Posted by hurdy_gurdyman [ 209.153.156.147 ] on December 22, 2003 at 10:53:53:
In Reply to: Re: Any good suggestions for subwoofers with full ranges? posted by akhilesh on December 22, 2003 at 09:55:46:
akhilesh,
In a typical box subwoofer the radiation pattern is omni-directional, thus equal amount of energy is aimed at the sidewalls as to the front and back. With open baffle, energy is directed only toward the front and back. Energy to the sides is cancelled out. If you walked around an open baffle subwoofer, you would hear the sound almost cancel out off to the sides. Because of this, far less energy is bounced around the room energizing room nodes.
The extra expense of an open baffle subwoofer is mostly just a couple extra drivers. With any kind of sub, it is best if you use a separate amp (like a plate amp) and either a passive line level crossover or an active crossover.
IMHO, OB subs are almost horn-like in sound quality and hard to beat.
Dave :^)