And so it came to pass, on 08-24-96 10:25,
   that John Allen spake unto Matt Ion:
 JA> On 08-22-96, Matt Ion was found by police, naked and mumbling:
MI>> JA> That is also why several smaller (10" and 12") drivers moving a
MI>> JA> shorter distance, pressurize and control the bass better than
MI>> JA> say one large (18") driver
MI>>Yup.  Better off building a system with cheap components designed to
MI>> work together, than slapped-together, mismatched expensive pieces.
 JA>         There is more truth than fiction to this statement. Perhaps
 JA> that would explain why Bose and the like are selling like they do.
The important thing to remember is that any audio SYSTEM is just that -- a 
complete system of components that must work together... and as cliche as it 
may sound, a proverbial chain is still only as strong as its weakest link.  
And if that link happens to be the way two different speaker enclosures 
interact with each other...
Ever listen to a set of (much-maligned) Bose 901s *without* their 
accompanying processor?  It's easy to see why they have such a lousy 
reputation among "audiophiles" if most people are listening to them that way. 
 The thing they may not realize is that that processor is an integral part of 
the SYSTEM.  Personally, I've only REALLY had the opportunity to listen to 
901 Mark V's once, but I have to admit, I really liked the sound.  I'd never 
use them for studio monitors, mainly for the same reason they make such 
fascinating home speakers -- that "direct-reflecting" design plays some neat 
tricks on one's ears :-)
 JA>         My youngest son builds KILLER car subs. He has the LEAP app
 JA> and several others, as well as 3D modeling apps that pretty well
 JA> leave no surprises in his projects. 
Cool!  Where can I find these?  
 JA> He uses the materials required to get the job done right,
 JA> regardless of the cost difference, etc. 
...and then there's the car with a CONCRETE sub enclosure built into the 
trunk (honest and for true!  I saw it in CA&E!)
 JA> One in particular was a self contained ported box. It required very
 JA> little power to make you think the windshield was going to end up
 JA> on the hood the moment the bass drum hit. Yet when he brought the
 JA> box in the house and we plugged it into an even bigger amp (same
 JA> ohm rating) it was barely audible. 
Every other month, someone writes in to one car-audio mag or another asking 
why all his bass disappears when he open the window...
 JA> I have read numerous warnings about employing two subs in a
 JA> listening area. There are fears that they will cancel one another
 JA> out, etc. To some extent that is true if both are set to the exact
 JA> same settings, cutoffs, polarities, and gain. But by varying these
 JA> you can  overcome this and "pressurize" the listening area more
 JA> efficiently, with less power, and exercise much tighter control
 JA> over the drivers. 
If you must have multiple sub drivers to increase the "pressurization", you 
can always put them in the same enclosure, or at least keep them 
side-by-side.  That'll do wonders toward minimizing cancellation, phasing, 
etc. between the drivers.
Of course, the room itself is part of the whole SYSTEM too -- if you can 
avoid overly-live surfaces and parallel walls, you also minimize problems 
with node cancellation and such.
 JA> Now, all I need is several very large stacks of money to go try out
 JA> all this new found knowledge. 
Ahh, it's ONLY money... $-)
----------------------------------------
Q: Why don't blind people skydive?
A: It scares the heck outta their dogs!
----------------------------------------
--- Sqed/32 1.10/unreg
---------------