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12-11-2025, 01:05 PM
Hi Guys
Yes, speaker drivers seem to have a minimum loudness before which they sound "full". However, once I started using the detuned cabinets I found that the same drivers had a fuller sound at a quieter level.
It is well-known that horn-shaped drivers have a throat resistance that must be overcome, and this presents a problem for quiet listening. However, horn midrange and tweeters tend to be used in systems intended to be played loud, like PA systems, so the threshold of output is not an issue.
Dynamic drivers like those used for musical instruments likely have some resistances to overcome, too. The voice coil is inductive, although its value is quite low. Still, it will respond like any other inductor and try to maintain whatever state the current through the coil is at any given instant, meaning that it will create a current to resist changes to the current. An initial input will be resisted by an opposing current; magnetically-stored energy will be released to maintain the flow as the stimulus diminishes. This really works counter to the instantaneous response that would be ideal for a speaker, and the effect would be greater for higher currents than lower ones. Maybe it is proportional, which might make it audibly as bad at all SPLs?
Back EMF from speakers is a known problem.
Air resistance keeping the cone in its rest position is another form of resistance. A sealed cabinet would exhibit this tendency more than other box designs and would be maximised in cabinets that are very small - ones that are just big enough for the driver to be mounted in. Critically-vented cabinets would also have this problem except at the vent resonance. Open-back cabinets and detuned cabinets would have no air resistance for the cone to work against.
I am not a speaker expert, but for the application of playing very quietly I believe the cabinet has more influence than the specific driver.
Yes, speaker drivers seem to have a minimum loudness before which they sound "full". However, once I started using the detuned cabinets I found that the same drivers had a fuller sound at a quieter level.
It is well-known that horn-shaped drivers have a throat resistance that must be overcome, and this presents a problem for quiet listening. However, horn midrange and tweeters tend to be used in systems intended to be played loud, like PA systems, so the threshold of output is not an issue.
Dynamic drivers like those used for musical instruments likely have some resistances to overcome, too. The voice coil is inductive, although its value is quite low. Still, it will respond like any other inductor and try to maintain whatever state the current through the coil is at any given instant, meaning that it will create a current to resist changes to the current. An initial input will be resisted by an opposing current; magnetically-stored energy will be released to maintain the flow as the stimulus diminishes. This really works counter to the instantaneous response that would be ideal for a speaker, and the effect would be greater for higher currents than lower ones. Maybe it is proportional, which might make it audibly as bad at all SPLs?
Back EMF from speakers is a known problem.
Air resistance keeping the cone in its rest position is another form of resistance. A sealed cabinet would exhibit this tendency more than other box designs and would be maximised in cabinets that are very small - ones that are just big enough for the driver to be mounted in. Critically-vented cabinets would also have this problem except at the vent resonance. Open-back cabinets and detuned cabinets would have no air resistance for the cone to work against.
I am not a speaker expert, but for the application of playing very quietly I believe the cabinet has more influence than the specific driver.
