From about 1900 to the 1950s, the "lowest frequency in practical use" in recordings, broadcasting and music playback was 100 Hz.[6] When sound was developed for motion pictures, the basic RCA sound system was a single 8-inch (20.3 cm) speaker mounted in straight horn, an approach which was deemed unsatisfactory by Hollywood decisionmakers, who hired Western Electric engineers to develop a better speaker system.[7] The early Western Electric experiments added a set of 18-inch drivers for the low end in a large, open-backed baffle (extending the range down to 50 Hz) and a high-frequency unit, but MGM was not pleased with the sound of the three-way system, as they had concerns about the delay between the different drivers.[7]
Another early subwoofer enclosure made for home and studio use was the separate bass speaker for the Servo Statik 1 by New Technology Enterprises.[11] Designed as a prototype in 1966 by physicist Arnold Nudell and airline pilot Cary Christie in Nudell's garage, it used a second winding around a custom Cerwin-Vega 18-inch (45 cm) driver to provide servo control information to the amplifier, and it was offered for sale at $1795, some 40% more expensive than any other complete loudspeaker listed at Stereo Review.[11] In 1968, the two found outside investors and reorganized as Infinity.[11] The subwoofer was reviewed positively in Stereophile magazine's winter 1968 issue as the SS-1 by Infinity. The SS-1 received very good reviews in 1970 from High Fidelity magazine.[11]
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In the 1980s, Origin Acoustics developed the first residential in-wall subwoofer named Composer. It used an aluminum 10-inch (25.4 cm) driver and a foam-lined enclosure designed to be mounted directly into wall studs during the construction of a new home.[29] The frequency response for the Composer is 30 to 250 Hz.[30]
Subwoofers use speaker drivers (woofers) typically between 8-inch (20 cm) and 21-inch (53 cm) in diameter. Some uncommon subwoofers use larger drivers, and single prototype subwoofers as large as 60-inch (152 cm) have been fabricated.[37] On the smaller end of the spectrum, subwoofer drivers as small as 4-inch (10 cm) may be used. Small subwoofer drivers in the 4-inch range are typically used in small computer speaker systems and compact home theatre subwoofer cabinets. The size of the driver and number of drivers in a cabinet depends on the design of the loudspeaker enclosure, the size of the cabinet, the desired sound pressure level, the lowest frequency targeted and the level of permitted distortion. The most common subwoofer driver sizes used for sound reinforcement in nightclubs, raves and pop/rock concerts are 10-, 12-, 15- and 18-inch models (25 cm, 30 cm, 38 cm, and 45 cm respectively). The largest available sound reinforcement subwoofers, 21-inch (53 cm) drivers, are less commonly seen.
where the variables are Thiele/Small parameters. Deep low-frequency extension is a common goal for a subwoofer and small box volumes are also considered desirable, to save space and reduce the size for ease of transportation (in the case of sound reinforcement and DJ subwoofers). Hofmann's "Iron Law" therefore mandates low efficiency under those constraints, and indeed most subwoofers require considerable power, much more than other individual drivers.
As the efficiency is proportional to F s 3 \displaystyle F_s^3 , small improvements in low-frequency extension with the same driver and box volume will result in very significant reductions in efficiency. For these reasons, subwoofers are typically very inefficient at converting electrical energy into sound energy. This combination of factors accounts for the higher amplifier power required to drive subwoofers, and the requirement for greater power handling for subwoofer drivers. Enclosure variations (e.g., bass reflex designs with a port in the cabinet) are often used for subwoofers to increase the efficiency of the driver/enclosure system, helping to reduce the amplifier power requirements.
