Speaker rating

[tdawg]

What do the numbers mean when a speaker company says they are rated at 30Hz - 30khz? I know it is the frequency range (at least I think it does) but what really do these numbers mean; what is considered good; and are the numbers put out by the manufacturers legit?

Thanks.

 

[bpape]

Without knowing what the tolerance is (+/- how many db) it means almost nothing. Heck, most subs will do 10Hz to 200Hz if you don't mind it being down -40db @ 10Hz

 

[tdawg]

That's another part I don't understand. Let's say it is +/- 2 db. How do these all tie in together?

 

[bpape]

Generally, the usable frequency response for a speaker is what it will do within +/-3db over it's entire range when measured in an anechoic chamber.

This certainly does not mean that 2 speakers that are both say 35-20k +/3db will sound ANYTHING alike. It depends on WHERE in the range the +'s and -'s are. It's generally pretty safe to assume that the bottom number of the range will be at least one of the -3db points.

Other things to consider depending on your situation:

Efficiency: Expressed as db. Say 85db efficiency. That USUALLY means if they don't say so that the speaker will play at 85db with 1 watt of input when measured at 1 meter from the speaker.

Type of Speaker: Ported, passive radiator, sealed. Each can be very good or very bad depending on the exectuation and the design. Each has strengths and weaknesses.

Hope this helps.

Bryan

 

[WmAx]

What do the numbers mean when a speaker company says they are rated at 30Hz - 30khz? I know it is the frequency range (at least I think it does) but what really do these numbers mean; what is considered good; and are the numbers put out by the manufacturers legit?

Thanks.

Frequency response is a single dimension measurement, and a single FR response by itself will tell you nothing about how a speaker will actually react in a room. Though, it is indicative of how it will sound in nearfield or in an anechoic chamber, at least in terms of tonality. Complete THD, IMD and impluse response(for mid/high freqeuency analysis) and high resolution swept sine wave frequency response plots at low frequencies, at many polar positions, at minimum, must be examined, to predict actual sound accuracy and room interaction behaviour(s). I don't know of a single manufacturer that publishes the required data to predict actual sound response of the speaker system, and if they did, few would know how to interpret such data.k

-Chris