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ProSoundFacts
No.7-October1984
DLSERIESWOOFERS-PLANSFORRECOMMENDEDVENTEDENCLOSURESANDSMALL-ANDLARGE-SIGNALPERFORMANCEINTHESEENCLOSURESIntroduction
In1972,Electro-VoiceintroducedthefirstAmericanspeakersystembasedonthevented-enclosuremodelingtechniqueofA.N.ThieleandR.H.Small.Thiele'snow-classicpapers-publishedinAmericatenyearsaftertheiravailabilityinAustralia-havebeenthebasisforallofourdirect-radiatorlowfrequencysystemsdesignforoveradecade.Moreover,theThiele-Smalltechniquesarenowusedworld-widefortherationaldesignoflow-frequencysystems-bymanufacturerandseriousamateuralike.Ventedenclosures(alsoknownasportedorbass-reflexenclosures)havebeenusedsincetheearlydaysofloudspeakers.However,nooneknewhowtopredicttheperformanceofagivenspeaker/enclosurecombination.Aboxhadtobebuiltandthenmeasuredorauditioned.Thatmanyresultswerelessthanperfectwillcomeasnosurprise.ThieleandSmallchangedallofthisbyshowinghowthespeakeritself,thenetinternalvolumeoftheenclosureandthetuningfrequencyoftheventinteracttoproducetheoverallperformanceofthesystem.Today,aidedbythecomputer,quick,"on-paper"analysisofventedspeakersystemsisroutineandThieleandSmallarerecognizedfortheirfundamentalcontributiontotheart.Agoodventeddesignprovidesessentiallyflatresponsetojustabovealow-frequency3-dB-downpoint(f
3),
withsystemoutputrollingatsomeratebelowthatfrequency(typically24or36dBperoctave).Thef
3
isclosetotheboxtuningfrequency,whichisdeterminedbythestiffnessofairintheenclosureandthemassofairinthevent.Asfrequencygoesdowntowardboxtuning,systemoutputcomesincreasinglyfromthevent,driventofullacousticoutputbyanever-reducingexcursionofthewooferitself.Atboxtuning,outputcomesalmostexclusivelyfromtheventandwooferexcursionisataminimum.Thisisquitedifferentfromasealedsystem(novent)whereconeexcursionincreases
four
times
foreveryoctavereductioninfrequency.Reducedexcursionmeanslowerdistortion,sincetheventisnotsubjecttothemechanicalsuspensionlimitationsofthespeaker.Theexcursion-controllingaspectofagoodventeddesignisoffundamentalimportance,particularlyinprofessionalsoundsystemswherehighacousticoutputandlowdistortionaredesirable.ReadersfamiliarwithThiele'spaperswillknowofthenumerous"alignments"wherecertainspeakerparametersworktogetherwithaspecificenclosurevolumeandtuningfrequencytoproduceacertainfrequencyresponse.ThecasualreaderofThiele'spapersmayconcludethatanewspeakermustbedesignedandconstructedeverytimeadifferentsystemefficiencyorf
3
isdesired.However,athoroughunderstandingofThiele'smodelshowsthatsystemperformanceisrelativelyinsensitivetovariationsincertainspeakercharacteristics,e.g.,suspensioncompliance.Thus,knowledgeabledeviationfromspecifiedcharacteristicsproducesveryusefulresponseshapesthatdepartonlyslightlyfromidealperformance.ThematerialcontainedinProSoundFactsNo.7isasuperbexampleofthewiderangeofperformancepossiblewithagivenspeaker.InsteadofusingtheThielemodeltosynthesizesome"idealalignment,"theThielemodelhasbeenusedtoextractthebestperformancefromagivenloudspeakeroverawiderangeofenclosuresizes.Anannotated,selectedlistofpapersonventedsystemsisgivenattheendofthisdocument.
Page2
HowtoSelecttheSpeakerandEnclosureYouNeed
ProSoundFactsNo.7-October1984Chart1providesagoodstartforselectingthespeakerandenclosure:
Low-FrequencyReproducersVery-low-FrequencyReproducersDL12XDL15XDL18XDL15WDL18WApplication
Wooferin2-wayWooferin2-waySubwoofer,CompactorSubwoofer,speechsystems;speechandespeciallyforextended-bassespeciallyformidbassin3-musicsystemssystemf
3's
ofwoofer;compactsystemf
3's
and4-way40
Hz
and
aboves
subwoofer,under40
Hz2
systemsespeciallyforsystemf
3's
of40
Hz
andabovet-'
RecommendedRangeofEnclosureVolumes
1.3-1.8
ft3
2.5-7.1
ft3
7.0-14
ft3
2.5-7.1
ft3
7.0-20
ft3
(35-51liters)(71-200liters)(200-410liters)(71-200liters)(200-580liters)
AssociatedRangeofLow-Frequency3-dB-DownPoints-Normal
80-72
Hz
69-48
Hz
48-36
Hz
52-36
Hz
40-26
Hz
StepDown(withEQ)
55-48
Hz
48-31
Hz
34-26
Hz
37-27
Hz
29-22
Hz
1,CompactenclosurerequirementsmakeitpracticaltousetheDL15Winmultiples,forincreasedmaximumoutput.
