Subwoofer Sensitivity

RobertFielding
10+ year member

Senior VIP Member
i dont understand subwoofer sensitivty, is higher better or is lower better??? like my 12.1 inifnties are rated 96DB, and im looking at other subs like pioneer champs and there rated at 89 Db?? and even some kickers are like 83Db, so is lower better??

and what sub do you think is better, my inifnfty perfect 12.1 350Rms/1400max

or a pioneer champ (400rms/1200max

anyone heard the pioneer>?

 
luagh all you want it isnt helping me out, and it makes you seem like an arogant jerk, not everyone is great with car audio, i am not one of them, lots i dont understand,,, so i come here and ask for help and i dont need poeple like you implying that im stupid.... if i knew the answer the this fricken question do you think id be posting on here???? and no im not a rich person either, whats why im dealing with lower quality subs.... sorry your running two 2 18in subs and im not up to your standards.... all mighty god of audio.... i cant wait till you ask a dumb question and poeple make fun of you....

 
Sensitivity is a measurement of how loud a speaker will get with a given amount of power. If you see a speaker rated at 90dB, that means that with 1 watt of power, it will produce 90dB of output when measured from 1 meter away.

A subwoofer with a high sensitivity rating will require less power to reach a high output level, compared to a sub with a lower sensitivity. Because of that, higher sensitivity is better, but it's certainly not the only factor to look at when choosing a sub.

 
on top ascend.. said typically higher sen, subs can't handle the higher power amps. As you increase stiffness (spiders, surrounds...) you lessen the sen. but then typically you gain control and power handling.

 
By the way, the guys are harmless, it makes them feel good to know there is someone with less knowlrdge than the, in reference to 12 volt audio.

Welcome and good question

 
thanks for understand kmanian, ive read some about pioneers and supposedly there quality subwoofers?? heard they are made in same factory as JL audios.... worth investing in?? the 12inch pioneer champ is fairly cheap as well, im either going to run my 12.1 perfect in a sealed box or the pioneer, off a JBL GTO 600.1II amp

 
when you look for a sub, the only thing that really matters is rms wattage and the voice coil. Don't really worry about db's. The sub is gonna flex alot anyway. Just focus on rms really. Ive never seen a sub rated at 96 db by the way.

 
Robert,

I am not telling you what to do, but if I were you I would ask some opinion of some of the guys that have more experiance than the noobs that are giving yoiu advice here. there are som very wise guys (men) on here. also read up in the subeoofer forum, I am sure you will find a bunch of other better options than the ones you have picked.

yust my 0.02

 
on top ascend.. said typically higher sen, subs can't handle the higher power amps. As you increase stiffness (spiders, surrounds...) you lessen the sen. but then typically you gain control and power handling.
minor correction ;p

stiffness of spiders and surrounds doest give a speaker higher power handling,

sensitivity has nothing to do with the stiffness.. dynamically perhaps, but you'll never see a kms graph outside a klippel report which you'll never get from an mfr.

sensitivity is simple the BL^2/re with respect to the moving mass and cone size...

its important, but you also have to account for final system sensitivity which is a frequency domain issue.... inductance, system alignment, EQ... ported vs sealed, etc etc.....

generally if you can get high sensitivity, and high xmax, you're in great shape.... they are typically mutually exclusive to some large degree........

generally if you can get high sensivtiy, and high xmax, you're in great shape.... they are typcially mutually exclusive to some degree........

 
i dont understand subwoofer sensitivty, is higher better or is lower better??? like my 12.1 inifnties are rated 96DB, and im looking at other subs like pioneer champs and there rated at 89 Db?? and even some kickers are like 83Db, so is lower better??
and what sub do you think is better, my inifnfty perfect 12.1 350Rms/1400max

or a pioneer champ (400rms/1200max

anyone heard the pioneer>?
96dB at 2.83 volts or 1 watt?

2.83 volts is aprox 8ohms at 1 watt. so if you have a 4 ohm sub, you're really looking at at 93dB at 1 watt.

if you have a 2 ohm sub you're look at 90dB, and this of course depends on how the measurment was taken, is it a dual voice coil? was the measurment taken series or parallel?

etc etc......

 
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