| Re: Pi 3 or 4? [message #78604 is a reply to message #78603] |
Tue, 10 December 2013 12:17   |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18786
Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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It is a pretty common question, you're right. And my answer is always that what you're really doing is choosing the midwoofer family more than anything else. Thes two speakers have very similar spectral balance. They are very much alike. This is even more true between the upgraded models. The four π speaker is slightly more efficient though.
Both the fully upgraded three π and the four π models generate deep, full bass, but it definitely rolls off in the lower midbass. I prefer the speakers when used with flanking subs, both for extension and for smoothing. Flanking subs mitigate the self-interference anomalies from reflections from the nearest boundaries, the wall behind the speakers being the most troublesome. Flanking subs also provide additional bass extension.
But that doesn't answer your question about differences. Measurements show little differences, really. There are some minor response differences, but overall, response is similar, that gentle rolloff down low. Midrange up, they're the same. The four π is more efficient though, about 3dB greater sensitivity than the three π speaker. And while distortion is very low in both speakers, the four π model is a little lower, especially at the lowest frequencies. Some would question how much that matters down low, and that's a valid question. But measurements show the four π speaker has slightly lower distortion at the lowest frequencies.
All in all, I think the biggest difference is probably the efficiency though. The speakers sound very much the same, both offer the same uniform directivity, the same pristine wavefront launch from the same waveguide/horn, both have a slightly overdamped alignment that is immune to parameter shifts and has gradual rolloff. So they're very similar in most aspects, with just a slight difference in efficiency between the two models.
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