M u ~ i p l e
DL15W'scanbequiteappropriateforhigh-output.below-40-Hzsubwooferapplications,2,Ingeneral.subwootersfordanceenvironmentsandconcertreinforcementarebestlimitedtoabout40Hz,Cinemasoundandspecial-effectsapplicationsrequireperlormanceto30Hzandbelow,
Chart1-DLWooferApplications,RangeofEnclosureSizesandLow-FrequencyPerformanceChart3onpage11describes34single-speakersystemsand28dual-speakersystems.Avarietyofphysicalandacousticinformationisgivenforeachsystem,includingthesystemlow-frequency3-dB-downpoint.Eachenclosurehasaspecificnumber,e.g.,TL10-36.Thefirstdigitpairisapproximatelyfourtimesthenetinternalvolume,incubicfeet.Theseconddigitpairisthetuningfrequency,in
Hz.
Thus,theTL10-36isa2.5-cubic-footboxtunedto36
Hz.
"0"indicatesafrontbafflecutfortwowoofers,e.g.,TL100-75.Chart2listsselectedwooferspecificationswhichwillalsoaidintheselectionofaparticularsystem:
DL12XDL15XDL18XDL15WDL18WNominalDiameter
12in.15in.18in.15in.18in.
SoundPressureLevelat1Meter,1WattInto8Ohms,10o-800-HzAverage
98dB100dB97dB97dB95dB
SelectedThiele-SmailParameters-
'Yl
(half-spacereferenceefficiency)
4.5%5.0%5.2%2.7%2.9%
x.....
zero-to-peaklineardisplacementofdiaphragm)
0.16in.(4.1mm)0.16in.(4.1mm)0.16in.(4.1mm)0.22in.(5.6mm)0.22in.(5.6mm)
P...->
(thermallylimitedmaximuminputpower)
300watts400watts400watts400watts400wattsChart2-SelectedDLWooferSpecifications
ProSoundFactsNo.7-October1984AreviewofCharts1,2and3showsthat:Page31.Thelargerspeakersandenclosurestendtohavelowerf
3's.
2.Withinagivenseries(DLXorDLW),forthesamef
3
thesmallerspeakerstendtohavesmallerenclosures.Thismaybeofparticularinterestwhenwoofersareusedinmultiples(seeUseinMultiplessection).3.TheDLW'stendtohavemoreextendedbassresponsethantheDLX's.Thisisachievedattheexpenseofefficiency(about3dB)butwithasimilarincreaseinpeakoutputability(X
ma,
=
0.22inchesversus0.16inches).Thisincreaseinpeakoutputisparticularlyusefulforhigh-levelreproductionoffrequenciesbelow40Hz.SeetheSmall-andLarge-SignalPerformancesectionformoredetails.Foreachspeakermodel,thesmallestandlargestenclosureswerechosensubjectively,takingintoaccountsmoothnessofresponse,appropriatenessofthe
Is
andexcursionlimitingwithinthepassband.Thisthirdfactorisa"large-signal"considerationdiscussedseparatelyintheSmall-andLarge-SignalPerformancesection.Thissectiongivesmuchmoredetailthanthef
3's
showninChart3,foreachspeakerlenclosurecombination.Readerswillwanttoconsultthissectionparticularlywhenthehighlevelreproductionofverylowfrequenciesisofinterest.
Step-DownOperation
HalfofthesystemsshownonChart3operateinthe"step-down"mode,whichapproximatesaB
6
Thielealignment.Stepdownisagoodwaytoextendsystemlow-frequencyresponsebyincreasingamplifierpoweratcertainfrequenciesinsteadofenclosuresize.Instepdown,theenclosureistunedtoalower-than-normalfrequency.Thisincreasessystemoutputatthenewtuningfrequencyandreducesoutputslightlyintheregionoforiginaltuning.Thesmoothlyfallingresponsewhichresultscanbeequalizedtoprovideanewsystem3-dB-downpointthatisabout0.7thatoftheoriginal.Toachieveasimilarresponseextensionwithoutequalizationwouldrequireanenclosureatleast
twice
thesize.Inthestep-downmode,systeminputisincreasedatthelowerendoftheoperatingrange,byamaximumof6dBclosetothenewtuningfrequency.Notethatthisboostdoesnotaffectsysteminstantaneouspeakoutput,whichisrelatedonlytothespeaker'slineardisplacementabilityandeffectivediaphragmarea.
XEQ-2Crossover/Equalizer.
TheEVXEQ-2crossoverlequalizercanprovidetheequalizationrequiredforstep-downoperation.Ithasfiveswitchablepeak-boostfrequencies,someofwhicharepreciselythoserecommendedinChart3.Othersaresufficientlyclose,within
±
5%,toprovidenosignificantperformancecompromise.TheXEQ-2canbemodifiedtoprovideotherpeak-boostfrequencies.ProSoundFactsNo.8,availablefromElectro-Voiceatnocharge,describesthismodification
SubpassbandSpeakerProtection
Belowtheenclosuretuningfrequency,coneexcursionincreasesrapidly.Sinceacousticoutputisalsofallingrapidly,thereisnoutilityindrivingthesystemwithsignalsmuchbelowthetuningfrequencyWhilesuchsignalsmaybeintheprogrammaterial,theyareoftenextraneous-suchasfromrecordsurfaceirregularitiesoradroppedmicrophone.DLwoofersareruggedlydesignedandhaveahighmaximumexcursionbeforedamage
(±
0.5inch).Thus,inthemanyinstallationswheresubpassbandsignalsaremoderateinlevel,theprobabilityofspeakerdamageisveryslightandoverallsystemperformanceshouldnotbecompromisedinanoticeableway.However,
high-outputsystems,especiallysubwoofersystems,shouldbeprotectedby
a
high-passfilterwith
a
3-dB-downcornerfrequencyofabout
0.8
theenclosuretuningfrequencylistedinChart
3.Belowthecornerfrequency,arolloffof12dBperoctaveisusuallysufficient.
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