While not necessarily an enclosure type, isobaric (such as push-pull) coupled loading of two drivers has sometimes been used in subwoofer products of computer,[38] home cinema[39] and sound reinforcement[40] class, and also DIY versions in automotive applications, to provide relatively deep bass for their size. Self-contained "isobaric-like" driver assemblies have been manufactured since the 2010s.[41][42][43]
The smallest subwoofers are typically those designed for desktop multimedia systems. The largest common subwoofer enclosures are those used for concert sound reinforcement systems or dance club sound systems. An example of a large concert subwoofer enclosure is the 1980s-era Electro-Voice MT-4 "Bass Cube" system, which used four 18-inch (45 cm) drivers. An example of a subwoofer that uses a bass horn is the Bassmaxx B-Two, which loads an 18-inch (45 cm) driver onto an 11-foot (3.4 m) long folded horn. Folded horn-type subwoofers can typically produce a deeper range with greater efficiency than the same driver in an enclosure that lacks a horn. However, folded horn cabinets are typically larger and heavier than front-firing enclosures, so folded horns are less commonly used. Some experimental fixed-installation subwoofer horns have been constructed using brick and concrete to produce a very long horn that allows a very deep sub-bass extension.[44]
Subwoofer output level can be increased by increasing cone surface area or by increasing cone excursion. Since large drivers require undesirably large cabinets, most subwoofer drivers have large excursions. Unfortunately, high excursion, at high power levels, tends to produce more distortion from inherent mechanical and magnetic effects in electro-dynamic drivers (the most common sort). The conflict between assorted goals can never be fully resolved; subwoofer designs necessarily involve tradeoffs and compromises. Hofmann's Iron Law (the efficiency of a woofer system is directly proportional to its cabinet volume (as in size) and to the cube of its cutoff frequency, that is how low in pitch it will go) applies to subwoofers just as it does to all loudspeakers.[45] Thus a subwoofer enclosure designer aiming at the deepest-pitched bass will probably have to consider using a large enclosure size; a subwoofer enclosure designer instructed to create the smallest possible cabinet (to make transportation easier) will need to compromise how low in pitch their cabinet will go.
'Passive subwoofers' have a subwoofer driver and enclosure, but they do not include an amplifier. They sometimes incorporate internal passive crossovers, with the filter frequency determined at the factory. These are generally used with third-party power amplifiers, taking their inputs from active crossovers earlier in the signal chain. Inexpensive Home Theatre in a Box packages often come with a passive subwoofer cabinet that is amplified by the multi-channel amplifier. While few high-end home-theater systems use passive subwoofers, this format is still popular in the professional sound industry.[49]
Equalization can be used to adjust the in-room response of a subwoofer system.[50] Designers of active subwoofers sometimes include a degree of corrective equalization to compensate for known performance issues (e.g., a steeper than desired low end roll-off rate). In addition, many amplifiers include an adjustable low-pass filter, which prevents undesired higher frequencies from reaching the subwoofer driver. For example, if a listener's main speakers are usable down to 80 Hz, then the subwoofer filter can be set so the subwoofer only works below 80 Hz.[3] Typical filters involve some overlap in frequency ranges; a steep 4th-order 24 dB/octave low-pass filter is generally desired for subwoofers in order to minimize the overlap region. The filter section may also include a high-pass "infrasonic" or "subsonic" filter, which prevents the subwoofer driver from attempting to reproduce frequencies below its safe capabilities. Setting an infrasonic filter is important on bass reflex subwoofer cabinets, as the bass reflex design tends to create the risk of cone overexcursion at pitches below those of the port tuning, which can cause distortion and damage the subwoofer driver. For example, in a ported subwoofer enclosure tuned to 30 Hz, one may wish to filter out pitches below the tuning frequency; that is, frequencies below 30 Hz.
The use of a subwoofer augments the bass capability of the main speakers, and allows them to be smaller without sacrificing low-frequency capability. A subwoofer does not necessarily provide superior bass performance in comparison to large conventional loudspeakers on ordinary music recordings due to the typical lack of very low frequency content on such sources. However, there are recordings with substantial low-frequency content that most conventional loudspeakers are ill-equipped to handle without the help of a subwoofer, especially at high playback levels, such as music for pipe organs with 32' (9.75 meter) bass pipes (16 Hz), very large bass drums on symphony orchestra recordings and electronic music with extremely low synth bass parts, such as bass tests or bass songs.
Some users add a subwoofer because high levels of low-frequency bass are desired, even beyond what is in the original recording, as in the case of house music enthusiasts. Thus, subwoofers may be part of a package that includes satellite speakers, may be purchased separately, or may be built into the same cabinet as a conventional speaker system. For instance, some floor-standing tower speakers include a subwoofer driver in the lower portion of the same cabinet. Physical separation of subwoofer and "satellite" speakers not only allows placement in an inconspicuous location, but since sub-bass frequencies are particularly sensitive to room location (due to room resonances and reverberation 'modes'), the best position for the subwoofer is not likely to be where the "satellite" speakers are located. 2ff7e9595c
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