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<blockquote data-quote="Electrodynamic" data-source="post: 4094492" data-attributes="member: 548723">It all depends...and it depends on a few things.A lot of manufacturers use whatever they think looks the best.&nbsp; Sadly, they know little about the compliance, weight, or sonic affects of using the different types.&nbsp; However, there are many mfg&#039;s that know what they&#039;re doing too.&nbsp; //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gifFoam has come a long way.&nbsp; Back in the day foam was good for only 5 years or so.&nbsp; Foams now-a-days are treated and formed differently (usually multiple layers heated and then pressed together to form the final surround) which makes them &quot;stronger&quot; than rubber (mainly because the multiple-layer foam surrounds are much thicker than rubber), which makes them less-likely to invert under extreme SPL applications (read: over 2k watts per driver).&nbsp; Rubber does last longer than foam though even with all the advances that foam has made.A lot of foam used today is less compliant (more stiff) than rubber is.&nbsp; Rubber is more compliant.&nbsp; Sensitivity-wise they are close now-a-days.&nbsp; Back when foam was making a comeback the mfg&#039;s of foam harped about it&#039;s sensitivity advantage over rubber (when single-layer, thin, foam was used for surrounds).&nbsp; That all came to a screaching halt when &quot;Santoprene&quot; rubber came out which had the sensitivity of foam but with the physical properties of rubber.Whether you desire a stiff or &quot;loose&quot; surround depends on the design goals and what the driver is intended for.&nbsp; A lot of the time you either account for a foam or rubber surround in the design process (meaning you account for the compliance of the surround you want to use), or you use a surround that provides you with the desired compliance.For a SPL monster that is going to see 2k watts in a big ported enclosure, you&#039;ll want to use a foam surround due to how much stiffer and stronger it is over rubber.For a normal driver, you can pretty much use either foam or rubber.&nbsp; Again, it all depends on what your goals are (looks, performance, T/S&#039;s, or all 3).But again, unless it&#039;s an intense SPL application, either material will work. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Electrodynamic, post: 4094492, member: 548723"] It all depends...and it depends on a few things. A lot of manufacturers use whatever they think looks the best. Sadly, they know little about the compliance, weight, or sonic affects of using the different types. However, there are many mfg's that know what they're doing too. [IMG]//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif[/IMG] Foam has come a long way. Back in the day foam was good for only 5 years or so. Foams now-a-days are treated and formed differently (usually multiple layers heated and then pressed together to form the final surround) which makes them "stronger" than rubber (mainly because the multiple-layer foam surrounds are much thicker than rubber), which makes them less-likely to invert under extreme SPL applications (read: over 2k watts per driver). Rubber does last longer than foam though even with all the advances that foam has made. A lot of foam used today is less compliant (more stiff) than rubber is. Rubber is more compliant. Sensitivity-wise they are close now-a-days. Back when foam was making a comeback the mfg's of foam harped about it's sensitivity advantage over rubber (when single-layer, thin, foam was used for surrounds). That all came to a screaching halt when "Santoprene" rubber came out which had the sensitivity of foam but with the physical properties of rubber. Whether you desire a stiff or "loose" surround depends on the design goals and what the driver is intended for. A lot of the time you either account for a foam or rubber surround in the design process (meaning you account for the compliance of the surround you want to use), or you use a surround that provides you with the desired compliance. For a SPL monster that is going to see 2k watts in a big ported enclosure, you'll want to use a foam surround due to how much stiffer and stronger it is over rubber. For a normal driver, you can pretty much use either foam or rubber. Again, it all depends on what your goals are (looks, performance, T/S's, or all 3). But again, unless it's an intense SPL application, either material will work. [IMG]//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif[/IMG] [/QUOTE]

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