent to a bunch of tens in the PA system, since they are "faster?" No sir. I can play bass pretty **** fast if I so desire, and I've never heard an 18" speaker cab miss or delay a note I've played lol

Is their a tonal difference that causes people to prefer smaller subs over larger ones? do they resonate at higher frequencies with more articulation? Anything?

[Slayerx]

Is their a tonal difference that causes people to prefer smaller subs over larger ones? do they resonate at higher frequencies with more articulation? Anything?

The difference is people don't know what they heck they are doing, they hear a handful of different sized subs in inadequate boxes, in different cars, playing different music, and make a judgement on which subs sound better for different things. Taken from the link:
# 8 Smaller drivers sound better than bigger drivers

One of the biggest myths about woofers is that 8's and 10's are "tighter" and "cleaner" than 15's or 18's. Nothing is further from the truth. What tends to happen is that the smaller drivers have lower Q's because manufactures tend to put large cones on smaller motors to increase SPL and sensitivity but not BL product. Well unless the motor can compensate for the extra mass it has to push, then the Qts will not be the same as the smaller drivers and ultimately the driver may not be suited for the same kinds of alignments and could ring too much and compromise the perceived sound quality. Having said that, high Qts drivers are not any less "tight" or "musical" than well dampened drivers, it's just they require larger boxes and less internal pressure to prevent ringing. Ultimately there becomes a point where a driver really should be used in an infinite baffle where its actual Qts and Fs becomes the system Qtc and Fc. As enclosure volume decreases, Qtc increases and it will take a driver with a low Qts to make for an average Q system. So in conclusion, the only reason to use a smaller bass driver is for space, weight and potentially power considerations, but likewise, it is inappropriate to try and fit a larger driver into a space smaller than it is ideal for.

[stl_314]

I have always wondered why people say tune 8's and 10's higher then 18's

Cause if they play the same notes tuning should not need to change

[FlexnInLa]

Is their a tonal difference that causes people to prefer smaller subs over larger ones? do they resonate at higher frequencies with more articulation? Anything?

Look at it this way. Let's say you listen to my bands CD, and I recorded the bass track on a mic'd 18" cabinet. How in holy hell would a 10" speaker reproduce that recording in any way, shape, or form better than a larger speaker.

There seems to be a group of people that are biased towards smaller sounds better, faster, etc. It simply isn't true.

[Louisiana_CRX]

When size matters...

DCX34W - Cadence Sound Store

[FlexnInLa]

The difference is people don't know what they heck they are doing, they hear a handful of different sized subs in inadequate boxes, in different cars, playing different music, and make a judgement on which subs sound better for different things. Taken from the link:
# 8 Smaller drivers sound better than bigger drivers

One of the biggest myths about woofers is that 8's and 10's are "tighter" and "cleaner" than 15's or 18's. Nothing is further from the truth. What tends to happen is that the smaller drivers have lower Q's because manufactures tend to put large cones on smaller motors to increase SPL and sensitivity but not BL product. Well unless the motor can compensate for the extra mass it has to push, then the Qts will not be the same as the smaller drivers and ultimately the driver may not be suited for the same kinds of alignments and could ring too much and compromise the perceived sound quality. Having said that, high Qts drivers are not any less "tight" or "musical" than well dampened drivers, it's just they require larger boxes and less internal pressure to prevent ringing. Ultimately there becomes a point where a driver really should be used in an infinite baffle where its actual Qts and Fs becomes the system Qtc and Fc. As enclosure volume decreases, Qtc increases and it will take a driver with a low Qts to make for an average Q system. So in conclusion, the only reason to use a smaller bass driver is for space, weight and potentially power considerations, but likewise, it is inappropriate to try and fit a larger driver into a space smaller than it is ideal for.

**** what a good answer!

[Steveopevo]

Look at it this way. Let's say you listen to my bands CD, and I recorded the bass track on a mic'd 18" cabinet. How in holy hell would a 10" speaker reproduce that recording in any way, shape, or form better than a larger speaker.

There seems to be a group of people that are biased towards smaller sounds better, faster, etc. It simply isn't true.

I've got an Alpine swr-1240d in a 1.0 sealed, but it's not enough. I don't want to take up a lot of trunk so I want to stay around 1.5 cf or less. So would it be better to just get a more powerful 12" as opossed to the two 10's

[winkychevelle]

1 of the tens ported in that space will more than likely be loud enough for you but you can put two ten in there sealed and u will have gain assuming the supplied power is supplemented for the additional speaker.

[Dave88LX]

Glad I read this thread. I had always "heard" from everyone that 10's were tighter and more accurate and hit harder than 12's. If I can afford quality 12's and to power them properly, and have the space for them, they should perform better (SQ) than 10s. Yes...?

[Why So Cereal?]

Glad I read this thread. I had always "heard" from everyone that 10's were tighter and more accurate and hit harder than 12's. If I can afford quality 12's and to power them properly, and have the space for them, they should perform better (SQ) than 10s. Yes...?

No, just louder ideally. Sub size alone doesn't affect SQ noticeably enough to worry about that for SQ

[t-money]

Glad I read this thread. I had always "heard" from everyone that 10's were tighter and more accurate and hit harder than 12's. If I can afford quality 12's and to power them properly, and have the space for them, they should perform better (SQ) than 10s. Yes...?

You can't just compare 12's to 10's for sq. If you want to compare say a 10 jlw7 vs a 12 w7, then the sq should be similar. But you can't just say if i get quality 12's they will have better sq then 10's because it's dependant on what 12's you get and what 10's you're comparing them to and what enclosure you're using. The 12's should get louder but sq is hard to say without a direct comparison and knwing the enclosures being used

[jockhater2]

I believed that myth when I was 17 because of my friend and my brother.

Well 4 years later I tried a 15 and I loved it.
I've always prefered ported over sealed. And I listen to metal too. Metalcore, deathcore, and so on.

I've never had a problem with sq or with the subs missing a note. Now I have 12s in an oversized box and t tuned to 32 hertz and it still punches hard.

Its a total myth
Its all about the enclosure and tuning. Because my last box was 4ft3 tuned to 37 hertz and ther punch was harder but the lows weren't as good.

Now I'm going for another 4ft3 box tuned to 34 hertZ with aero ports (my first time using them)

[quackhead]

Very informative read up. What made me curious is when he said a ported box can sound as good as a sealed box. the result is lower distortion because of the added spl from the port thus allowing you not to have run your subs as hard. Also sealed boxes cause non linear excursion. So besides space saving what are sealed boxes good for because I always heard they were better for sound quality?

lol....and this is a bigger myth than driver size.

[Dave88LX]

What a mess! I'm in the 10 vs 12 stage right now. All myths point to 10s being "cleaner and harder hitting", but I know there is so much more to it than that. I'd rather have 12's (I think), I just need to convince myself, or be convinced, that it's the way to go.