[rick57]

Some have suggested (IIRC at the AA's High Efficiency Speakers or diyaudio) that bass from larger, lower xmax drivers, sounds better (more effortless? ~ lower IMD??) than from a smaller driver of the same Vd.

If beaming is not an issue, in a dipole over say 70 - 400 Hz, would the same Vd from eg a 15" be preferable to that Vd from a a higher xmax 10/ 12"?

thanks

[rick57]

Curiosity got to me, and I posted the same question at diyaudio. Some good points there:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=94591

almost a consensus

Cheers

[JohninCR]

Rick,

I don't have an explanation, but I have to agree with MBK over at DIY, that larger pro-type drivers make better OB bass and do sound different.  One thing not mentioned is that with the smaller driver driven to high excursion, it is far more likely to have noise in operation.

[rick57]

John

Could you say how they sound different?

Thanks

[Peter Clements]

I have found that 2 of low vas 18" is even better. Best bass by far and cheaper to boot.

[JLM]

Large drivers would have less travel to create equal Vd, and so if the larger driver's moving mass were low enough it should provide better dynamic response (create the Vd faster than a smaller driver).  One of the advantages of line array's is that you have multiple smaller drivers (with lower moving mass) with less travel.  As with most everything in audio, there's trade-offs involved.