Loud-playing speakers
June 16, 2008
I need a pair of speakers for a large game room that I have
recently finished in my basement. Although it has a fitness room attached to it too, it is
mainly for home theater and gaming and I want a pair of speakers that will play loud and
clean. What would be your best suggestion?
Dan
There are two speakers you should consider. The first
is the Axiom M80 v.2. What Axiom has basically done with that speaker is double-up the
drivers from top to bottom. This not only increases the speaker’s ability to play
loud, but also increases its ability to handle lots of power and play with lower
distortion. It might be just what you’re looking for. The other suggestion is to look
at one of the horn-loaded models from Klipsch, like the RF-63. Horns will typically play
louder than conventional speakers because they are much more sensitive -- meaning they
will play louder with less power. I think between the Klipsch horns and the Axiom M80 v2s,
you’ll find exactly the right speaker for your new room.
Omnidirectional bass?
June 10, 2008
Thank you for your answer on front-ported speakers. That
was very helpful. As a follow-up question, can you tell me at what frequency bass becomes
omnidirectional?
Paul Brookstone
Bass becomes omnidirectional somewhere around 80Hz.
This is why that frequency is often specified as a good starting point for crossing over a
subwoofer to your main speakers. If a subwoofer has a low-pass crossover of 80Hz it is
generally accepted that it can be placed away from the mains because the sound emanating
from it cannot be tied to the physical subwoofer location. While this does not always work
perfectly in reality, it is a good rule of thumb for beginning the process of integrating
a subwoofer into a system.
Front-ported speakers
June 6, 2008
Is it true that a front-ported speaker will interact less
with the wall behind it? Specifically I’m thinking about a bookshelf design that will
actually fit in a bookshelf.
Paul Brookstone
As a general rule of thumb, yes it is true. Even though
low frequencies are essentially omnidirectional, meaning that any speaker’s bass will
interact to some degree with the boundaries around it, a rear-ported speaker is more prone
to this than others. The reason is simple: The port extends the bass response of the
speaker by utilizing the resonant frequency of the enclosure and the rear wave of the
woofer. This means that the port is an active contributor to the sound you hear almost
like another driver itself. Having a rear-mounted port effectively places a source of
sound nearer a boundary than if it was a front-ported design by the depth of the cabinet
(example: if the speaker is 15” deep and a front-ported design it would effectively
have a source of sound 15” further from the boundary than the same speaker with a
rear-mounted port). That means more boundary reinforcement as a result with the
rear-ported speaker, and therefore more interaction with that bookshelf.
“Thanks”
June 4, 2008
Thanks for the Usher Audio
S-520 loudspeaker review. These sound like exactly like what I have been looking for,
and I can swing the price. Looking at Usher's website, I’m amazed that you can get
such colors as yellow and red. Those options are usually only seen in more expensive
speakers. At least the ones I’ve seen. Keep up the great work.
Pat
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