cuarrer 8: Basic Enclosure Types The Enclosure is an Acoustic Cirewit for the Loudspeaker An essential part of any loudspeaker system is the enclosure in which the loudspeaker is to be used. An enclosure for a loudspeaker is often called a éaffle, and perhaps technically speaking, baffle is a more descriptive word than enclosure, as the reader will soon see. The prime purpose of any enclosure is to provide the proper acoustic circuit for the loudspeaker to work with, so thar maximum efficiency and best performance may be obtained from the combination. In the effort to provide this acoustic circuit, the sound coming from the loudspeaker is routed into certain paths and prevented from going into other paths by blank walls put in its way ‘Thus the term “bafile” as used in a technical sense connotes a means of routing the sound energy. Since most of today's baffles are built into more or less complex box-like structures (even though the box may contain a horn), the words enclosure and baffle are used inter- changeably. However, in certain instances, we shall specifically use the word baffle because in no sense will the word enclosure describe the function of the unit, This situation will arise in the discussion of horn tweeters as baffle crossover elements, for the horn is directly and precisely a baffle rather than an enclosure, The choice of the proper enclosure or baffle for a desired loud- speaker system is governed by several factors. These factors are the 165166 THE ENCLOSURE speaker size, the performance range expected from the speaker-enclo- sure combination, and the manner in which the speaker is to be operated, The speaker-enclosure combination may be of the direct radiator type (such as the bass-reflex enclosure), of the indirect radiator type (such as the horn), or a combination of the two, Variations of these basic types are illustrated in Figs. 8-1, 8-2, and §-3 fespectively, We shall examine here the general differences between these basic types, and subsequent chapters will provide a more detailed study of each. Direct Radiator: Speaker Works Directly Into Listening Space As will readily be seen from Fig. 8-1, the direct radiator enclosure allows the loudspeaker diaphragm to be directly exposed to the sur- rounding atmosphere in which the sound is to be heard. The loud speaker radiates directly into the listening area. There are no intervening acoustic elements between the loudspeaker and the ear other than the air itself. Despite the fact that there are no restraining elements upon the forward propagation of the sound, there inay however, be some drastic modification made upon the overall performance of the system by the degree to which the rear of the speaker is enclosed. Here again, the word “enclosed” is used rather loosely. For instance, the loudspeakers shown in (A) and (B) of Fig. 8-1, are by no means enclosed. They are baffled, however, to the extent that the sound from the back of the speaker is prevented from spreading around to the front of the speaker by the extent to which the open baffle walls prevent it from spreading. Enclosures Improve Low Frequency Response Although open baffles of this nature are not usually encountered in present day high-fidelity practice, a brief discussion of them will illustrate two important points concerning enclosures. The first con- sideration, and the one more commonly appreciated, is that the purpose of the baffle or enclosure is to improve the law frequency response of the loudspeaker. The baffle accomplishes this by minimizing rear-to- front cancellation of the energy coming from the loudspeaker, If there were no obstruction in the way of such roundabout circulation of the acoustic energy, the loudspeaker would be virtually “short circuited” upon itself. As soon as the diaphragm moved forward, pushing out